Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique evaluate

Costa Rica’s Peninsula Papagayo has acquired appreciable consideration lately because of luxurious resort choices that embody the 4 Seasons Resort Peninsula Papagayo, the Andaz Peninsula Papagayo Resort and, as of February, Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve.

However lower than an hour’s drive round Culebra Bay, there is a new resort within the area able to vie for luxurious vacationers’ consideration. And the most effective half? You need to use Hilton Honors factors to e book it.

Perched atop a 300-foot cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique — featured on TPG’s checklist of the most enjoyable resort openings of 2025 — brings the model’s signature class to Costa Rica’s lush Guanacaste area.

This is a glance contained in the resort.

Associated: The most effective all-inclusive resorts in Costa Rica for seaside visits or mountain climbing journeys

First impressions

Pulling as much as the Waldorf Astoria, there are spectacular views all over the place you flip. However the most effective one is the panorama that greets company as they ascend the steps to the resort foyer. A contemporary house with wooden paneling and floor-to-ceiling home windows provides strategy to an expansive, ocean-facing terrace that unmistakably indicators trip.

My husband and I have been greeted with chilly towels and peppermint lemonade, which I delivered to the terrace to admire the gorgeous surroundings. My 7-month-old daughter, in the meantime, acquired a stuffed sloth named Petronila, who was such a success that she joined us all over the place we went all through the journey.

The rooms

The Waldorf Astoria boasts 148 visitor rooms and 40 suites, with upward of 20 room sorts to select from. Rooms are tastefully embellished in serene, impartial tones, permitting the ocean views to take middle stage. Pure supplies akin to rattan, wooden and stone seamlessly join the indoor and outside areas.

I stayed in an ocean-facing one-bedroom king suite with a plunge pool, which supplied ample house, each indoor and outside, to unfold out. In the principle space, an expansive desk was a perfect spot for having fun with the in-room eating menu, and my newly cellular daughter used the plush lounge space for crawling apply.

Within the second room, a king-size mattress confronted floor-to-ceiling home windows and linked to a spa-like lavatory with a double vainness, a rainfall bathe and a separate water closet. The bed room additionally featured one other seating space, a desk and chair, and a station for complimentary espresso, tea and water.

The wraparound outside house supplied a number of locations to loosen up, from a plunge pool to an outsized chaise lounge to an outside bathtub. From our balcony, we had placing views every morning of the solar rising over the ocean and the resort’s cascading, multilevel swimming pools.

Eating at Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique

An emphasis on native, high-quality elements shines via throughout the property’s many eating ideas. Fish is bought from native fishermen, and wagyu cattle from a close-by farm are hand-selected by the resort’s chef. The eye to element does not cease there: Each dish is flavored with salt domestically produced within the historical custom of the Indigenous Chorotega folks.

Tico Tica
This relaxed but refined restaurant is open all through the day however actually involves life at dinnertime, with a wide-ranging menu that spans pasta to seafood. My favourite dish was the humita ($18), a candy corn potage with melted cheese and smoked pepper sauce.

La Finca
The resort’s signature restaurant blends fashionable and conventional cuisines for an upscale eating expertise. I beloved the roasted artichoke with manchego and inexperienced plantain ($29) and the Rincon de la Vieja cocktail ($22), named for the close by volcano.

Peacock Alley
This signature bar seems in every Waldorf Astoria worldwide. Each small plate we tried right here was scrumptious, however the showstopper was the Chorotega cocktail ($20) comprised of rum, corn liquor, espresso, vanilla and chocolate truffle.

Vida
Vida’s menu of pizzas, salads and sandwiches is finest loved from a pool chair overlooking the ocean. Do not skip the guacamole with inexperienced mango and cashews ($17).

Buena Nota Cafe
This cafe is a superb morning choice if you do not need a full breakfast. It serves specialty espresso and house-made pastries, together with pink guava rolls ($13) and golden mango eclairs ($14).

Copo y Cono
Seize a house-made ice cream, milkshake or paleta at this tiny store simply steps from the pool. I loved a cup of the Pura Vida chocolate topped with recent mango ($9).

The Terrace
With the most effective sundown views on the property, The Terrace is simply the place to seize a cocktail or glass of Champagne earlier than dinner.

In-room eating
Room service is obtainable 24/7, which got here in useful earlier than our early-morning flight dwelling. We prescheduled breakfast burritos with beans, rice and plantains ($18) to reach in to-go bins so we might take them to the airport.

Facilities and repair

• Service: Workers members on the resort have been among the nicest and warmest I’ve ever encountered, and so they went above and past to make sure we had every thing we wanted. For instance, they even helped us procure child system from a neighborhood retailer after we unexpectedly ran low.
• Private concierge: All company obtain a workers contact whom they’ll message via WhatsApp to e book actions, prepare transportation, make reservations and extra.
• Actions: The Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique has an action-packed actions calendar, with complimentary choices starting from yoga to snorkeling to seaside video games.
• Pets: Pets of as much as 75 kilos are welcome on the property for a $250 nonrefundable charge.
• Swimming pools: The resort is a pool lover’s dream, with eight ocean-facing swimming pools to select from and one other extra secluded choice by the spa.
• Seaside: Loungers and daybeds abound on the resort’s lovely strip of seaside, which can also be used for video games and actions.
• Health middle: The ability is properly geared up with free weights and Technogym machines.
• Spa: The Waldorf Astoria Spa integrates elements and strategies utilized by the Chorotega folks into its massages, rituals and different remedies.
• Children and teenagers golf equipment: These no-fee golf equipment supply actions like seaside walks, bowling and treasure hunts for guests ages 4 to 12 and desk tennis tournaments, film nights and video video games for these ages 13 to 17.

Actions

There’s a lot to see within the Guanacaste area, particularly for nature lovers. Among the many highlights of our time in Costa Rica was a ship journey via the wetlands of the Tempisque River, organized by the resort. We noticed monkeys, crocodiles, quite a few chicken species and bats in abundance.

However there are additionally a number of methods to attach with nature and native tradition with out venturing removed from the resort. A barista class guided by the resort workers gave us an enchanting introduction to numerous roasting and brewing strategies and the function espresso performs in each day life, and a morning guided kayak journey to a close-by seaside was an effective way to discover the bay and its marine life.

Location and logistics

The Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica sits about 18 miles west of Daniel Oduber Quirós Worldwide Airport (LIR) in Liberia, Costa Rica, which you’ll simply attain from U.S. cities together with Los Angeles, Charlotte, Atlanta, New York and Houston.

The drive from the airport takes about 40 minutes, however do not rely on ride-hailing apps. Whereas Uber is current within the area, there aren’t many drivers. As a substitute, you possibly can take a taxi (fares can fluctuate, however often fall between $60 and $100) or lease a automotive, as parking on the resort is free. The resort additionally works with a luxurious automotive firm to supply upscale non-public airport transfers, with an SUV journey costing $195 every manner.

What it prices to remain on the Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica and e book

The Waldorf Astoria model falls beneath the Hilton umbrella, that means you possibly can earn and redeem Hilton Honors factors for a keep. Customary room rewards at the moment begin at 120,000 factors per evening and are available between now and late December, when costs leap for the vacations. Money costs between at times vary from $1,053 to $1,630 per evening.

When reserving the Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica, you may need to use one of many bank cards that earn essentially the most factors for Hilton stays, or one that provides computerized Hilton Honors elite standing for value-added advantages. These embody:

• Hilton Honors American Specific Surpass® Card: Earn 12 factors per greenback spent on eligible purchases at Hilton resorts, computerized Gold elite standing and the power to improve to Diamond standing via the top of the following calendar yr by spending $40,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar yr.
• Hilton Honors American Specific Enterprise Card: Earn 12 factors per greenback spent on eligible purchases at Hilton resorts, computerized Gold elite standing and the power to improve to Diamond standing via the top of the following calendar yr by spending $40,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar yr.
• Hilton Honors American Specific Card: Earn 7 factors per greenback spent on eligible purchases at Hilton resorts and computerized Silver elite standing (with an improve to Gold via the top of the following calendar yr while you spend $20,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar yr).
• Hilton Honors American Specific Aspire Card: Earn 14 factors per greenback spent on eligible purchases at Hilton resorts and computerized Diamond elite standing.

The knowledge for the Hilton Aspire Card has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or supplied by the cardboard issuer.

The resort additionally participates in American Specific Effective Inns + Resorts. Those that have an eligible card, akin to The Platinum Card® from American Specific or The Enterprise Platinum Card® from American Specific, and e book via the FHR portal will internet perks like availability-based upgrades, each day breakfast for 2 and an on-property credit score of as much as $100 to make use of through the keep.

Accessibility

The Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica has two room sorts with mobility and listening to entry — one with a king mattress, and one with two queens. Each are geared up with roll-in showers and visible alarms and notification gadgets.

The property additionally options a number of different accessible facilities, together with an accessible pool, train facility and assembly rooms. Service animals are welcome on the resort.

Backside line

The Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica’s integration of native supplies, elements, customs and tradition grounds the resort within the Guanacaste area — and on the identical time, because of robust throughlines to the worldwide model, Waldorf Astoria followers will really feel at dwelling right here whether or not or not they’ve visited Costa Rica earlier than.

With comfy lodging, nice meals, pleasant service and plentiful award availability, the resort presents a improbable new choice for Hilton loyalists seeking to redeem their factors or free evening certificates for a high-value tropical getaway.

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