# Four Seasons Costa Rica Peninsula Papagayo



## TravelTime (Jul 15, 2019)

This was the most amazing exchanges and vacations of my life. This was my second trip to Costa Rica. The Guanacaste region is paradise. We went scuba diving, sailing, kayaking and river rafting. We started with three days at Westin Playa Conchal. We were upgraded to a 1 BR suite in the Royal Beach Club courtesy of Marriott Bonvoy. This is an all inclusive resort and the food is good. Great smoothies.

Then after three days, we moved to Four Seasons Peninsula Papagayo. We were in a 2nd floor 3 BR Pacifico Residence. The residences have so much Costa Rica character. Our suite was 6521. We were half way up the hill, with building 66 being the highest. You can walk down to the Four Seasons and the beaches from the Pacifica buildings which are numbered 60-66 of which all are three story except 1, which is 2 story. They are have ocean views through the canopies. The ocean views are lovely although not at all like ocean front Maui views. The ocean views here have more charm and character and each one is unique. In other part of the Four Seasons complex, the architecture is similar but the room sizes and layouts are different.

Of the 7 buildings and units, some are full residences, meaning they are owned by one owner and in the rental pool. Most appear to be fully owned and only a few are in the fractional inventory. I will check on this. Each franctional has 12 owners and they are owners who pay to maintain and refurbish these units. The fractional launch appears to have been a failure, they said, bc they do not allow fractional owners to rent out their weeks. If they did, it woulda be a huge success bc the buy in costs is $130K and the weekly MF is about $4000. Compared to the rental price, this is a bargain. I am a bit confused that they said they do not allow rentals since I see people renting through Tri Sales.

OTOH, the full residences that are fully owned by one owner and rented in the rental inventory have been a financial success for the FS and for the individual owners. They tend to produce a profit, with high seasons for rentals from November through April. The Pacific 3 BR layout is really cool. We had 2 BRs on one side, and another master on the other end. There is a living room, kitchen and fully enclosed patio. There are 3.5 bathrooms and a laundry room. For owners, there is locked storage and an owner closet. The decor varies because some were upgraded in the recent Four Seasons renovation. The fractional we stayed in was colorful and had not been upgraded since the 12 owners could not decide. The automated screen opened outdoor room into a full patio.  The best 3 units are fully owned and in the rental pool. This means you can’t request them as a fractional. The reason these are the best is because they are on the first floor and you have a grassy backyard with sunny ocean views and sunsets. Buildings 60, 61 and 62 are closest to the Four Seasons amenities and beaches. Golf carts are available but from B 60-62, you can walk. Some of the fully owned residences are not in the rental pool and used exclusively by owners.

The nearby Prieta Beach Club is exclusively available to owners who pay for the private membership. There is so much more I could share about Peninisula Papagayo and its separate amenities that is not part of the Four Seasons. We explored the entire peninsula during our stay.

I did an exchange through Four Seasons Aviara. I wish there was a way to post my review in the reviews section but they said this is not a timeshare. Costa Rica is a fractional and there are 12 owners for each deeded unit. Fractional owners can put up a week to exchange back into the Residence Club and a few become available to Aviara and Troon owners. There is an annual lottery to get the exchange and then you can pick among the available properties: Costa Rica, Punta Mita, Jackson Hole and Vail. https://www.fourseasons.com/residences/residence_clubs/

The developer in Costa Rica still owns many of the fractionals or the 1/12 units of the fractionals so these might be developer offered. There are only about 10-15 units offered per residence club. They know exactly which units ate fractionals, who owns them and what you are getting from who but I did not ask a ton about the nitty gritty of the fractionals. To buy into a fractional in Costa Rica, the upfront fee is $130K and you would own 1/12 of a unit and get 3 regular weeks and 1 bonus week. It is identical to the fractionals at Ritz Carlton St Thomas.


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## PrairieGirl (Jul 16, 2019)

Did you trade in? II or RCI? Ongoing search?  TIA

It's been many years since we have been to Costa Rica and are considering another return.  This place sounds amazing!


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## TravelTime (Jul 16, 2019)

PrairieGirl said:


> Did you trade in? II or RCI? Ongoing search?  TIA
> 
> It's been many years since we have been to Costa Rica and are considering another return.  This place sounds amazing!



I added some info about how I did the exchange. It is an "exchange" as opposed to a trade. I use the terms interchangeably but in this case, the definition matters, assuming there is a real difference between exchange and trade. Our vocabulary experts can chime in.


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## PrairieGirl (Jul 18, 2019)

Thanks Travel Time - it seems that this was an internal "exchange" within the Four Seasons group, so I guess I'm out of luck.


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