Fodor's Expert Review JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa

In Hacienda Pinilla Beach resort and residential community, Playa Avellanas, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

In the gated community of Hacienda Pinilla, this luxury resort is centered around a 25,000-square-foot infinity pool that merges with a short stretch of beach in the west, making every sunset a major event. Quiet elegance is the theme at this hacienda-style hotel, with charming traditional touches such as painted oxcarts piled high with towels around the pool and macramé-fringed hammocks draped off the lobby. Rooms are all super-luxurious, with oversize bathtubs, sumptuous sage-and-cream linens, and private terraces with ceiling fans and removable screens. There's free daily yoga, complimentary sunset cocktails,  a 24-hour fitness center; the 18-hole, 72-par Hacienda Pinilla golf course; and an exquisite full-service spa with 19 massage huts. There's also a kids' club for families. The on-site restaurants, including a handsome, ranch-style Costa Rican steak house and a more intimate Asian restaurant, are gorgeous, but the prices are sky-high and the food quality inconsistent. Although the beach in front of the hotel is small and rocky, you can access Playa Avellanas from the Hacienda Pinilla Beach Club where waves break right out front. There's a daily shuttle van to Tamarindo's shops and restaurants ($14 per person), and if you have your own car, you can drive the short distance to Playa Negra and Playa Avellanas for less pricey meals.

PROS

  • luxurious
  • largest infinity pool in Central America
  • equestrian center

CONS

  • very pricey
  • beach is rocky
  • ground-level rooms facing walkways get outside noise

QUICK FACTS

Resort
$$$$

HOTEL INFO

Phones: 2681--2000

HOTEL DETAILS

310 rooms
Rate Includes: No Meals

What’s Nearby