JW Marriott Goes All-Inclusive
JW Marriott's first all-inclusive is open in Guanacaste, from $900 per person per night. A 45-room Griffin Club and a wellness program are what advisors will sell.
The luxury all-inclusive has another heavyweight. Marriott announced on 6 October the opening of JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort & Spa, the JW Marriott brand’s first all-inclusive, on Costa Rica’s northern Pacific coast in Guanacaste. Rates start at $900 per person per night, based on double occupancy.
That price puts it squarely against the region’s top all-inclusives, not mid-market Guanacaste. For advisors, the useful question is what the extra buys, and Marriott’s answer is a private club and wellness.
The resort
The resort sits above the bay at Playa El Jobo, in La Cruz near the Nicaraguan border, within the Costa Elena resort-residential community. According to Marriott:
- 415 rooms and suites with a villa-style feel, including Presidential Suites with separate living areas, and “Mindful” rooms and suites. Select ground-floor suites have semi-private swim-out pools.
- 15 dining and bar venues, among them Leal, a Guanacaste-inspired hub with coffee roasting and a seven-course tasting menu; Puerto Limón for Afro-Caribbean cooking; teppanyaki at Namuyaki; and LaGloria, a nine-seat root beer stand honouring J. Willard Marriott’s first business, opened in Washington, D.C. in 1927.
- A 16,000 sq ft wellness area with the Spa by JW, a fitness centre and the brand’s first Mindfulness House, offering sound healing, Reiki and cacao ceremonies.
- Family JW programming alongside adult activities.
The property occupies the former Dreams Las Mareas site, which changed hands in 2025, according to The Tico Times. Operator Mullen Hospitality Management has described the project as a $60 million transformation, the paper reports.
The Griffin Club
The upsell is the Griffin Club, a resort-within-a-resort. The Tico Times puts it at 45 rooms. Marriott lists a pre-arrival well-being consultation, a private arrival lounge, a personal assistant, a 24/7 lounge, a dedicated pool with concierge service, a private beach area, a companion for unpacking, laundry and turndown, and priority dining reservations and cabanas.
Bruce Rohr, vice president and global brand leader for JW Marriott, said: “From the beginning, our vision was not simply to create an all-inclusive resort, but an all-immersive experience.” Javier Coll, president of Mullen Hospitality Management, said “today’s luxury traveler expects far more than the convenience” of the traditional model.
The market
Marriott’s entry follows Hilton taking Waldorf Astoria and Conrad all-inclusive in the Riviera Maya. Both companies are betting that luxury guests will pay for inclusions if the product feels like a hotel, not a package. Federico Greppi, Marriott’s president for the Caribbean and Latin America, called Costa Rica “one of the most compelling luxury destinations in Latin America.”
For advisors
- Who to pitch: Marriott Bonvoy loyalists, wellness clients, and families who want inclusions without a mass-market resort.
- Sell the Griffin Club to anyone booking a suite. With only about 45 rooms, it is the inventory to secure first for holidays.
- Fly into Liberia (LIR) and confirm transfer time with the resort before quoting; the release does not give it.
- Watch: opening offers and Bonvoy points pricing, neither of which Marriott announced at launch.
Sources
Hotel Watch columnist. Openings, the business of hospitality and what sustainability looks like in daily operations.