A 4,500-ACRE GATED RESORT SOUTH OF TAMARINDO — CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF, AN OCEANFRONT BEACH CLUB, AND THE JW MARRIOTT GUANACASTE.
Hacienda Pinilla is one of Guanacaste’s largest and most established gated communities — roughly 4,500 acres of former working cattle ranch unfolding along three miles of Pacific coastline, just south of Tamarindo. Inside a single secured perimeter sit an 18-hole championship golf course, the JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa, an oceanfront beach club, an equestrian center, and more than 45 kilometers of trails through tropical dry forest — all fronting beaches that include Playa Avellanas and its renowned “Little Hawaii” surf break. Developed since the 1990s, Pinilla offers something newer projects cannot: scale, maturity, and a self-contained “live, golf, surf, ride” lifestyle within one of the coast’s most private settings.
What sets Hacienda Pinilla apart is the breadth of what fits inside the gates. Most Gold Coast communities are built around a single idea — a marina, a golf course, a beach. Pinilla holds all of them at once, across enough land that the cattle ranch still operates and a third of the property remains forest preserve, certified as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. For a buyer, that means privacy and nature on a scale that is genuinely rare, paired with resort-grade amenities and the security of a fully gated, master-planned community with a track record stretching back three decades.
The golf course — an 18-hole, par-72 links-style layout designed by Mike Young and opened in 1996 — threads through dry forest with Pacific views, routed for ocean breezes. At the sand, the Beach Club on Playa Avellanas offers an infinity pool, restaurant and bar, and a fitness center, with the expert-level “Little Hawaii” wave breaking just offshore. The JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa sits on Playa Mansita with its restaurants and spa open to owners, and the El Establo equestrian center runs a riding school and guided trails. Add tennis, miles of biking and hiking trails, on-site urgent care, and three protected beaches — Avellanas, Mansita, and Langosta — and the result is a community where daily life rarely requires leaving the gate.
Pinilla is organized into distinct gated enclaves, each with its own character, entry, and homeowners’ association:
Hacienda Pinilla is well placed for relocating families. Journey School of Costa Rica in Villarreal — a dual-language, IB-framework school for ages 2 through grade 12 — is the closest, roughly 20 to 25 minutes away, and runs daily bus service. The U.S.-accredited Costa Rica International Academy (CRIA) in Brasilito is about 35 to 40 minutes, and La Paz Community School, an IB World School at Mar Vista, is a longer commute up the coast. All three are full college-preparatory programs, a meaningful reassurance for families weighing a move with school-age children.
Hacienda Pinilla spans a wide range. As a rough, illustrative guide: homesites and lots run from roughly $160K for inland and golf-border parcels to $3M and beyond for prime oceanfront; condominiums and townhomes generally fall in the $700K to $2M range; villas and custom homes begin around $900K and climb through the multimillions, with beachfront estates reaching $6M–$8M and higher and the rarest oceanfront builds beyond $10M. Each enclave carries its own HOA dues and amenity set. Because inventory inside the gates is limited and varies by community, confirm current options and figures with your KRAIN agent.
Resort seclusion within an hour of an international airport, an on-site JW Marriott, beach club, and golf, plus the security of a gated community, make Pinilla one of the stronger vacation-rental settings on the coast. Many owners offset ownership costs with short-term rentals and use the home themselves in the off-weeks. Returns vary by enclave, size, and management, so ask your KRAIN agent for a specific property’s rental history.
Hacienda Pinilla is about 45 minutes to an hour from Liberia International Airport (LIR), with direct flights from the US and Canada, and roughly 15 to 20 minutes south of Tamarindo, where you’ll find the nearest full range of restaurants, banks, and shopping. The combination — resort seclusion within an hour of an international airport — is a large part of the community’s rental appeal.
We have led Guanacaste’s Gold Coast since 2013, and we are led by an American attorney turned Costa Rica realtor. Inside a master-planned community as layered as Pinilla — with separate HOAs per enclave, golf- and beach-club membership structures, and a careful line between titled and concession beachfront — that legal rigor matters. We will make sure you understand exactly what you are buying, in which enclave, and on what terms. KRAIN is the exclusive Costa Rica affiliate of Mayfair International Realty and a member of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World and Luxury Portfolio International.
About 45 minutes to an hour from Liberia International Airport (LIR), with direct flights from the US and Canada, and roughly 15 to 20 minutes south of Tamarindo for the nearest full range of restaurants, banks, and shopping. Resort seclusion within an hour of an international airport is a large part of the community’s appeal.
Yes — foreigners can own fee-simple (titled) property outright, with the same rights as citizens, and much of Pinilla is titled, including true titled oceanfront that the community markets in enclaves like Avellanas. Any property within the 200-meter Maritime Terrestrial Zone should be confirmed parcel by parcel, where concession rules apply. Your KRAIN agent will verify titled-versus-concession status before you commit.
It is one of the stronger vacation-rental settings on the coast: resort seclusion within an hour of an international airport, an on-site JW Marriott, beach club, and golf, plus the security of a gated community — all of which support occupancy. Many owners offset ownership costs with short-term rentals and use the home themselves in the off-weeks. Returns vary by enclave, size, and management, so ask your KRAIN agent for a specific property’s rental history.
Hacienda Pinilla, Tamarindo, Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
5 BD | 7 BA | 1,082 Sq.M.
Hacienda Pinilla, Tamarindo, Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, Costa Rica 50309, Costa Rica
5 BD | 7 BA | 6,393.74 Sq.Ft.
The KRAIN team not only assists clients in purchasing homes in Costa Rica but also helps with anything their clients need to ensure a peaceful transition into Costa Rican life.
