The JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort & Spa, All-Inclusive opens September 10, 2026 in Guanacaste. Reservations are live on Marriott.com now. It’s the first all-inclusive property in JW Marriott’s global portfolio.
Guanacaste’s northern Pacific coast has been accumulating major international hotel brand flags at a consistent pace. This is the most significant brand milestone yet.
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What JW Marriott All-Inclusive Actually Means
The JW brand is at the top of Marriott’s luxury lines. Full-service, design-forward, the kind of hotel that charges $400 a night and leaves the rest to you. All-inclusive under JW is a new category for the brand. Marriott hasn’t done this before at the JW level, anywhere in the world.
That distinction matters because of who it attracts. All-inclusive JW means Marriott Bonvoy customers who book JW properties in Tokyo, Turnberry, and Mexico City are now seeing Guanacaste as an option. That’s not just a local hotel story. It’s a global brand delivering a new visitor segment directly to this coast.
The Property
Costa Elena is a resort-residential community on the northern Pacific coast, about 2 hours from Liberia Airport. The property: 415 rooms, 11 restaurants and bars, a 44,000 sq ft pool complex, a 16,000 sq ft spa, and 10,000+ sq ft of meeting space. The conversion involved a $60 million investment in upgrades. Mullen Hospitality Management, named franchise operator in December 2025, is running it under the JW flag. The resort operated previously as Dreams Las Mareas Costa Rica.
The Costa Elena resort complex — formerly Dreams Las Mareas. The $60M conversion to JW Marriott is scheduled for completion September 2026.
The timeline: Marriott and Mullen Real Estate Capital signed the agreement in March 2025. Physical conversion began July 2025. The resort opens September 10, 2026. The Griffin Club is the elevated tier within the all-inclusive. Dedicated access and upgraded amenities for guests who want a step above the standard package.
Playa El Jobo and La Cruz
Costa Elena is located at the northern end of Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. Playa El Jobo is about 2 hours from Liberia Airport. This is a different part of Guanacaste than the Papagayo and Coco corridor most visitors know. The coastline here is quieter, less developed, and backed by dry tropical forest rather than resort infrastructure.
Walking tour of Playa El Jobo — the beach closest to the Costa Elena resort. More beach and travel guides from Guanacaste at Sights and Sounds.
La Cruz is the nearest town, about an hour and a half from Liberia Airport on the drive north. It’s a small working community that serves as the service hub for the Salinas Bay beach corridor. It’s not a tourist town. There are supermarkets, banks, and the kind of everyday infrastructure that a remote beach region relies on. The wildlife in the area includes monkeys, iguanas, and a range of coastal birds. It’s part of what makes this stretch of coast feel different from the more built-out areas further south.
Howler monkey in the trees near La Cruz. The far northern Pacific coast has more intact dry forest and wildlife than the areas further south.
La Cruz, Guanacaste — the nearest town to Playa El Jobo and the Salinas Bay coast. More guides to Guanacaste at Sights and Sounds.
What It Signals for Guanacaste
Brands at this tier don’t make $60M conversion bets on destinations they’re unsure about. The JW decision lands alongside Nekajui — A Ritz-Carlton Reserve at Peninsula Papagayo, which is already open, and the Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica, currently open and expanding on the same coast. Three of the most recognizable luxury hotel brands in the world are now either open or in active construction within Guanacaste’s northern Pacific corridor.
Each property is also a marketing operation. Ritz-Carlton guests and JW Marriott Bonvoy members are travelers with global habits and real purchasing power. When they book Nekajui or Costa Elena, Guanacaste shows up in their awareness in a way it didn’t before. Some of them come back. Some of them buy.
If you’re tracking what the Papagayo luxury build-out means for property values in Playas del Coco specifically, get in touch. We can put together something specific to what you’re looking at.
A Note on Playas del Coco
Costa Elena is well north of Playas del Coco. A different part of the province. But the signal is province-wide: major international brands continue to choose Guanacaste, and the demand that justifies those bets flows through Liberia Airport. Every investment that strengthens LIR’s route network and regional reputation translates into more visitors, more buyers, and more development pressure across the northern Pacific coast — including Coco.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort All-Inclusive?
The JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort & Spa, All-Inclusive is a 415-room luxury all-inclusive resort in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, scheduled to open September 10, 2026. It is the first all-inclusive property in JW Marriott’s global portfolio. Operated by Mullen Hospitality Management under a Marriott franchise agreement, it features 11 dining outlets, a 44,000 sq ft pool complex, a 16,000 sq ft spa, and the elevated Griffin Club tier. The resort previously operated as Dreams Las Mareas Costa Rica.
When does the JW Marriott Costa Elena open?
The JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort & Spa, All-Inclusive is scheduled to open September 10, 2026. Reservations are currently available through Marriott.com.
Where is JW Marriott Costa Elena located?
Costa Elena is a resort-residential community on Guanacaste’s far northern Pacific coast, near Playa El Jobo and Bahía Salinas. The nearest town is La Cruz, about an hour and a half from Liberia’s Guanacaste Airport (LIR). The resort and beach area are approximately 2 hours from LIR by road.
What other luxury resorts are opening in Guanacaste?
Nekajui — A Ritz-Carlton Reserve at Peninsula Papagayo is open and operational. The Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica is under development on the northern Pacific coast. The JW Marriott Costa Elena adds a third major international luxury brand to the Guanacaste corridor, alongside the LIR airport expansion, the Playas del Coco marina in Phase 1 construction, and the PAACUME regional water project.