Quick answer: Hacienda Pinilla is a 4,500-acre gated beach and golf resort south of Tamarindo in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. According to the resort's own materials, it spans roughly three miles of Pacific coastline, contains an 18-hole golf course, a beachfront Beach Club, an equestrian center, tennis courts, trail networks and a small market, and its residential offering runs from condominiums and golf-course homes to beachfront estates and titled building lots. This guide compiles what the resort publishes, notes what it does not, and lists the questions a buyer should verify before making an offer.
Where it is
Hacienda Pinilla sits on the coast south of Tamarindo, in the Santa Cruz canton of Guanacaste. The nearest international airport is Liberia (LIR). Rather than quote a drive time here, every listing on this site shows a computed driving time to LIR on its own page - use that for the specific property you are considering.
The beaches
The property fronts several beaches. Playa Avellanas, at the southern end, is one of Guanacaste's best-known surf breaks. Playa Mansita and Playa Bonita sit within the resort itself - Mansita directly in front of the JW Marriott hotel - and Playa Langosta lies just north toward Tamarindo. All beaches in Costa Rica are public by law up to the 50-meter public zone; what a gated community controls is land access through its property, not the sand itself. (For how coastal land ownership actually works, see my guide to titled vs. concession beachfront.)
The golf course
Per the resort's golf page, the 18-hole course was designed by Mike Young, plays to par 72 at up to about 7,200 yards, and holds an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary designation for its conservation practices. The resort publishes a nine-hole option, a practice area, a pro shop and a restaurant-bar at the clubhouse, with current rates and tee times listed on that page.
The rest of the amenities
The resort's amenities page lists the beachfront Beach Club, tennis and pickleball, an equestrian center, mountain-bike and hiking trails through tropical dry forest, and the Pinilla Market for basics. The JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa operates inside the property, adding hotel restaurants and a spa. Amenity access, membership terms and any usage fees vary by what you buy and are set by the resort and the relevant associations - confirm the current terms in writing for the specific property before you offer.
Property types and neighborhoods
Hacienda Pinilla has been developed in phases since the 1990s and is organized into distinct sections rather than one uniform product: beachfront and estate homes, golf-course neighborhoods (Reserva de Golf, for example, is a defined 136-lot neighborhood along the course), condominium sections, and titled homesites where buyers design and build. Each section has its own governance and fee structure layered under the master resort.
What Hacienda Pinilla does not publish
Current HOA fees per neighborhood, rental-program rules, and per-section construction guidelines are not published openly and change over time. Treat any figure you read on a third-party site - including price or fee ranges - as a starting point to verify, not a fact. Before an offer, request in writing:
- The current fee schedule for the specific neighborhood, plus the master resort obligations
- The neighborhood's construction guidelines and approval process, if you plan to build
- Rental rules for the section, if income matters to your plan
- The HOA's financial statements and any planned special assessments
Buying here
I sell in Hacienda Pinilla more than in any other community on this coast, and my agent's-eye view - who it fits, honest trade-offs, and my current listings inside the resort - lives on my Hacienda Pinilla community page. You can browse every current listing at soldbytiago.com/properties.
Sources & Verification
- Hacienda Pinilla - official site - resort overview and contact
- Hacienda Pinilla - golf - course details, designer, rates
- Hacienda Pinilla - amenities - Beach Club, equestrian, trails
- Resort-specific claims above are attributed to Hacienda Pinilla's published materials; fee, rule and availability details must be confirmed directly with the resort and the relevant homeowners associations.
About this article. Written for SoldByTiago by Tiago Leao, a real estate agent with KRAIN Luxury Real Estate in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Last reviewed: July 18, 2026. This article is general education, not legal, tax, or investment advice. Rules, fees and procedures change - verify everything that matters to your purchase with a Costa Rican attorney and the official sources linked above before acting.
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