Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Opens: Hilton Honors Resort I Can't Wait To Visit!

Just another reason to hold on to the Aspire (as if we needed more reasons). Good news indeed!

The rates shown are for the low season. If you look at March 2026 the rates are 3+K or well over a million points per night. The hotel looks nice but not 3K per night nice…..wonder also about restaurant prices as one will likely be tied to them

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These rates shown are for rainy season. The remainder of the year shows pricing that is alarmingly high. $4k per night in April. Cost prohibitive.

Just stayed five minutes from there in an AirBNB. The grounds approaching the resort looked lovely. It was very unfortunate that construction blocked a road leading down that hill to a fantastic little beach nearby. The nearest town is Playa del Coco, filled with great little restaurants and bars. Lots of expats there, and plenty to do nearby. It’s hard to fathom paying several hundred $$ per night in taxes and fees alone, when the same amount gets you very nice accommodations in town. But, to each his own. I suppose if you want pampering, Waldorf will deliver. They’d better, for what they’re charging.

I would not stay here because I like going to the beach. This province of Costa Rica (Guanacaste), is well known for frequent crocodile attacks, as well as occasional shark attacks and deadly snake bites. While crocodile attacks are most common in rivers, they also sometimes take place on the beaches and even in the surf zone. If you like the tropical scenery there are much better places to go for that (Hawaii, French Polynesia, Fiji, Mauritius, Seychelles, etc.), while if you like the best beaches then the eastern Caribbean, Greece, or the Maldives is the best option. Costa Rica's luxury hotels are overpriced in general given the safety risk in my opinion. The best way to see Costa Rica is to go on a carefully selected guided tour. Save the hotel points for luxury hotels in better spots.

This touches on a broader point that should be made. Resorts (as well as environmentalists) all around the world have a systematic incentive to downplay safety risks from wildlife because they are largely uncontrollable and demand will be reduced if guests have full information. Resorts in Thailand and the Philippines, for example, are notorious for underreporting and warning potential guests about the prevalence of deadly box jellies (which are especially common in the central parts of the Gulf of Thailand like Koh Samui, as well as in Luzon, Cebu, and Palawan in the Philippines). Many tourists are unaware that there are crocodiles on the lagoon side of the resorts in Cancun (as well as in nearly all of the western Caribbean and central America). The stingray tour operators in the Caribbean systematically downplay the risk of stingray attacks (which happen quite often on the tours). In addition to price and brand I encourage always checking the wildlife risk of any resort you consider visiting.

As someone who lived in Guanacaste for a few years I’d just like to add that this does feel a little like an overreaction compared to my lived experience there. By far the biggest problem you’re going to encounter is Costa Rican service levels. When looking at buying a house my mind was out at rest about crocodiles. I was simply told security cooked and ate the late one that tried to get into the complex. Pura Vida. Several years in Costa Rica and some truly disturbing (as well as awe-inspiring) experiences with animals and I’m happy to report we are all alive and well.

There was the giant 18 foot snake outside our house, the dead three legged horse eaten over the course of a week, the inside of a howler monkeys torso and the time we got held at gun point by a drug gang after accidentally trespassing but that’s all part of the fun!

Ben - please review this. I cannot for a second fathom the service level to price ratio being remotely worth it. The whole area is for the mega wealthy (starter residences were $6mn when there whereas a 2 bed apartment in Tamarindo at the time could be had for 150k)… but it’s still Costa Rica. If you could do Global Airlines trip transiting eventually over to LIR and a stay here you’d make a decade long reader very happy!

It is not an overreaction. Two tourists were attacked in a single week last year. The crocodile population has increased rapidly over the last few years. Most tourists will not encounter a crocodile, but if you do it may be your last encounter. If you go to the CrocAttack website, which has a database on reported crocodilian attacks around the world you will notice an attack cluster in Guanacaste. Guanacaste has the highest density of crocodiles in all of Costa Rica. Some of these attacks have happened within mere miles of this new hotel. Keep in mind that this data is not even comprehensive, as attacks are chronically underreported (especially prior to the 2010s).

The situation has gotten so severe that the Costa Rican government is now even considering allowing hunting of crocodiles because they have started to lose their fear of humans and are becoming more aggressive. The national government's wildlife coordinator has specifically complained that tourism companies and cities in Costa Rica have been removing crocodile warning signs because of fears about a loss of tourism if they publicize the true risk.

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