The Best Places to Stay and Do in Liberia

Canopy Suites sit on stilts in the treetops with private infinity pools, which tells you most of what you need to know about the ambitions here. This Forbes Five Star resort on a scenic hilltop above the Pacific mixes rose stucco buildings and thatched pavilions with an Arnold Palmer golf course, a sprawling spa, and several restaurants. Howler monkeys provide the ambient noise, and the Pacific breezes do the rest.

A suspension bridge across a jungle ravine is how you reach some of the rooms, which tells you most of what you need to know about how this Ritz-Carlton Reserve resort operates. Treetop villas hover above the forest floor on Costa Rica's Papagayo Peninsula, while a funicular drops guests to the beach club below. Multiple pools, a sprawling spa, and a lineup of restaurants fill the gaps between surfing, sailing, and a full Arnold Palmer golf course nearby.

Open-air check-in with Culebra Bay spread out below you sets the tone for this Pacific coast resort on the Papagayo Peninsula, a Michelin Key and Forbes Four Star property where the villas, designed by Costa Rican architect Ronald Zürcher, curve like shells into a 28-acre hillside forest. A single staff member handles your arrival, golf-cart transfer, and everything after. The bars and pools are where the place actually lives.