Aerie
Nestled into a steep down slope, Aerie’s main floor ramps down from entry to living room to kitchen and dining area ending high above the lush jungle. An elegant glass stairway from the main level leads downward to luxurious guest rooms softly echoing the tranquility outside. Two levels up, perched high in the tree canopy, the master quarter consists of a spacious sleeping area with infinite views, a massive bath, floating gardens and a roof deck that’s on top of the world. Vast Pacific and jungle vistas, inviting gathering spaces inside and out and incredibly comfortable private accommodations – Aerie is a state of the art tree house situated in the beautiful Costa Rican jungle.

Model Home Construction
Below are recent photos taken of the construction progress on the first Breeze, Mist, Lush, Luna, Tierra and Mariposa homes in our eco-villages.

We are nearing completion with the Breeze, Mist and Lush model homes. Below are some photos showing recent progress with anticipated completion of these first three at the end of the second quarter of this year. We are also in construction on three additional model homes; the Luna, Tierra and Mariposa which are also shown below.

Breeze

 

Mist

Lush

Luna

Tierra

Mariposa

Barceló Will Manage Two 5-Star Hotels in Costa Rica
Source: www.coztarica.com
Wednesday, April 15 2009

The Spanish firm Barceló Hotels & Resorts announced that it will manage two five star hotels, the construction is underway in Garabito de Puntarenas and Santa Cruz de Guanacaste.

ICT boost local tourism and decides how to revive the industry.

The first opening is planned for late 2010 in Jacó, Garabito. The second building will be opened in late 2011 and is located in Playa Azul, Santa Cruz de Guanacaste, as announced the signing on its website.

The group, originally from Palma de Mallorca and 75 years in the hotel business, has signed a management contract for both buildings, whose construction cost $301 million.

The amount for the construction of the hotels will be borne by investors, whose origin is not revealed by Barceló.

The hotel chain will manage them under their brand Barceló Premium (highest category).

The press release, the group qualifies as Guanacaste and Puntarenas as “two of the most recognized for its spectacular beaches and lush vegetation.”

With the opening of Barceló Jaco Beach and Barceló Playa Azul, the corporation will reach 1319 with six rooms in the country. With that number of hotels, Costa Rica will become the third major country in Latin America for the group.

The first in importance is Mexico with 12 locations, followed by Dominican Republic, where Barceló manages 11 establishments.

The Spanish company operates in Costa Rica the hotels San Jose Palacio and Palma Real in the capital as well as Tambor Beach in Puntarenas and Langosta Beach in Tamarindo, Guanacaste.

The Hotel Barceló Playa Azul, in Guanacaste, is intended in part to serve tourists who come to medical treatments. The building will include a hospital, a health and beauty center with 60 rooms and a research center.

In total, the hotel will have 248 rooms and 50 villas, plus a shopping center. The complex will cost $237 million in total.

The other hotel, Barceló Jacó Beach, will feature 150 rooms and investments exceed $64 million, this is good for the sector of investments in Costa Rica Real Estate news of this area.

In recent years, Barceló Hotels & Resorts has strengthened its presence in Central America.

In late February Barceló Managua opened a five-star hotel of 147 rooms, the second operating in Nicaragua. The firm is one of the oldest hotel chains in Spain and ranks among the 24 largest in the world. Have 185 hotels in 15 countries under the brands Premium, and Barceló Comfort.

The Olympics of Surfing Coming to Costa Rica
Source: www.costaricapages.com
Monday, June 8th 2009

The Billabong ISA World Surfing Games 2009 will be hosted in Costa Rica this August 1-8, 2009. The event, which will bring together the best surfers in the world in an Olympic-style competition, is set to be the biggest surfing championship ever held in Central America. The honor of hosting the 8th ever World Surfing Games is expected to solidify Costa Rica’s reputation as one of the world’s best up and coming surf destinations.

Last year’s competition, which took place in Costa de Caparica, Portugal, saw a turn out of more than 200 competitors from 28 countries. The Costa Rican team shined with their highest ranking ever, coming in 5th place at the event. The number of surfers and skill level is expected to increase for this year’s competition, which was scheduled to correspond with Hermosa’s peak surf season with waves ranging from four to eight feet with perfect barrels. The team to beat is four-time ISA Surfing Games champion, Australia, who racked up Gold medals in the last three consecutive events.

In August, each country will be represented by up to four surfers in the men’s Open category, two surfers in the women’s Open category and two long boarders. Costa Rica’s national team of eight surfers will be officially announced two days before the competitions begin. They will be selected from a short list of the country’s best surfers that have already begun training for the event.

This list features Carlos Muñoz, the 16-year-old who just won his first national championship in the men’s open division at the National Surf Circuit finals that also took place at Playa Hermosa. Joining him on the list are Diego Naranjo, Gilbert Brown, Jairo Perez, Jason Torres, Juan Carlos Naranjo, Cristian Santamaría, Anthony Flores and Luis Vindas in the men’s Open and long board categories. Two of the following women will also have the honor of representing Costa Rica: current National women’s champion Nataly Bernold, Lisbeth Vindas and Mariana Samudio.

The Costa Rican team also racked up a Bronze medal in last year’s surfing games in a special tag-team event called “Aloha Cup”. After coming in 10th place in this year’s World Junior Surfing Games in Ecuador, it is clear that Costa Rica has a strong future ahead of it in international surf competitions.

The president of the Costa Rica Federation of Surf (FSC – the hosts of the event) Jose Ureña said “I’m really happy for the opportunity that ISA and Billabong have given to us. To be hosts of this event is a like dream, to have so many countries enjoying our waves. It’s a unique occasion for us.”

Ureña hopes the event will help to further promote Costa Rica tourism, and particularly surf tourism to the region by putting the country’s waves on display for the global press. He also commented that local press has not covered the country’s international competitions in the past, so hosting the Surfing Games will help to increase local exposure as well.

The fact that Billabong is sponsoring this year’s event for the first time was also a big break for Costa Rica and the surfing world. Brand representative Graham Stapelberg promoted the decision to host the games in Costa Rica, saying: “I believe it is vital to provide a platform for these emerging surf regions. It is the only event of its kind where you get such a large representation of so many different surf nations”.