3 Best Hotels in Bahia Salinas, Guanacaste and the Nicoya Peninsula

Catering predominantly to kitesurfers, this breezy property on a steep hillside is one of the more affordable lodging options in Bahía Salinas, with suites, bungalows, rooms, and dorms just minutes from the water. It's worth bypassing other room categories and opting for the boat-shape suite with a private balcony, stone walls, air-conditioning, and garden shower. If you're on a budget, the wooden bungalows are chalet-style and sleep four, with an added bunk bed for the little ones. Standard rooms are boxy and rustic, but suitable if kitesurfing is your main priority. All rooms have ocean views, Wi-Fi, and hot-water showers, and there’s an on-site pizzeria serving wood-oven pizza and Mediterranean food. The all-inclusive packages with meals, lessons, and lodging are a real bargain. Most people come to combine the adrenaline sport with a bit of relaxation, but if you’re not into kitesurfing (or even wind), you may want to stay elsewhere.

As the first all-inclusive luxury resort in the Bahía Salinas area and the first hotel in Guanacaste to feature swim-up rooms, Dreams Las Mareas stands out from the AI pack with no hidden charges, no restaurant reservations, no towel cards, and no plastic wrist bands. Its location on the bay of Playa Jobo makes for quiet isolation, despite the property's size: 447 rooms, each with ocean, pool, or mountain views. Spacious rooms have satin curtains sectioning off modern bathrooms, with luxurious touches like hydrotubs, stocked minibars, and 42-inch flat-screen TVs. Included in the rate are top-shelf spirits, 24-hour room service, and meals at any of the eight restaurants. Selection, presentation, and quality of cuisine are remarkably impressive, especially at the fine-dining Italian restaurant, Portofino. The resort prides itself on offering "soft entertainment," with no drinking games, pool shouting, or DJs to awaken you during your poolside slumber. Still, there’s plenty to entertain like yoga, snorkeling, a kids’ club, disco, cinema, and a 44,000-square-foot pool with a water slide. For pampering, you can indulge in treatments at the Spa by Pevonia or work your way through their eight-step hydrotherapy circuit.