Four Seasons Costa Rica | two beaches!

What a beach resort! This is satellite photo of Four Seasons Costa Rica from Google maps gives a birds-eye view of the resort, and the most amazing feature is that there are two beaches.

The beach to the north faces the Pacific Ocean. This is the "quiet beach" (and also has an adults-only "quiet pool" facing the water).

The beach to the south faces the bay, Bahia de Culebra. This is the "activity beach" with stronger waves. The resort's Sports Pavilion provides equipment for active beach activities including snorkeling, sea kayaking, sailing, and sail boarding.

The best thing about these beaches? Plenty of natural shade trees (which you can't really see from the satellite image, so here's a photo I took with my iPad while sitting on the beach while connected to the complimentary WiFi you received with a Preferred Partner booking). Grab one of the resorts many chaise lounges (no need to come early to reserve your chairs) and spend a few hours relaxing by the sea. The sand is soft and the beaches are uncrowded. Although technically "public" beaches, the only access is through the resort.

We've been to some wonderful Four Seasons beach resorts over the years (including Hulalai, Maui, Manele Bay, and Nevis), and FS Costa Rica is now my wife's favorite of them all!

copyright (c) 2014 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

FS Costa Rica | last day to book 3rd night free

This has been the most popular promotion I've ever blogged about. Four Seasons Costa Rica has a fabulous 10th anniversary deal. There have been multiple requests for bookings over the past six days from my postings on Third Night Free and FlyerTalk. Great deal - every third night is free for every room and suite, and you'll get a guaranteed upgrade at time of booking if the next category is available (for room categories, but not suites).

But the promotion is running out - you have to book by January 27th (Monday) to take advantage. Here are the details:

Book by January 27, 2014
Travel dates: May 1 - September 3, 2014
Third night free for rooms and Suites
Terraza rooms upgrade into Brisa rooms.
Brisa rooms upgrade into Cielo rooms.

To make it an even sweeter deal, the Preferred Partner amenities do apply:

• Daily full American breakfast for two people per bedroom, served through in-room dining or in the hotel restaurant (including buffets)
• Spa credit of $100 once during stay
• For suite bookings, one complimentary round of golf per guest per stay (including club rentals)
• Complimentary basic internet for 2 devices in guest rooms, complimentary premium internet for 6 devices in suites

copyright (c) 2014 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.