12-05-2025
This Buzzy New Resort on Costa Rica's Penisula Papagayo Is Both Intimate and Epic
Most clifftop resorts lead with their view. But at Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve perched above the Pacific on Costa Rica's Peninsula Papagayo, it's the artwork that first draws your eye. After passing a towering ceiba tree and stepping into La Casona, the resort's living room, I find myself lingering in front of Letters and Numbers, a geometric abstract by Costa Rican artist Federico Herrero. It's the last thing I expected to see in a secluded corner of Guanacaste—especially considering it once hung in the Guggenheim in New York. Here at Nekajui, home to more than 550 works by predominantly Central American artists, surprise-and-delight moments are a curated affair.
The art may nail the first impression, but the sweeping views seal the deal. Step past the 200-year-old hacienda doors of the entrance casita, and Pochote Bay unfurls like an oil painting—Witch's Rock surf break in the distance, the wild fringes of the Guanacaste Conservation Area, even Nicaragua on a clear day.
Photo: Rafael Luhrs
Nekajui, which means 'lush garden' in the Indigenous Chorotega language, debuted in February 2025 as the first Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Central America. The 1,400-acre Peninsula Papagayo has been a haven for luxury travelers ever since the Four Seasons opened more than two decades ago, followed by the arrival of Andaz. Completing the trio, Nekajui weaves Costa Rica's most beloved elements into an intimate five-star escape.
