The Westin Reserva Conchal, an All-Inclusive Golf Resort & Spa

The Westin brand brings its commitment to holistic wellbeing to Costa Rica's northern Pacific coast, where Guanacaste province unfolds in a landscape of dry tropical forest meeting powder-white beaches. This is cattle country turned coastal haven, a region where Spanish colonial legacy mingles with Chorotega indigenous heritage and the pace slows to match the rhythms of surf and sun. The small fishing village of Brasilito anchors the area, its shoreline dotted with traditional painted boats pulled up on sand, while the broader Santa Cruz canton stretches inland across sun-baked plains punctuated by stands of guanacaste trees, the broad-crowned giants that give the province its name.

Playa Conchal curves less than a kilometre west, its shoreline composed entirely of crushed shells that shimmer underfoot like scattered porcelain. Beyond the immediate coast, the protected Area de Conservación Guanacaste sprawls 54 kilometres northeast, a UNESCO-recognized expanse of cloud forest, dry forest, and Pacific coast ecosystems where jaguars still pad through the understory and leatherback turtles return seasonally to ancestral nesting grounds.

Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport sits 36 kilometres south, with direct shuttles and rental services connecting arriving travelers to the coast within an hour along the well-maintained Pacific highway.

The property's on-site golf course stretches across rolling coastal terrain, fairways framed by native hardwoods and howler monkeys occasionally pausing play with their guttural morning calls. Beyond the gates, Playa Conchal's shell-paved strand rewards early morning walks before heat settles in, while the working beach at Playa Brasilito, 1.8 kilometres north, offers fresh-caught dorado and pargo at simple sodas where locals gather for casado plates piled with rice, beans, plantains, and grilled fish. Book a boat from Marina Flamingo, five kilometres up the coast, for sportfishing expeditions targeting marlin and sailfish in the deep waters beyond Catalinas Islands.

Las Baulas National Marine Park, 18 kilometres northwest, protects critical nesting habitat for endangered leatherback turtles, with guided night walks available during nesting season from October through March. Club de Golf Hacienda Pinilla provides a second championship course 16 kilometres south, its layout threading between estuary wetlands where roseate spoonbills and wood storks feed at low tide. Don't miss the Area de Conservación Guanacaste if time allows, where ranger-led trails penetrate ecosystems ranging from mangrove to cloud forest across a 54-kilometre drive inland.

January through April delivers Guanacaste's dry season in full force, the landscape bronzing under relentless sun and temperatures climbing past 33°C by afternoon. Humidity drops, trade winds pick up, and beach days extend from dawn coffee to late afternoon, the Pacific glittering under cloudless skies.

May marks the green season's arrival as afternoon rains sweep in from the interior, transforming dust to mud and coaxing wildflowers from apparently lifeless soil. September and October bring the wettest months, mornings often clear before clouds build into spectacular afternoon thunderstorms that drench the coast and retreat by evening.

December's transition sees rains taper and temperatures moderate slightly, though the Pacific remains bathwater-warm year-round, perfect for swimming, snorkelling, or simply floating as frigatebirds wheel overhead.