The Perfect Costa Rican Getaway.

Earlier this month, we had the pleasure of visiting the beautiful country of Costa Rica for the first time and staying at JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort and Spa! It was a much needed getaway with our friends Sarah, of Sassy Red Lipstick, and Robbie Tripp. The whole trip was fantastic and the country is as beautiful as its people are welcoming.

The resort sits on it’s own private beach, and it’s absolutely breathtaking. The rooms have floor to ceiling windows with stunning views of the ocean and gardens, so you can fall asleep to the relaxing sounds of the ocean waves and eat breakfast on the balcony overlooking the beach. The sunsets are stunning, consistently lighting up the sky with pretty shades of pink and purple and orange. We made sure to watch it every night while sitting on the beach. There’s something so therapeutic about watching the sunset from the beach. It’s like recognizing the end of the day and appreciating all the beauty that day offered. 

JW Marriott Guanacaste is the perfect place for a honeymoon or a couple’s getaway. You don’t need to leave the resort, because all of your needs are taken care of. But if you want to get out and explore, the resort offers excursions with Swiss Travel Costa Rica and has Avis cars on the property, so you can rent a car and go off on your own.

We went with Swiss Travel Costa Rica to a sea turtle sanctuary and reserve and learned all about sea turtles and even watched some sea turtles lay eggs. It was such a beautiful natural experience to watch. And we learned so much about sea turtles and their journey through life. For example, for every 1000 eggs that are laid, only 1 turtle will make it to adulthood. And female turtles will swim all the way back to the same beach they born on in order to nest their eggs. They swim to shore, dig a hole, lay their eggs, cover it up, try to protect it from predators, and then swim back out to sea all by themselves. Basically, female sea turtles are the epitome of girl power. We love having these nature experiences when we travel, because you get to learn so much while watching it happen right in front of you. The world really is the best classroom. We also rented a car from Avis and drove into the Costa Rican jungle and saw white faced monkeys and the most incredible waterfall! If you go during the right season, you might even see toucans and sloths hanging in the trees. 

Costa Rica is full of adventure! Within a couple hours of the resort you can have all sorts of animal experiences, hike a volcano, discover waterfalls, zip line through the canopy of the rainforest, jump in hot springs, surf some of the best waves on the continent, and so much more. We are already planning our next trip back, so we can take advantage of everything Costa Rica has to offer.

We loved staying at JW Marriott Guanacaste, because it felt like the perfect balance of a relaxing getaway and an exciting cultural adventure. The pool at the resort is absolutely incredible. It’s laid out so that everyone is in on their own little space, so you don’t feel like it ever gets too crowded and you have your own space to both lay and play. The pool also has a beautiful infinity edge that overlooks the ocean, and the entire area is surrounded by beautiful palm trees. There are hot tubs to relax in as well. Basically, it’s picture perfect and the exact space you need for some real R&R. 

When we go to a resort, one of the most important things to us is the poolside service, because that’s where we like to spend most of our time relaxing. Nothing is better than being able to order a strawberry mango smoothie and a side of fries without having to take your feet out of the pool. And if you can’t tell from all the coconuts in our pictures, we loved the variety of fun and tropical drinks they offered. The JW Marriott Guanacaste did not disappoint with their excellent poolside service and incredible Azul pool bar. 

There are five different restaurants on property, and they are all honestly AMAZING. The Azul Grill is the beach front and pool service restaurant. Tamarine offers delicious Asian fusion cuisine. Sabanero is a genuine Guanacastecan Steakhouse where the chefs cook the steak in a traditional Costa Rican manner. And Nau Lounge & Bar serves sushi and drinks. So whether you want sushi, steak, or chips and guac, JW Marriott Guanacaste has a restaurant that will take care of all your cravings. We left every meal feeling stuffed, which is exactly how you should feel on vacation in my opinion. We would begin each of our days with a big breakfast at the main restaurant or room service on our balcony, snack on pool food and drinks during the day, and end with a beautiful sit down dinner. Well, we actually would end the day with some gelato from the resort’s very own shop. Everything was so delicious we couldn’t stop eating. Clearly, haha. 

One of the things I loved most about the resort was that in the evenings, local artisans come by and set up shop in the resort’s courtyard. I love when hotels can help support the local artists and community, and I really appreciated being able to walk around, see, and shop from all the different styles and works of art created in Costa Rica. 

Be sure to get a massage and spend a day relaxing at the spa, because not only do you deserve it, but their massages are so relaxing and the entire spa area is the perfect space to truly feel at peace and rejuvenate. After our massages we were able to stay relaxed by spending some extra time in the steam rooms and dip pools in the spa. The spa is ranked as one of the Top 5 Spas in Latin America, so we’re not the only ones who think it’s 100% worth it. 

We absolutely loved staying at JW Marriott Guanacaste and getting to experience Costa Rica’s pura vida lifestyle. It was the perfect couple’s getaway and definitely a place we hope to go back to again in the near future. Whether you’re looking for a couple’s getaway, family vacation, Honeymoon destination, or solo relaxation and adventure trip, JW Marriott Guanacaste is the perfect place to stay! 

Also, if you’re planning a trip to Costa Rica soon, be sure to book a special deal with our booking code: PURAVIDA! With this special deal, you’ll receive:

• Automatic Room/Suite upgrade to next accommodations tier, based on availability

• Complimentary arrival amenity

• 10% discount on a JW Marriott Guanacaste Spa massage

• 10% discount at Tamarine Restaurant (valid for 1 dinner only)

• Complimentary Valet Parking

• Complimentary Wifi

It doesn’t matter how you book your stay, but once you’ve received confirmation, be sure to send an email to sjojwreservations@r-hr.com and mention PURAVIDA and the special offers will be applied. There are no time constraints or dates that you have to book by in order to use this deal, so it doesn’t matter when you go, but when you do decide to visit Costa Rica, be sure to use the booking code: PURAVIDA. 

You definitely won’t regret staying at JW Marriott Guanacaste and embracing Costa Rica’s pura vida lifestyle. 

Thank you to all the people of Costa Rica for treating us with so much kindness and JW Marriott Guanacaste for hosting our stay! 

Watch the video from our trip here! 

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