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Our Four Seasons Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo review, photos, and video covers a Cielo Room, the Casa del Mar Estate, breakfast and dinner at Bahia, dinners at Pesce and Nemare, beaches and pools, and some of the resort's many activities.
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Four Seasons Costa Rica Location and Getting There
Located at Peninsula Papagayo, the resort is reached by flying into Guanacaste Airport (LIR), which is served by nonstop flights from Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK, Toronto. The resort offers an SUV transfer service with meet and greet for an additional cost, which made for a very smooth arrival experience.
Once we arrived, we were greeted with cool towels and fresh coconut water. We were very appreciative that our room was already ready even though we arrived in the morning, after a red eye flight.
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Four Seasons Costa Rica Accommodations
The resort offers a variety of room, suite, and villa/private residence accommodation options. All of the three room types (Terraza, Brisa and Cielo) are 603 sq. ft. (56 sq. m.) and vary only by the floor and view. Terraza Rooms are on the first floor, so the view is primarily of the dry forest and plants; Brisa Rooms on the second floor also have primarily dry forest/landscape views, but can have partial bay or ocean views, and Cielo rooms on the third floor offer your best chance of a partial ocean or bay view, although you'll still be looking at the water through trees. We were in a Cielo Room, which we found comfortable, especially the Four Seasons bed, which is our favorite even among the most comfortable luxury hotel beds.
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The bathroom, which has wooden shutters by the soaking tub that can open up to the bedroom, has double sinks, a separate toilet chamber, glass enclosed shower, and a separate soaking tub.
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The outside balcony is comfortably furnished with a sofa and low table as well as a dining table. Netting encloses it, keeping out insects and wildlife.
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The resort is an especially great pick for extended families or couples traveling together, as it's home to a number of beautiful private estates. One of them is the Casa del Mar, which sleeps up to eight adults and two children or six adults and four children in its three king beds (two of them in master bedrooms with round soaking tubs and outdoor showers) and two double beds. The home has vaulted ceilings, an expansive living and dining area, open kitchen with Wolf appliances, and an infinity pool and jetted tub with stunning water views and a grill and drink fridge for easy entertaining.
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Here's our Four Seasons Costa Rica video review:
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Four Seasons Costa Rica Restaurants and Dining
At the main resort, there's Bahia Restaurant, where breakfast is served and which is also the all day dining restaurant. Anejo is for grab and go breakfast items and light fare throughout the day, including sushi and Asian-inflected fare, and next to it is Pesce, the resort's Italian restaurant. Nemare Steakhouse is located at the Golf Clubhouse, providing yet another option.
At Bahia, we highly recommend the breakfast buffet, which we preferred to the two a la carte options we tried, the French Toast and Costa Rican breakfast. There's a wide selection of yogurts, sliced and whole fresh fruits, salad fixings, local goat cheeses, smoked salmon and cold cuts, pastries and cakes, and hot dishes, as well as an omelet station with omelets and eggs made to order. Highlights for us were the guava yogurt, fresh passion fruit, beet-cured smoked salmon, herbed goat cheese, omelets, and flan.
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From our dinners, highlights were the Ossobuco with Polenta and the molten chocolate cake at Pesce, duck tacos at Bahia, and the filet mignon with a variety of sauces and salts at Nemare.
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Four Seasons Costa Rica Beaches and Pools
Due to its location on the Peninsula Papagayo, the resort has two beaches: Playa Virador and Playa Blanca. Blanca Beach is where water sports such as kayaking and paddle boarding are offered.
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The resort also has three pools: the large Bahia main pool:
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The Blanca pool, which overlooks Blanca Beach:
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And finally the Serena Pool, tranquil and adults only, which is nearest to Virador Beach.
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There's also a hot tub with waterfalls near the Blanca Pool:
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Four Seasons Costa Rica Activities
We loved that there were a variety of complimentary activities on offer. On our day of arrival we did the Prieta hike, with a number of stairs leading down to Prieta Beach, followed by a climb up those stairs and a descent to Virador Beach at the resort. We even spotted a coatimundi, a racoon-like animal (see our video). Other activities we tried were the rum tasting, wine tasting, ceviche class, and smoothie making, all of which were fun and delicious.
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In terms of paid activities, our teen took a tennis clinic and also tried ziplining at the nearby Witch's Rock Canopy Tour.
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Four Seasons Preferred Partner Benefits and Current Offers
TravelSort Clients enjoy top priority when it comes to upgrades, ahead of AMEX FHR, Virtuoso, and bookings directly with the hotel, so be sure to reserve your stay with us. For stays from May 17-July 9, 2023, we're able to offer a guaranteed upgrade at time of booking: this offer must be booked with us by 5/31/23.
- Daily full breakfast for two people per bedroom, served in a hotel restaurant or through In-Room Dining
- Hotel/Resort Credit is based on room category booked:
• Guest Rooms: USD 100 credit per stay
• Suites and Specialty Suites: USD 200 credit per stay
• Private Retreats: USD 200 credit per bedroom per stay - Upgrade of one category, based on availability at time of check-in
There are also offers that combine with Preferred Partner benefits, such as a Stay Longer Fifth Night Free offer, as well as a 30% off a stay in a Private Residence for select dates.
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The Verdict
Four Seasons Costa Rica is an excellent choice for an active couple's or family vacation, including extended family or couples traveling together, thanks to the superb villa and private residence options. There's an activity (or relaxation) for everyone, whether golf, tennis, spa, ziplining, water sports, hiking, or birdwatching. We enjoyed the many complimentary resort activities, particularly wine tasting, the ceviche class, and smoothie making, as well as the buffet breakfast, tennis clinic, and dinner at Pesce.
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