Beach at Four Seasons Papagayo

This is one of the two beaches at the Four Seasons Resort at Papagayo. As I mentioned recently, the experience at the Four Seasons is different than public beaches in Costa Rica (although technically all beaches, including this one, in Costa Rica are public).

At the Four Seasons, the beach is two secluded coves. This one faces the ocean and a second one faces the Gulf of Papagayo. This beach provides privacy and Four Seasons service. This beach offers a chance for guests to enjoy the ocean in a scenic spot where they will enounter no one else but other guests of the Four Seasons and hotel staff. There will be no locals there. There are no street vendors, nor nearby shops or restaurants except for the hotel.

The Four Seasons beaches are protected from waves, which makes swimming easy, but they lack the surf of the beach in Tamarindo. In Tamarindo we have a long, broad beach, and my wife and I like to walk for miles along the beach. That is not possible at Papagayo.

I mentioned that all beaches in Costa Rica are public. I guess that means that if people came near the Four Seasons beach by boat they could swim ashore and lounge on the beach. There is no way to reach this beach by land except through the guard house that controls access to the entire Papagayo peninsula. Even after getting past that guard house, there is a drive of 7 km (more than 4 miles) along a private road, paved entirely with bricks, until one reaches the entrance to the hotel. Visitors are not allowed on the hotel grounds unless you have made a reservation 24 hours in advance. The hotel will then have a staff person meet the visitor and escort them on a little guided tour, after which it is time to leave.

After showing the beach at Tamarindo for comparison tomorrow, the following day I will show you one of the swimming pools at the Four Seasons.