There’s something especially celebratory about spending the holidays somewhere warm, where the Pacific is just outside your door, your toes are buried in sand, and the days invite you to be outdoors together.
Here at Santarena, a beachfront boutique hotel in the heart of Las Catalinas, that might mean waking up to sunshine, walking the few steps to Playa Danta, and letting the beach set the pace for your morning. Maybe you head into the water. Maybe you stay beneath the shade for a while. Maybe you decide that snorkeling, kayaking, or paddle boarding sounds just right.
Later, the day shifts toward cocktails, dinner, and an ocean-view table for two – and it’s this combination that makes a holiday stay here feel so special: You get the energy of coastal Costa Rica during the day, the intimacy of a boutique experience, and plenty of room in between to enjoy the person you came with.
What Does a Couple’s Holiday Look Like at Santarena?
For us, it starts with giving you plenty of ways to enjoy the day together.
Playa Danta is just steps from Santarena, making the beach a natural – and ever-present – part of the experience. You can walk along the sand, swim in the Pacific, sit beneath the shade, or simply stay close enough to the water to hear the surf.
And when you want to move, there are plenty of ways to do that too. Snorkeling gives you a chance to experience the water from a completely different perspective. Don a mask, dive beneath the water’s surface, and suddenly the two of you are sharing a world that’s sensorily and wonderfully removed from everything happening on land.
Paddleboarding and kayaking offer another way to spend time on the water, especially when you want something active that still gives you space to look around and enjoy the coastline together.
You can also take your holiday beyond the beach. Tennis and pickleball give you an easy way to add a little movement to the day, while the trails through Las Catalinas open up more than 42 kilometers (26+ miles) of trails for hiking and trail running, as well as mountain biking. Want to take it a little easier? Grab your flip-flops and explore our walkable town along cobblestone streets. Depending on your dates, there may also be classes, activities, or other experiences available, many at no additional cost, through our weekly experience program.
The result is a holiday that moves easily between active moments and slower ones, all depending on whatever sounds good that day.
Beach Days That Feel Like a Celebration
A day at the beach has a way of making everything feel lighter, breezier, and full of joy.
Maybe it’s the warm water. Maybe it’s the fact that you can spend an hour snorkeling and come back talking about that one fish, ray, or patch of reef you both noticed. Maybe it’s simply the pleasure of walking through the surf together with nowhere you need to rush off to.
At Playa Danta, those moments are right outside Santarena. When the mood hits, you can simply decide to spend the morning in the water, find a shady spot afterward, and let the day unfold around you. If the Pacific looks inviting, you take a swim. If you feel like taking a paddle board out, go for it! If the two of you would rather stay on the sand for a while, that works too.
And because the beach is just steps from Santarena, the day flows naturally between Playa Danta and Santarena. You can pop into your room, take a swim in the rooftop pool, relax on a lounger, or settle into one of the hotel’s quieter corners before deciding what comes next.
Make Dinner Part of the Holiday
Holiday dinners deserve a sense of occasion, and our Private Chef Table Service gives you an intimate way to make the evening part of the celebration.
The experience centers on a menu thoughtfully created by our chef using locally sourced, organic ingredients. Farm-fresh vegetables, ethically sourced proteins, and a focus on sustainable well-being dining bring together food that feels both considered and deeply connected to the ingredients themselves.
It’s the kind of evening that fits naturally into a holiday stay for two. After a day at Playa Danta or out on the water, you can return to Santarena, get ready for dinner, and settle in at Ponciana for a private culinary experience built around flavor, thoughtful sourcing, and time together.
For couples, it adds another dimension to the trip: warm days by the Pacific followed by a dinner that gives the holiday its own memorable sense of occasion.
Santarena Is a Part of the Celebration
Some of the best holiday magic happens in between the things you planned.
At Santarena, that might be coming back from Playa Danta and heading upstairs for a rooftop swim. Or settling onto side-by-side loungers as the afternoon light arcs over the rooftop, ordering a drink during happy hour, and realizing you’re perfectly happy staying right where you are for a while.
That’s one of the things our guests love about spending the holidays here: we give the two of you plenty of places to enjoy the day together, so you can see where the day takes you. You might find a quiet corner downstairs for coffee or conversation, meet again at Ponciana Bar before dinner, or linger over a meal at Ponciana Restaurant. Around you, our architecture, open-air spaces, and little tucked-away places make even the unplanned hours feel like an integral part of the trip.
And when you do feel like heading out, Playa Danta and the walkable streets of Las Catalinas are right outside. Our concierge team can help with whatever you’d like to add to the stay, but there’s just as much pleasure in the hours you leave open.
Celebrate the Holidays by the Pacific
A holiday for two at Santarena can be full of the things that make this time of year feel special: great food, beautiful surroundings, a little sense of occasion, and time that belongs to just the two of you.
Spend the morning at Playa Danta. Wade into our warm Pacific waters. Try something new together. Come back to the rooftop for the afternoon. Dress for dinner and let the evening become part of the celebration. There’s sunshine, saltwater, beautiful food, and the Pacific just outside. And that’s definitely a holiday worth looking forward to.
Planning a Holiday Stay at Santarena?
Our holidays dates are limited, so if you’re thinking about an end-of-year getaway, now’s the time to begin planning. Email our team to ask about availability, dining, and experiences for your dates. We’ll see you soon!
Prefer WhatsApp? You can also message us there for quick questions or help getting started.
