Hot Spot in Costa Rica

Posted by Kevin Brass in General, News, Eye Candy, Next Life, Lots Of Zeros

Guanacaste, the jungle-covered coastline of northwest Costa Rica, is attracting some heavy hitters. AOL founder Steve Case is developing a resort in the province, and there are projects in the works anchored by Ritz Carlton and JW Marriott hotels.

Last year Mel Gibson reportedly paid $25.8 million (€17.6 million) for a 163-hectare (402 acre) ranch on the coast, adding a little extra celebrity luster.

The latest residential project to come online in Guanacaste is the Hyatt Regency Azulera Resort & Spa, an eco-resort with Michael Graves-designed condo units and a Greg Norman golf course. The first phase of 64 units went on sale last month, priced between $780,000 and $3.9 million (€537,400 to €2.7 million).

Another 800 to 1000 residential units are planned for the property, according to Anil Kothari, founder of Global Financial Group, the New Jersey-based developer. Condos ranging from 960- to 5,000-square-feet (89 to 465 square meters), will include private terraces with plunge pools and ocean views.

Overlooking Brasilito Bay on the Pacific Coast, the $300 million project will eventually cover 557 acres (225 hectares), including a spa and retail space, in addition to the golf course.

About the Authors

Kevin Brass
Kevin Brass travels the world reporting on tempting locations, unusual homes and hot markets. His home-buying experience began in Southern California, where he managed to completely miss the real estate boom. He now lives with his wife, Lietza, in an oddly Tudor-style two-story house with canyon views in the suburbs of Austin, Texas. The key selling point was a screened porch, a special treat for their two cats. Unfortunately, only one has figured out the mechanics of the kitty door. He is a longtime contributor to the Properties section of the International Herald Tribune, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, People, NWA World Traveler and a wide variety of other publications.

M.J. Smith
M.J. Smith has edited the IHT's Properties sections since the residential pages debuted in September 2004 and the commercial pages in March 2006.
Over the years she has lived in a wide variety of properties herself: an apartment in a renovated drop-iron forge in Hartford, Connecticut; a house in the mountains above Honolulu with views from Diamond Head to Pearl Harbor; an oceanfront house on Oahu's Leeward side that was the closest she ever expects to get to an Architectural Digest feature.

In Santa Monica, California, the two-bedroom apartment paled in comparison to the balcony; in Hong Kong, there was just one bedroom and no balcony. And now she lives in the Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine.