Costa Rica has become the luxury travel story of Central America, and 2026 is the year the hotel pipeline finally caught up with the demand. Peninsula Papagayo now has four serious properties, the Osa and Nicoya coasts have three or four genuinely design-forward eco-lodges each, and the Arenal region has quietly upgraded from mid-market to some of the best jungle-and-volcano hotels in the Americas. Below is the list our advisors work from, and the two-region itinerary that consistently beats any single-hotel Costa Rica trip.
Peninsula Papagayo - the cluster that matters
Peninsula Papagayo, on the northern Pacific coast, is now home to four hotels that together make one of the best coastal clusters in the Americas: Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica, Andaz Costa Rica Resort, Nekaj (formerly Prieta Beach Club, now managed as a boutique residence programme) and the newly-opened Ritz-Carlton Reserve Papagayo.
Four Seasons has the Arnold Palmer golf course and the best family programme. Ritz-Carlton Reserve is the newest and most refined - 110 rooms across a low-rise coastal campus with two beaches and one of the largest hotel spas in Central America. Andaz is the design outlier, with much lower rates than the two above and a more contemporary architectural sensibility.
Nayara Tented Camp - the Arenal experience that redefined the region
Nayara Tented Camp opened in 2019 and reset expectations for what Arenal (Costa Rica's volcano-and-cloud-forest region) could offer at the luxury tier. Twenty-nine safari-style tents on a private hillside inside the Arenal National Park, each with a plunge pool fed by hot springs and a view of the volcano's classic cone.
The property shares grounds with Nayara Springs (all-suite adults-only) and Nayara Gardens (family-friendly) - together they form the best hotel campus in inland Costa Rica. Combine three nights at Nayara with four nights on Papagayo for the classic two-region Costa Rican trip.
The Osa and Nicoya - the wilder alternatives
For travellers who want less resort and more jungle, the Osa Peninsula (south Pacific) and the Nicoya Peninsula (central Pacific, one of the world's five 'Blue Zones') offer completely different experiences. Kasiiya Papagayo (recently opened, ten low-impact platform tents on a private forest peninsula) and Lapa Rios (thatched bungalows above the Osa rainforest) are the two we book most.
These are not resort trips. They are wildlife trips with excellent food, comfortable beds and a real conservation ethos. Best combined with a Papagayo stay for the couples who want both wild and polished.
When to go and how to sequence
Costa Rica's dry season runs late November through April. December through February is peak (rates and demand); March, April and late November offer the best value with mostly excellent weather. The 'green season' (May through mid-November) brings afternoon showers but morning sun, and rates drop by 30 to 40 percent.
Our default two-region itinerary: fly Liberia, four nights at Ritz-Carlton Reserve or Four Seasons Papagayo, private transfer three hours inland to Nayara Tented Camp for three nights, fly back from La Fortuna or via San José. Ten nights total, minimal internal driving, both coasts and both regions covered.
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