Want to take advantage of Hilton for Luxury benefits at no extra cost (when paying for your stay with cash), including a room upgrade, free breakfast, a hotel credit, and more? Contact Ford ([email protected]) for more details. He doesn’t charge booking fees, and may even be able to help if you already have a stay booked.
There’s an exciting new Waldorf Astoria slated to open in 2025, which will no doubt prove to be a popular getaway for Hilton Honors members from the United States.
I first wrote about this property earlier in the year, but wanted to take another look at it. That’s because the hotel has had an opening delay, and we also now have more of a sense of what to expect from the resort.
In this post:
Basics of the Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Cacique
The Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Cacique is accepting reservations for stays as of May 1, 2025. The property will feature 190 accommodations plus 41 residences. It will be located in Guanacaste, on a peninsula with unobstructed ocean views, just a short drive from Liberia International Airport (LIR).
The resort will have all the amenities you’d expect, from a large, multi-level pool, to a spa and gym, to a variety of dining outlets. Dining outlets include La Finca (a signature restaurant serving local cuisine), Peacock Alley (the signature Waldorf Astoria bar), Tico Toca (the all-day international dining restaurant), Vida (the pool bar and restaurant), Buena Note Cafe (a cafe with grab & go options), and more.
Below you can find some (low quality) renderings of the new Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica.
I’m excited about the Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica. Costa Rica is gorgeous, and this part of the country has beautiful nature, and lots to do if you’re looking for an active vacation.
This is in the same general area as the Peninsula Papagayo development, where you’ll find the Andaz and Four Seasons. It’s nice to see plans for the Waldorf Astoria, as this should be the most luxurious points property in the region.
This is one of several new exciting Waldorf Astoria openings planned for 2025, with others including the Waldorf Astoria London and Waldorf Astoria New York.
Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica rates & points requirements
What are rates at the Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica like? If paying cash, rates vary seasonally, and seem to start around $1,500 per night, before taxes and fees (taxes and service charges total 25%). Rates only go up from there, and in peak season, you’ll pay well over $2,000 per night, before taxes and fees. I’m curious if the property can sustain these kinds of rates — after all, we’re not talking about a luxury safari lodge here with a handful of rooms, but rather a 190-room luxury factory (nice as it might be).
If you’re booking a cash rate here, I’d recommend doing so through the Hilton for Luxury program, so you can take advantage of extra perks through select travel advisors. Ford and his team are happy to help with that, and can be reached at [email protected].
The good news is that you’re able to redeem Hilton Honors points at the Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica. Rates start at 120,000 Hilton Honors points per night, and elite members get a fifth night free, lowering the average cost to 96,000 points per night. It goes without saying that redeeming points is a phenomenal value.
The “no blackout dates” policy on hotel redemptions used to mean something back in the day, when all standard rooms were actually made available for award redemptions. However, with hotels increasingly creating new sub-categories of standard rooms for the purposes of gaming redemptions, that greatly limits the usefulness (and this is something Hilton Honors is especially guilty of).
Now, I do think it’s important to call out the hotel for its delayed opening. Earlier this year, the hotel accepted reservations for stays as of February 2025. Based on what I’ve heard, the hotel has done a lousy job not only informing guests of that delay, but also hasn’t offered any sort of alternatives. Many report just receiving an email stating their reservation was canceled, without the option to even rebook for a later date at no cost. While hotel opening delays are common, the treatment here seems to be quite bad.
Bottom line
The Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica is expected to open in May 2025, and will be a great new option for those looking for an easy luxury getaway from the United States. The resort looks gorgeous, and will probably be significantly nicer than the Andaz.
If you’re looking to redeem Hilton Honors points for a great getaway, award availability is actually quite decent, so this is a good time to lock something in.
What do you make of the new Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica?
I still have 3x nights reserved in March, no cancelation. Is there any way to proactively reach out to Hilton and make a claim to get more points back than what I used to book for the trouble?
Its funny how these big spenders have money to build big hotels, under big hotel brands and yet they are so unprofessional.
Isn't that the idea of having the Hilton brand (in this case or other) to help supervise, offer expertise.
Do they forget that we are their paying customers. Or has our class and respect just gone down the toilet.
I was opening things in China in the 1980's. Our outside expertise helped them...
Its funny how these big spenders have money to build big hotels, under big hotel brands and yet they are so unprofessional.
Isn't that the idea of having the Hilton brand (in this case or other) to help supervise, offer expertise.
Do they forget that we are their paying customers. Or has our class and respect just gone down the toilet.
I was opening things in China in the 1980's. Our outside expertise helped them become so successful. They made many mistakes, we caught alot of them.
What are these hotel guys thinking (Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott), that we customers are just nothing at all?
Sorry about the double reply comment Ben!!
Papagayo and Guanacaste in general has incredible biodiversity, but I disagree that it's a great spot to go if you're looking for a typical "active" Costa Rican vacation. These resorts are great for a beach vacation and getting some sense of a jungle and ocean experience, but genuine hiking, zip lines, etc. (i.e. the typical activities) are quite far away. I love this area, but for someone who is really looking to explore Costa Rica,...
Papagayo and Guanacaste in general has incredible biodiversity, but I disagree that it's a great spot to go if you're looking for a typical "active" Costa Rican vacation. These resorts are great for a beach vacation and getting some sense of a jungle and ocean experience, but genuine hiking, zip lines, etc. (i.e. the typical activities) are quite far away. I love this area, but for someone who is really looking to explore Costa Rica, I'd recommend ending here to relax for a few days (especially given the proximity to Liberia).
Totally Agree!!!!
The Guanacaste are is a more commercial big resort are of CR and NOT the real Cista Rica!!
Further south past Jaco and Dominical are the cities of Uvita and Ojochal not far from the biggest biodiversity National Park called Cocovado!!
Regarding a "Real Costa Rica" experience you should look at Hotel Threesixty, who is part of the SLH Group and redeemable with Hilton points!! They are an adults only...
Totally Agree!!!!
The Guanacaste are is a more commercial big resort are of CR and NOT the real Cista Rica!!
Further south past Jaco and Dominical are the cities of Uvita and Ojochal not far from the biggest biodiversity National Park called Cocovado!!
Regarding a "Real Costa Rica" experience you should look at Hotel Threesixty, who is part of the SLH Group and redeemable with Hilton points!! They are an adults only property with 12 private luxury villas set in 40 acres of pristine jungle 900' above the Pacific Ocean with views and sunsets unmatched anywhere..... Check it out, you won't be disappointed!!
www.hotelthreesixty.com
Totally Agree!!!!
The Guanacaste are is a more commercial big resort are of CR and NOT the real Cista Rica!!
Further south past Jaco and Dominical are the cities of Uvita and Ojochal not far from the biggest biodiversity National Park called Cocovado!!
Regarding a "Real Costa Rica" experience you should look at Hotel Threesixty, who is part of the SLH Group and redeemable with Hilton points!! They
Ben what do you think is nicer? This or the new ritz reserve.
It's time to fully expose and then put an end to yet another total fabrication of self-anointed "travel gurus"...
@Ben, please stop making up stuff. There...
It's time to fully expose and then put an end to yet another total fabrication of self-anointed "travel gurus"...
@Ben, please stop making up stuff. There was never a time when "no blackout dates" meant all standard rooms were available for redemptions.
Here's the hard cold reality. Standard award inventories in every hotel loyalty program have always been under capacity controls, meaning that hotels set aside only a small subset of standard rooms for redeeming with points. The size of that subset of standard rooms is determined based on statistical models that guess how many rooms a hotel is likely to sell for cash at various times, and anything above that number is released for award redemptions. It is how things have always been from the very beginning because it is a concept that is baked into the very idea loyalty.
Then, circa 2006, Gary Leff came up with some cockammamie concept he called "True Redemption", supposedly pioneered by SPG, whereby every standard room in any Starwood hotel at any given time was available for booking with points, if it could be booked with cash. After SPG, predictably, went belly-up, the concept was simply transferred to the standard awards of their new darling, World of Hyatt.
Of course, because the whole "True Redemption" thing was just a shameless fabrication, it's never worked as advertised, so, to save face, they invented the canard that the only reason all standard rooms are not available for redeeming with points is that properties "play games" with inventories, i.e., the same bogus reason given in this post.
What's more, Ben, you have always thought that "no blackout dates" and "no capacity controls" are equivalent. Well, they are not.
...
No, Ben, because just the other day you assured us of precisely the opposite, which was that Hilton's "no blackout dates" policy is as good as they come because it means that the program makes all standard rooms available for redemptions. I can provide the link if you forgot. So, which is it? In fact, this is the first time I believe I've seen the charge of "playing games" with inventory leveled against Hilton. It's always been against Hyatt hotels like Andaz Maui, rings and bell?
Genug ist genug, my friend. Time to sing a tune you can actually carry. You are increasingly singing this one out of tune.
Greetings from aboard SQ23, JFK-SIN, on the way to the 2024 edition of my 4-week Year-end Asian Escapde (tm), which starts with a bang! ;-)
It's funny how personally you're taking this, Tim DCS.
Personal? Only as personal as the search for truth can be.
On the other hand, with "Tim DCS", you have left little doubt about how much gray matter you have between those oversized ears. In fact, it is amazing that there is apparently enough it to allow you to use a digital device...
@DCS take a look at WA Cabo - categorically playing games with inventory.
I do not need to. The HH T&C state that each property has sole discretion to categorize their rooms, so it is ludicrous to keep pushing the meme that properties "play games" with inventory when they are allowed to do that, in every single hotel program. The one exception that gets around it all is Accor ALL where cash and points are equivalent and interchangeable, so that every room in a property can be booked with either.
What is meant by SPG went "belly up"?
If one must spell it out then we'll do it: "went belly up" means, obviously, that SPG is no more, and the reason is that it was a lousy program that did squat for the chain that set it up.
Ok. So you don't know what "belly up" means - the term refers to a company that goes bankrupt. Marriott acquired Starwood for $13bn - Starwood was publicly traded (and not in bankruptcy nor in distress at the time)
Have it your way -- In my thinking, a company that is doing just fine does not go on the auction block, which is was Starwood did. The fact that Marriott bailed it out (could've been the Chinese) changes nothing, SPG is no more. End of story.
We're done here.
Um, sure. But your "way" simply doesn't make sense. Non-distressed companies sell all the time. Saying Starwood is no more (since were acquired) doesn't mean they were "bailed out" nor went "belly up." It's ok not to have an understanding of finance/m&a, but maybe best to refrain from arguing/justifying comments which are inaccurate.
I'm still holding on to the Spring break reservations for two nights. Surprised I have not received the cancellation notice yet. Kind of bummed that I originally planned the Costa Rica trip based on this reservation. Oh well, after hearing the cancellations for the February dates, I have booked other hotels (including Andaz) as a backup.
I have April 23-28 and was not cancelled in the Feb/March cancellation wave a few weeks back
I had this booked for March 2025 when it was supposed to open in February 2025. Just received my booking cancellation a few weeks ago. Was excited to check this place out.