Every vacation that starts with an early morning departure should start with a Bloody Mary – in this case it wasn’t until our layover in Houston that we finally got a couple. Commendable, smokey version served at Pappadeux in Terminal C which set the mood for the afternoon flight to Liberia, Costa Rica (pronounced Lib-Area not Lye-beer-ia).
Although the Liberia airport is about to begin a major transformation to receive a substantial increase in tourist numbers – jetways, air conditioning, Cinnabon presumably – there’s something magical about old tropical airports: Deplaning onto the tarmac, feeling the first humid breath of the nearby jungle as the plane engines wind down; and collecting bags in the open air.
Our ride to the Four Seasons was provided by Premio, the boutique DMC that has partnered with the hotel to ensure as flawless a visit as possible. Our greeter and guide launched into an amusing, informative and engaging crash course into the local culture, traditions and geography of our destination, severely exposing our collective lack of any homework-doing … And most importantly he taught us that we could say “Pura Vida” in pretty much every situation as it seems to translate as “Hello,” “Goodbye,” “All’s well,” “Cool,” “Watch out there’s a leech in your swimsuit” and “My shares in Exxon Mobil are just tanking right now.”
After a half hour of driving down pitch black country roads, very infrequently broken up by the lights of a local bar or farmhouse, we were ushered through a gatehouse at the top of Papagayo peninsula. The Four Seasons owns the entire peninsula from head to tip and has sited the hotel, along with the private residences and timeshare buildings near the far end, sandwiched on a narrow strip between two beaches (Blanco and Virador). From the gatehouse, it’s another 15 minute wind along the spur, through lushly maintained grounds and cutting through the heart of the single golf course.
Arriving at the main lobby (an elegantly simple, open-to-the-elements space that evokes air, ocean and earth) we were greeted by numerous staff and handed fresh juice, then were immediately transported to golf carts and shuttled to our nearby rooms. Top marks to Four Seasons that upon entering our room we immediately saw that the hotel had left us a mojito-making kit with instructions. A quick mashing of mint with the on-hand sugar cane stick, a healthy serving of local rum, splash of fresh lime and this party was about to kick off!
A welcome feature of the spacious balcony/outdoor living room was the floor to ceiling mosquito screen, which probably reduced the number of our bites we got from “life-threatening” to only “devastating.” When will we learn to use that bug-repellant from the beginning?!
We won’t bore you with the room’s furnishings (naturally perfect) but immediately noticeable was the tidy 3-slot recycling bin (Paper, Plastic and Organic). All the leftover food each day from all guest rooms and restaurants is donated to local farmers for their animals (lucky animals) as part of the “Creciendo Juntos” (Growing Together) ethos that the hotel embraces. More about that later.
We scuttled to dinner at one of the 4 restaurants on the property, Tico’s. This bar-cum-dining space that greets you at the bottom of the staircase from the main lobby serves as the main socializing center for the hotel. Again open to the elements and facing the pools and the Virador beach, it serves a tidy variety of excellent sushi as well as everyman favorites (fish tacos, burgers elegantly presented) and local selections (amazing empenadas with a green chili chimichurri sauce). Numerous specialty cocktails are highlighted, amongst which is the signature drink, the Guajito – a blended mojito based around the Costa Rican rum-style sugar-cane liquor. This quickly became dubbed “The Green Happy” for its’ ability to quickly get you where you needed to be!
Tico’s is flanked on the Virador side by Di Mare, a fine dining and semi-enclosed restaurant, and on the other side, also open to pool area, by Papagayos. Papagayo’s serves a similar menu to Tico’s, and also doubles as the main breakfast restaurant, offering a selection of fixed meals and an expectantly wide ranging buffet (the breakfast burritos are a college couch potato’s dream – pumped full of excellent local cheese, rice and beans).
Finally, Congo’s is an open-air bar/restaurant serving the pool areas, frequently used for casual private gatherings and indulgences such as a mixology class one afternoon.
There are 2 central pools, large and shallow, as well as one smaller on the Virador beach side that is off limits to children and dubbed “the quiet pool”. Additionally a large Jacuzzi sits to one side in a carefully sculpted waterfall grotto.
Both beaches are, as you’d expect, lovely. A mix of white, volcanic, and crushed coral sand, flanked at each end by low lying rocks and offering enough underwater scenery to keep a casual snorkeler engaged for hours. Marine life is plentiful and highly varied – a small ray was a real treat. A small jellyfish quite the opposite! Blanco is the hub for sports: snorkeling, windsurfing paddleboats and kayaks are offered in abundance. Virador is geared more towards sunning and swimming and is slightly more integrated into the flow of the hotel.
A whole book can be written about the architecture of the hotel…ah wait! There it is in the gift shop. Huge regrets that we didn’t pick up a copy of the coffee table tome that details the development of the property. In a nutshell, the Costa Rican architect Ronald Zurcher Gurdian drew inspiration from various natural sources including Pre-Columbian designs for the columns and fountain bowl that grace the foyer, and native fauna: The pools echo the curved forms of fish and turtle, gazebos mimic the double wings of the dragonfly and most obvious, Zurcher crafted many of the property’s roofs after the backs of armadillos. The entire location blends in wonderfully with the landscape. Additionally, interior designer Brayton + Hughes carefully selected their materials to be in accord with the local flora, further blurring the line between inside and outside. Without reading the book, we can only guess that the shimmering golden wall behind the main bar in Tico’s was a nod to waterfalls, sunsets and the golden treasure of Latin-American legend.
On our first full day, after a morning snorkeling, we took a hike along the main nature trail. Starting from the hotel, at the mainland end of each beach a staircase begins and some 800 or so steps up the cliff side (we weren’t counting) the path meets the main entry road. Exhilarating as it is exhausting, the trail affords spectacular views of the hotel property as well as giving one the chance to watch Howler and White Face monkeys and a red and blue species of crab that populates the cliff-side, almost to the very top. These fraidy buggers retreat into their burrows when you’re about 8 feet away and their sound and presence accentuates the life around you.
That night, we were hosted for dinner in the Colonnade by the main event lawn. A gathering of local artisans were selling various crafts – most fairly expected (carved cigar, game and puzzle boxes of the sort found from Marbella to Mumbai) but with some interesting twists on jewelry and accessories. The night was kicked off with a round of Green Happies also, and details thereafter were hazier…
Torturously humid as it was (and temperatures seem to vary from a high of 85 degrees to a low of 83 degrees) the buffet meal was outstanding. Plantain leaf-wrapped sea bass and chicken, charred beef, a mouthwatering paella and a made to order souffle station featuring Grand Marnier and chocolate with various decadent sauces were our highlights. After dinner we walked down to the pitch black beach. Hearing what we thought sounded like a small stream we pulled out the camera and took a photo to see what the noise was. Kind of like a horror flick where the flash illuminates monsters surrounding you, we realized we were surrounded by about a million feeding and breeding crabs.
The next morning began with an incredible breakfast at Papagayo’s. A made to order huevos rancheros station was complimented by a huge selection of local fruits commanded by a chef specifically on-site to carve and explain what we were tasting. Following this, we embarked on a tour of the golf course, one of 3 that are eventually planned as the peninsula winds into the future. Practically deserted, the course was naturally in pristine shape, tended by an army of caretakers. Stunning views from most of the holes were capped by the 6th, a dog-leg left Par 4 that descends in several terraces towards the ocean.
The mandate for the property is that no more than 30% of the peninsula can be used for development, but on top of this, once fairways, residences and roads are in place, the hotel embarks on a rigorous replanting and reseeding. For us this meant being given the chance to plant a new tree: Taking a carefully unwrapped sapling and dropping it into a pre-dug hole and then with our delicate little hands, repacking soil around it. Followed then by handiwipes…Would sort have preferred to dig our own holes but they weren’t going to leave that technical business to a bunch of city slickers!
Following was one of the highlights of the entire property – the languid and serene beach club. We all felt that this space presented a myriad of choices for any gathering or event. From what we hear, the beach club was designed and built by the former head chef of the resort, complimenting it’s architecture whilst bringing all of the best elements of the main resort into one smaller space.
It being low season, the beach club was quite empty when we visited later in the trip. Today it was deserted thanks to the onset of monsoon rains. Featuring a lounging pool, lap pool, large and small hot tubs, beach activity window, large sports bar, cocktail lounge, 2 dining spaces and superb cuisine, this would definitely be a destination for several days for the average tourist. And at a swift 5 minute ride from the main hotel, it’s eminently accessible.
A tour of the suites followed, each more “pinch-me” than the next. Culminating in the Miramar Suite (a 3 bedroom house with private pool and gardens), it was evident that this property equals or surpasses many of its worldwide brethren.
After lunch, Premio guide Alberto shepherded us by nicely appointed coach to the canopy tour, located about 5 minutes from the resort entrance. Expertly secured into harnesses, we were led up a hill and instructed how not to fall to our deaths from the zipline. If you’ve never been ziplining, think of it as a really tame version of parachuting and plenty exciting enough for us. The lines ran from about 8 to 20 seconds, which sounds woefully short but trust us, is a fantastic thrill. Safety is a premium: the moment you’re unlatched from one line, you’re latched to a safety cable and passed along the chain of zipline guides with skill and ease. Only marring the experience slightly was a solid rain that peppered moments of the 90 minute adventure. You sail over the verdant jungle like an unwieldy bird and try to remember to look down, rather than peering ahead to the landing platform and praying you will be able to stop yourself before crashing into the guides waiting to catch you on the other side. Let it be noted that ziplining in the rain dramatically increases the speed.
After lunch, Premio guide Alberto shepherded us by nicely appointed coach to the canopy tour, located about 5 minutes from the resort entrance. Expertly secured into harnesses, we were led up a hill and instructed how not to fall to our deaths from the zipline. If you’ve never been ziplining, think of it as a really tame version of parachuting and plenty exciting enough for us. The lines ran from about 8 to 20 seconds, which sounds woefully short but trust us, is a fantastic thrill. Safety is a premium: the moment you’re unlatched from one line, you’re latched to a safety cable and passed along the chain of zipline guides with skill and ease. Only marring the experience slightly was a solid rain that peppered moments of the 90 minute adventure. You sail over the verdant jungle like an unwieldy bird and try to remember to look down, rather than peering ahead to the landing platform and praying you will be able to stop yourself before crashing into the guides waiting to catch you on the other side. Let it be noted that ziplining in the rain dramatically increases the speed.
The highlight of the trip, socially, was the next morning. Again as part of the spirit of Creciendo Juntos, the hotel and Premio organize various charitable outreach activities to the community. It’s not easy to overstate the degree to which the Four Seasons participates in the life of the surrounding populace. Every effort is made to assist and enrich the lives of the people in the nearby area, many of whom have so very little.
For us, this entailed a bus ride to a local school to paint. The children jumped to attention when the bus pulled up, hoisting the flags of both Costa Rica and the Guanacaste province. What can we say – that they melted our hearts would be the obvious cliche. We set to painting a fence and the entry canopy to the school but could not help but feel that there was more we could be doing. Many of us wished we could have spent a full day there. The school and community are obviously in need of so much and one of the people in our group is setting up a donation site for us to contribute to clearing the play area, buying new equipment and painting the classrooms. Despite the lack of funds and resources there is such a palpable sense of pride from everyone we met.
The resort encourages guests and groups to purchase school supplies, backpacks and the like before visiting. There are also programs by which you can support local families including shopping excursions to buy food and household supplies.
And the interesting thing about this tiny, impoverished school and the hundreds like it: Costa Rica has a literacy rate of 95%. Having abolished the army in 1948, the government invests a significant amount to make sure that every child of school age can attend school, going so far as to pay families who would otherwise need to place their children into the labor pool. We were told of one school where there is one child and one teacher. That’s a ratio that beats our LAUSD for sure. With the support of foreign investment such as The Four Seasons is providing, we hope that in the coming decades Costa Rica will reap the rewards. After tourism, technology is the 2nd largest industry here. Intel is amongst the corporations that have set up shop.
That night we were shuttled up to the golf club for dinner. This outstandingly striking building sits central to the Arnold Palmer designed course. A covered dining terrace outside surrounds a slightly feminine feeling interior, again a simply fantastic place for wedding dinner. An event planner is spoiled for choice location-wise and the whole property begs for a multi-day experience. The food at the golf club was again, spectacular. A sirloin of Costa Rican beef was cooked perfectly and had an almost nutty, earthy flavor.
In summation: Heavenly surroundings balanced with careful and well considered accommodations; excellent food and service; inspiring choices for event location; a hotel and DMC staff that is of fantastic experience and care and above all, a destination that connects the visitor to the people and the place in an intimate and moving way. Our 3 days there brought us back far richer than we could have expected.
Wet Season is May-November and subject also to the far-reaching effects of Atlantic hurricanes, insomuch that the afternoon showers can become all-day events. Dry season is from December to April, during which time apparently everything turns shockingly brown – gold. We suspect a week at the resort in mid-May would probably be a good bet and are happy to come back to double check 🙂
Pura Vida, y’all.
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