Seven Full Days in Pura Vida Paradise
Most of our vacations [see: adventures] involve a lot of hustle. Two nights here, a quick day trip there, a full day day of travel lost just getting to and from… so for summer 2018 we decided to mix it up and try something completely different: One full week on our favorite beach in the world. Our destination? The all-inclusive Westin Playa Conchal in Guanacaste province, Costa Rica.
Now you might have heard stories about how we honeymooned in Costa Rica back in 2012 — visiting San Jose, the Arenal volcano, the Monteverde cloud forest, and ending up in the beautiful Playa Conchal (“shell beach” for you gringos)– so this was not our first Costa Rican rodeo. But we were destined to make it our most relaxing Costa Rican rodeo. One reason we chose this resort was the ease of transit- instead of spending a whole day traveling, we could leave Austin in the morning, arrive right around lunch time, and be beaching or pooling by the early afternoon. Two flights and one 45 minute airport transfer later, we unlocked that achievement.
I’ve now visited Costa Rica four times since I was a child, and each time we made time for a few days at the resort, so this trip included a healthy dose of nostalgia. I still get giddy every time just rolling up to the entrance, watching the monkeys, pozotes, and iguanas on the golf cart ride down to the villas, heaving the luggage into the room, and then immediately making tracks to the pool.
This pool was where we spent most of our days, lounging, reading, swimming, making our way to the swim-up bar, and avoiding splashy children. It is in close proximity to the beach and most of the resorts various restaurants which made it a prime location for tracking down iced coffee all day every day (all you have to do is ask!). Pro tips: 1) drop a towel down early on the way to the breakfast buffet to get the best seats and 2) bring your yeti- they’ll fill it at the bar!
If not at the pool, we were at the beach. One thing that we both really appreciate about Costa Rica is that there are no private beaches– everyone is entitled to go to any of the beautiful beaches they choose. Pura Vida! Now, Playa Conchal gets its name from the fact that the sand is actually crushed shells rather than the fine beach sand you are used to. This makes the water super clear and crisp in one of the most beautiful settings I’ve seen. It’s peaceful, therapeutic, and everything you would want in a beach! One day we even got up early for the sunrise and had the whole beach to ourselves!
Something else that we really appreciate about the Westin is the variety of activities that are available to guests. Ok, some of them are kind of cheesy (like water aerobics), but we did get to do some private beach yoga, we learned all about Costa Rican coffee in one of the onsite classes, and then also did a tequila tasting class! Other activities that we’ll get to next time: make- your-own-ceviche, salsa dancing, and bike tour around the grounds.
If you know us well, you know how much we LOVE food. Another reason for choosing the Westin is for their diversity of dining options (and the fact that it’s all included- even room service!). Over the course of our stay, we dined at la Mitra buffet, Caracola poolside restaurant, Spirula pizza bar (YUM), Bamboo Asian cuisine, Faisanela Italian bistro, La Sabana Brazilian Steakhouse, Manglar South American Cuisine, and Catalinas fine dining. All the food was fresh and delicious! At the top of the list for both of us was the food and wine at Catalinas!
It was a nice end to each day, getting dressed up to go out to dinner at one of the restaurants and then sometimes catching the evening show. One night they had an AWESOME Michael Jackson tribute show, and the next, a famous Latin American magician.
In addition to all the daily lounging and activities, we also got the opportunity to do a few special things including working out, getting massages at the spa, and taking an evening photo shoot on the beach. Here are some of those photos below!
With a healthy mix of activities and quiet time, we ended the trip all too soon but with the healthy satisfaction that we got everything we wanted out of our vacation. We’ll get back to the hustle when we pop over to Europe later in 2018 to go to Portugal!
-GP