Villa Caletas

These days the brief on Costa Rica generally involves a bit of adventure tourism, culminating in a zipline, perhaps, flying through the rainforest canopy. Not unappealing, if that’s the sort of thing that appeals to you. But it’s to a more elegant vision of Costa Rica that the French-inflected Villa Caletas belongs, tucked away as it is on a clifftop a thousand feet above the Pacific coast.

Here, with a French interior designer as an owner, Villa Caletas bypasses the whole thatched-roof idiom in favor of something more contemporary, though seasoned with some colonial-style antiques. The most basic rooms are comfortable, well short of palatial, but the villas and suites very quickly begin to spread out into genuine luxury-hotel territory, some of them adding plunge pools, others with spectacular views from their bathroom jacuzzis. Just be sure and bring your walking shoes — there’s no elevator, and the hillside layout means you’re in for quite a bit of stair climbing.

The thousand-foot trip to the beach, however, is made by car, which means Villa Caletas isn’t quite a beach hotel — though it’s worth the trip, thanks not only to the Pacific but to the El Pelicano beach bar and restaurant as well. Given the property’s secluded nature, the dinner audience is a captive one; the other restaurant, El Mirador, is much more than adequate. Don’t miss the Greek-style amphitheatre, complete with columns, the venue for many an evening’s entertainment.


How to get there:
Villa Caletas is located 90km (1h30 drive) from the Juan Santamaría International Airport. Transfers can be arranged for $100 per way for up to 5 guests.