If you own here, you already know the peninsula has never felt static. What's different this year is where the center of gravity sits. For a decade, the resorts organized the week. In 2026, the master developer opened a $26 million, 23-acre park at the interior of the peninsula, and the calendar quietly rearranged itself around it. The Four Seasons is on the back half of a construction schedule. Andaz has a new restaurant, a new GM, and a new residential neighborhood in the ground. And Nekajui, less than two years old, is already changing the shape of a Saturday morning for people who live near the north side.
This post is for residents. It assumes you already know where the marina is, which shuttle goes where, and why you keep two sets of reservations in your calendar. What follows is what has actually shifted on the ground, why it matters for your week, and what's opening next.
The Center of Gravity Moved Inland
For most of the peninsula's history, the amenity map was oceanfront-first: Prieta Beach, the marina, the resort pools. Papagayo Park changes that. The newly unveiled 26-acre Papagayo Park is the development's recreational hub. Families gravitate toward the splash pad and pool with slides and climbing wall, while a custom-built pump track, basketball court, and outdoor gym appeal to active types. An expansive lawn separates these from the lap pool and racket center with tennis, pickleball, and padel courts. A complimentary e-bike fleet with stations throughout the peninsula ensures guests can sustainably move between facilities.
The specifics matter if you are trying to book anything. According to the Club at Peninsula Papagayo FAQ, the Racquet Center at Papagayo Park holds four Rebound Ace tennis courts, six pickleball courts, and two padel courts, with an additional four Har-Tru clay courts at the Golf Clubhouse. That is fourteen court surfaces across two locations on a peninsula that had a handful three years ago. If you have been on a waiting list for a court between 8 and 10 a.m., the arithmetic explains why the waiting list got shorter this spring.
A few points that change the resident math:
- The Park is run directly by the master developer, not a resort. Papagayo Park and the Clubhouse at Prieta Beach are operated directly by the master developer, a structure meant to keep service consistent with the rest of the peninsula.
- Programming is bundled into membership. Club members get a rotating calendar of complimentary recreational, wellness, social, and family-oriented programming, which may include fitness classes, racquet clinics, golf instruction, youth camps, workshops, outdoor excursions, and member social events.
- Golf membership is capped. Golf Memberships are capped at 300 on a first-come, first-served basis.
The last one is worth sitting with. A 300-cap membership tied to a 1,400-acre community is a scarcity signal, not a marketing line.
Which Reservations Got Harder, And Which Got Easier
Two years ago, the hardest table on the peninsula was a sunset at the old Prieta setup. The Clubhouse reopening put Olas and Manglar on the same terrace, so members now have all-day seating there instead of a single evening slot. That eased the sunset pressure but concentrated demand at Manglar for members who want the toes-in-the-sand version. If Manglar is what you actually want, book it a week ahead, not two days.
What got harder is dinner at Andaz. Recent enhancements at Andaz Peninsula Papagayo include a new Beauty Bar at Onda Spa and Wellness, expanded movement and martial arts programming at the Dojo, an enhanced live music schedule at Chao Pescao, and the opening of Gaio, a trattoria-style restaurant. Gaio is the practical change. At the time of visits in 2025, the main restaurant was called Rio Bhongo. It has subsequently been reimagined as Gaio and takes on a more Italian flair for dinner. If your household treated Rio Bhongo as the default weeknight option, Gaio is not a like-for-like swap. It is loud, family-friendly, and books up on weekend nights in ways the old room did not.
The peninsula's dining bench is deeper than most residents use. Peninsula Papagayo lists sixteen signature restaurants across the property, from toes-in-the-sand beachside grills to fine dining. If you eat at the same three every week, you are leaving thirteen kitchens on the table.
A few underused rooms worth putting on your rotation: Palapita, at the Tennis Centre, pairs Costa Rican street food with locally crafted Papagayo Brewery beers. Niri Beach Club, whose name means "salt" in Chorotega, leans into Iberian Peninsula flavors with Costa Rican soul. Ostra puts Southeast Asian cooking, drawing from Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia, into the Andaz evening rotation.
The Four Seasons Is A Construction Site With A Deadline
This is the part of the peninsula that will look different in six months. Four Seasons Resort Peninsula Papagayo is running a comprehensive enhancement project set to debut in late 2026, introducing ten new one-bedroom suites, a refreshed Miramar Presidential Suite, and reimagining the signature Latin American steakhouse, Nemare, into a more immersive and refined dining experience. The programme also modernises meeting and event areas, including a ballroom measuring more than 4,000 square feet.
For residents, two knock-on effects are already visible. First, Nemare is in transition, which means the wine program and menu you knew last high season may not be what you find in November. Guanacaste-inspired colours, natural materials, Sabanero references and biodiversity-led details will run through the redesign. Second, the ten new Papagayo Suites will add residential-style keys inside the Four Seasons envelope, which historically has meant more pressure on Bahia and pool cabana bookings during peak weeks. If you host family in January, put the reservation in now.
The Nekajui Effect
The Ritz-Carlton Reserve opened in early 2025 and finished its first full year in the middle of the peninsula's momentum. It matters to residents mostly as a neighbor and as an entry point into the Palmares Reserve. Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, opened in February 2025 as the brand's first Reserve in Central or South America. Its name, derived from the Indigenous Chorotega word for "lush garden," feels apt. Lofted on a cliff, the hacienda-style entry is anchored by a statuesque ceiba tree, a hand-painted ox cart estimated to be more than 200 years old, and a jewel-like chapel whose mosaic, made with 650,000 hand-placed tiles, depicts capuchin monkeys.
The interesting resident angle is the trail access. Chorotega-inspired rituals at the spa use volcanic stone and juanalima, a local plant prized for its lemony, herbaceous scent. That reverence for nature carries beyond the grounds, with guided hikes through the nearby Palmares Reserve to spot howler monkeys, blue morpho butterflies, and a colony of bats. If your walking routine has been the marina loop, the Palmares side of the peninsula is now the alternative worth building a Saturday around.
A Resident's Week, Mapped
The week reads differently in 2026 than it did in 2024. Here is a rough outline of where the peninsula's rhythm actually sits now.
| Day | Where the peninsula points you | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Papagayo Park, racquet clinic | Members-only programming is quieter early week |
| Tuesday | Dojo at Andaz | Expanded martial arts and movement calendar |
| Wednesday | Palapita | Papagayo Brewery pours, casual court-side dinner |
| Thursday | Chao Pescao | Live music schedule is the reason to leave the house |
| Friday | Gaio | Trattoria service, family-forward, Andaz side |
| Saturday | Palmares Reserve hike, Manglar for sunset | Trail then Prieta terrace |
| Sunday | Clubhouse at Prieta Beach | Two-story fitness, then Olas for a long lunch |
That is not a rulebook. It is a way to see how the amenity map has widened. Two years ago, five of those seven days pointed at the same two properties.
What Is Coming Next
Two things are worth tracking as an owner. The first is the second Andaz Residences neighborhood. Peninsula Papagayo announced plans in February 2026 for a second oceanfront collection of Andaz Residences following the 2023 debut, with 35 residences in two-, three-, and four-bedroom floor plans. The residences are priced from under $4 million, with construction expected to begin in mid-2026 and completion anticipated in 2028. Existing owners have already claimed a share of the release, which is a useful data point about internal demand.
The second is Casa de Playa. Work is underway on a significant expansion of Casa de Playa, the peninsula's oceanfront beach house retreat, which will introduce a new family pool area, expanded sunbed capacity, all-weather dining, an oceanfront bar, upgraded cabana service, and enhanced recreation amenities. When that opens, expect it to pull weekend traffic away from the Prieta terrace on hot afternoons.
A short watchlist for the next twelve months:
- Nemare relaunch, late 2026
- Ten new Papagayo Suites at Four Seasons, late 2026
- Casa de Playa expansion, phased through 2027
- Andaz Residences II groundbreaking, mid-2026
Where This Leaves Owners
The argument is simple. Peninsula Papagayo used to be a resort community with a couple of member amenities attached. In 2026 it reads more like a member community with resorts attached. The Park, the Clubhouse, the 300-cap golf roster, the family-side programming, the trail access into Palmares, the two-neighborhood Andaz footprint, and a Four Seasons reworking itself around a residential vocabulary all point the same direction. If you have been living here on a 2022 mental map, the peninsula outgrew it about eighteen months ago.
If you want to talk through how any of these shifts affect your property, your rental strategy, or a purchase you have been considering inside the gate, Flamingo Beach Realty is here to help. Contact us.
