The northwestern corner of Costa Rica is one of the most biodiverse areas of the world, so it’s essential that when a new ultra-luxury property arrives, it takes care not to trample on the region’s outstanding natural beauty. In that respect, Nekajui, which opened earlier this year, is a tour de force. The first Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Central America, and only the eighth in the world, stretches over 570 hectares of lush cliffside, but if you gaze up towards it from the sapphire waters below, you can barely tell it’s there at all. This impressive sleight of hand is pulled off thanks to thoughtful biophilic design that includes a dramatic hanging bridge over a verdant canyon, a bar suspended in a tree house and a funicular that runs like a glass elevator down to a secluded sandy cove.
What’s on your doorstep?
Nekajui is the newest resort on the exclusive Peninsula Papagayo, a 1,400-acre promontory jutting into the Pacific that first came to the attention of luxury travellers with the opening of a Four Seasons 20 years ago. There are also a handful of private homes, including one by the noted architect Antoine Predock. 70 per cent of the peninsula remains protected from any sort of development and is covered by a tropical dry forest that teems with thousands of plant and animal species. At Nekajui, it’s not unusual to see brightly coloured birds taking up a perch beside the pools or to spot howler monkeys breakfasting in the treetops below the balconies. The hotel works closely with local guides Papagayo Explorers, who can arrange zip-lining, kayaking and forest tours. On a morning hike with lead naturalist Jhonny Hernandez, we breathlessly observed the remarkably coordinated courtship dance of the long-tailed manakin. ‘This,’ whispered Hernandez, ‘is a real Nat Geo moment.’
Kevin EG Perry: Collected Works 