JW Marriott Costa Elena Opens in Guanacaste: What the First All-Inclusive JW Marriott Means for Your Trip

A luxury all-inclusive just opened in northern Guanacaste. Here is what it offers and who it fits.

October 13, 2026 · 4 min read

Marriott announced on October 6, 2026 that the JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort & Spa is open at Playa El Jobo in La Cruz, Guanacaste. It is the first all-inclusive resort in the JW Marriott brand anywhere in the world, and the company picked Costa Rica for the debut. The Tico Times covered the opening on October 7.

What you get

The resort has 415 rooms and suites, and some ground-floor rooms open onto semi-private swim-out pools. It has 15 restaurants and bars, 17 pools, and a wellness area of nearly 1,500 square meters with a spa, a fitness center, and a Mindfulness House. A private 45-room section called Griffin Club adds its own lounge, pool, and beach area. Families get a kids' program called Family by JW Club.

The food leans local. One restaurant serves a seven-course tasting menu inspired by Costa Rica's seven provinces, and another focuses on the Afro-Caribbean cooking of Puerto Limón. The resort grows herbs, edible flowers, and vegetables in its own garden, and weekly night markets bring in local artisans and music.

What it costs

Advertised rates start at about $900 per person per night, based on double occupancy. That comes to about $1,800 a night for two. Another listing site showed lower figures, between $691 and $768 a night for two, as of October 7. Confirm the rate for your dates before you plan around either number.

Where it sits

Playa El Jobo is in the far northwest, in La Cruz near the Nicaraguan border. The resort sits inside Costa Elena, a resort and residential community of about 1,200 hectares of tropical dry forest. It lies well north of Tamarindo and Playas del Coco, so a night out means leaving the property. The site used to be Dreams Las Mareas, an all-inclusive that changed hands in 2025 and was converted to the JW Marriott brand.

Who it fits

It fits couples and families who want one place to unpack, with meals, drinks, activities, and pools included. It works well for a short beach break, a celebration, or a trip where you don't want to plan anything.

Skip it if you want to explore. The best days in Costa Rica happen outside a resort, in markets, small restaurants, boat trips, and national parks. An all-inclusive keeps you inside. Skip it too if your budget is closer to $150 a night. The price of one night here for two covers several nights of lodging, meals, and a guided day trip elsewhere in Guanacaste.

How to mix both

Many travelers book one splurge stay and then move to a smaller base. Two or three nights at a resort like this one, followed by a few nights in Playas del Coco or Tamarindo, gives you the pool days and the local restaurants. Our Liberia airport guide compares those beach towns.

Questions to ask before you book

Ask what the all-inclusive covers. Check which restaurants need a reservation, whether premium drinks are included, and whether excursions such as scuba diving and private yacht charters cost extra. Ask about the transfer from the Liberia airport, too.

Source: The Tico Times, October 7, 2026.

Written by Insiders Costa Rica — Certified Travel Advisors based in Atenas, Costa Rica.

🌿 The full breakdown — costs, booking contacts, and day-by-day timing — is in the Insider Guide.