Costa Rica’s Waldorf Astoria Punta Cacique has landed on a short Forbes list of luxury properties the magazine says are worth building an entire trip around, another sign of Guanacaste’s rising profile among affluent travelers. The recognition came in a piece by Forbes contributor Corein Carter, who named just five resorts and private villas across four countries — Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Malta — as destinations compelling enough to be the reason for the journey rather than simply a place to sleep.
Carter’s argument is that luxury travel is no longer defined by five-star rooms alone, and that today’s most memorable stays are shaped by personalized touches such as private pools, dedicated staff, world-class dining and itineraries designed around each guest.
For Costa Rica, Forbes highlighted the Waldorf Astoria Punta Cacique, describing a resort built into the dramatic landscape of Guanacaste’s Pacific coast and designed to frame panoramic ocean views while keeping a connection to the surrounding tropical setting. The article noted that the property’s rooms, suites and villas come with expansive terraces, and that select accommodations include private plunge pools overlooking the Pacific — an intimate alternative, Carter wrote, to the resort’s larger shared spaces.
Among the features Forbes singled out was the resort’s multilevel pool, which steps down toward the shoreline along the natural contours of the hillside. Carter also pointed to the property’s wellness programming, destination-inspired dining and the personalized service associated with the Waldorf Astoria name as reasons the resort rewards a longer, slower stay.
The property opened in April 2025 as the first Waldorf Astoria in Costa Rica and in Central America, part of the wider Punta Cacique development near Playa Penca in Guanacaste. It sits roughly a 30-minute drive from Liberia’s Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport, putting the beaches, wildlife and water activities of the northern Pacific within easy reach.
The Forbes mention follows other international attention for the resort, including a place on Esquire’s Best New Hotels of 2026 list earlier this year, when it was the only Costa Rican property named. Together the nods reflect the country’s growing standing at the top end of the tourism market, where Guanacaste now competes directly with established luxury destinations elsewhere in Latin America.
The rest of the Forbes list featured Casa de Campo Resort & Villas in La Romana, Dominican Republic; Casa Koko, a fully staffed private villa in Punta Mita, Mexico; Nobu Hotel Los Cabos in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; and The Phoenicia Malta, a historic hotel just outside the walls of Valletta. Each offers a different experience, but Forbes framed all five around a single idea — turning the property itself into the main reason to travel.
