The Holiday Escape That's Worth It
While everyone's fighting for the same overpriced villa in St. Barts or booking Turks & Caicos because it's what everyone does (even when high season means sharing paradise with half of Manhattan), there's a corner of Costa Rica that delivers what those places promised before they became so predictable.
The Nicoya Peninsula isn't trying to impress anyone. No private jets lined up on tiny runways, no restaurants that cost more than your mortgage payment. Just consistent 80-degree weather, world-class surf breaks that work for first-timers and pros alike, and that rare thing in luxury travel: authenticity that doesn't feel manufactured for tourists.
Here's what nobody tells you about this part of Costa Rica—the luxury isn't in the thread count or the champagne selection. It's in waking up to howler monkeys instead of hedge fund managers discussing market volatility. It's in couples finally having conversations that aren't about schedules while kids build sandcastles without asking for screen time every five minutes. It's morning yoga followed by afternoon massages that actually feel restorative instead of obligatory. It's in realizing you haven't checked your phone in hours because there's something worth paying attention to right in front of you.
The Peninsula has been quietly attracting people who understand the difference between expensive and exceptional. Artists, writers, tech entrepreneurs who cash out and never look back. Families who want their kids to understand that luxury isn't always about stuff. They're not here for scene-making—they're here because this place delivers what overpriced Caribbean islands can't: perspective.
Full disclosure: Nosara is one of my favorite places on earth for its perfect barefoot luxury. I'll be there myself this holiday season, probably trying to improve my embarrassingly basic surf skills between spa treatments. Because that's the thing about this place—it somehow makes wellness feel indulgent and indulgence feel healthy.
The reality check: This isn't white-glove service and champagne on arrival. It's something better—genuine hospitality from people who chose to be here, incredible food that doesn't need a celebrity chef's name attached, and the kind of natural beauty that reminds you why you started traveling in the first place.
Where to stay:
Hotel Nantipa understands that luxury doesn't need to announce itself. Clean lines, natural materials, and that beachfront location that makes you forget why you ever thought St. Barts was worth the hassle. The kind of place where everything works perfectly without making a production of it.
Sendero Nosara gets the balance right. Sophisticated without trying too hard, with those infinity pools that actually enhance the view instead of competing with it. The kind of place where breakfast comes with fresh fruit you've never heard of and nobody minds if you show up to dinner in the same thing you wore to the beach.
Casa Chameleon delivers drama in the best way. Perched on a cliff with views that make you understand why people move here and never leave. Adult-only, sophisticated, and refreshingly free of families debating dinner plans.
Silvestre Nosara takes a different approach—think boutique hotel meets art installation. Each suite feels like staying in a friend's impeccably designed treehouse. Perfect if you appreciate good design but don't need every surface to scream "luxury resort."