Dreams Las Mareas is beautiful, just gorgeous. The landscape is a feast for the eyes, and the property is alive with animals waiting for a photo op. Tucked into the Northwest corner of the Guanacaste province area in Costa Rica just 15 minutes from Nicaragua border, this one-year-old 422-suite property is unique amongst the Dream properties. We loved it.

First of all, it is remote, 90 minutes from the Liberia Airport, and the last little bit, for now, is on a gravel road. It will be paved in the near future. There aren’t any villages to speak of to wander through, and excursions are a minimum of an hour away from the resort, unless the excursion involves boats. There is just a little shopping - from vendors on the beach, or the gift shop. Shoppers will enjoy the Nicaragua excursion. Your clients need to know this, so they’re not surprised when they arrive. They also need to know that the resort is on a bay on the Pacific Ocean, and there are tides, AND the sand is a lovely golden shade with streaks of dark brown, not the white of Caribbean beaches. At some times of the year, Mother Nature interferes and you can’t swim in the ocean. When we were there it was lovely and calm though a guest was disappointed - she wanted big waves for body surfing.

For water lovers like us, there was a total of 42,000 square feet of pools that wander around the property, on different levels, here a waterfall, there a swim up bar, the kid’s section with a magnificent cool slide, and an infinity pool. And around the pools were attentive waiters taking drink orders. This is a new build, and the architects did a wonderful job of blending the buildings in with the landscape. Inside, the designers used natural objects found in the area for decoration. This is a property built on a hill as most resorts in Guanacaste are. There are golf carts for those who don’t want to walk. We were in building 1A, the building closest to the ocean with one of the 72 swim-out pools …. we wanted to stay forever. Two large green parrots sat in the tree close to us, and watched us with great interest. Monkeys came to visit. A family of raccoons hung around too. There were gorgeous birds in the trees. It was like living in a nature park.

Guests take great pleasure reporting what they saw; “ some hummingbirds, a white Costa Rican squirrel, an ant eater and some rabbits.” If you go out early in the morning for a walk and keep your eyes open you will see beautiful things all around you. There were also a ton of beautiful butterflies here. On the morning hike, you are sure to see spider monkeys and white-faced monkeys. We saw a coati on the walk as well. Another guest reported seeing a sloth on her walk. Our suite had the new look… a toilet with a frosted door, to provide privacy, the same with the shower, a large sink, and dressing table area with a curtain to separate this area from the rest of the suite.

For 40 years the area faced a lack of drinkable water, it came in in a truck once a week. Dreams Las Mareas investors decided to build and broaden a water conduit for the local area. It cost $4million dollars and was donated to a government institution (AYA) in 2013. In keeping with their mission statement, local workers did 80 percent of the manual labour. But it didn’t stop there, the only job in the area used to be fishing, now there are many opportunities. The hotel generates more than 700 jobs, and locals hold 55 percent of them. Training is ongoing, and of course English classes are taught. We noticed many, many staff meetings daily. Says General Manager Francisco Garcia, “I want to be here to see the results of the programs we’ve put in place in the area. This is an exciting property for me.”

There are eight eateries, ranging from Portofino with a Casual Elegance dress code, to the barefoot grill, where bikinis and muscle shirts are fine. It had the best food of any beach grill, I’ve eaten at, and a monkey who considered the tree over the bar was his to provide entertainment. 24-hour room service was prompt and good. Food as agents know, is very subjective. I asked a couple in the pool what food they liked best… The Dreams in Punta Cana where they stayed last year, or the food at this Dreams. Oops, that started an argument. Husband Tom had several steaks; he felt were excellent, I had chicken that was delicious. We had onion soup so good in the Seaside Grill that I’d love the recipe. And there were some dishes, we didn’t rave about as well. What everyone agreed on was the abundant fresh fruits were delicious, and so were the vegetables.

Dreams as you know are for families and the Explorer’s Club for the 3-12 year olds is open from 9-10 pm. Programmes are based on science, nature and exploration. It’s Dreams, so yes there is a weekly camping adventure. There are beepers in case parents need to be contacted, and the children can be taken out to dinner, so parents can enjoy a romantic dinner. Teens aren’t forgotten, 13-17 year olds have the Core Zone Club, and no parents allowed. Dreams Spa Pevonia has a full menu of spa services, and a stunning water circuit area. Yes there is a fitness centre providing a full range of cardio conditioning. There are lots of beach, land and water activities. One I haven’t seen offered is kite surfing (extra charge). There are cooking classes, and mixology lessons. At night there is entertainment, and a nightclub. I first visited this lovely country in the 80’s, and it was a land for adventurers. Now the adventure is still waiting, but with a luxury Dreams vacation included.