JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort & Spa, All-Inclusive
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The world's first all-inclusive JW Marriott, opened Sep 10, 2026 on Playa El Jobo in Guanacaste after a full conversion of the former Dreams Las Mareas. 415 suites, 11 restaurants and bars, a 44,000-sq-ft pool complex, and a 45-suite Griffin Club with butler service.
Things to Know
Seaweed & sargassum
Costa Rica gets sargassum, typically worst March through August on the Caribbean coast only; the Pacific coast is clear every month.See the month-by-month guide →Atmosphere
Room Upgrades
Amenities
Quick answers
- Is JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort & Spa, All-Inclusive adults only?
- No — JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort & Spa, All-Inclusive is a family-friendly resort that accepts children of all ages.
- Where is JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort & Spa, All-Inclusive?
- JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort & Spa, All-Inclusive is in El Jobo, Costa Rica. Its address is Guanacaste Province, La Cruz, Costa Rica.
- How many rooms does JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort & Spa, All-Inclusive have?
- JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort & Spa, All-Inclusive has 415 rooms.
- Is JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort & Spa, All-Inclusive all-inclusive?
- Yes — JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort & Spa, All-Inclusive is an all-inclusive resort, so meals, drinks and most on-site activities are covered by the rate.
Traveler Insights(720 discussions)
JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort & Spa, All-Inclusive opened September 10, 2026 as the first all-inclusive resort in the JW Marriott brand anywhere in the world — and it landed on a site Guanacaste regulars already know, the former Dreams Las Mareas at Playa El Jobo. Mullen Real Estate Capital and Marriott gutted and reimagined the property rather than building new: 415 all-suite accommodations (including swim-out rooms and a 45-suite Griffin Club hotel-within-a-hotel with butler service), a 44,000-square-foot pool complex billed as Costa Rica's largest, and a 16,000-square-foot Spa by JW. Because it just opened, there's no genuine guest track record yet — everything below is based on what Marriott has published and what early trade coverage confirms.
The practical setup: 11 restaurants and bars spanning Costa Rican, Japanese, Asian, Italian, seafood, and buffet concepts, plus a JW culinary school and the brand's first stand-alone root beer stand. Family by JW programming and a dedicated kids club make this a family resort, not an adults-only play, while the Griffin Club tier gives couples and VIP groups a quieter lane with private check-in and exclusive pool and beach access. Junior suites start at 527 square feet with balcony hot tubs. Introductory all-inclusive rates have been quoted around $900 per night for double occupancy — a meaningful step up from what this property charged in its Dreams years, and priced above nearly every other Guanacaste all-inclusive.
Who should book it: Marriott Bonvoy loyalists who've wanted a points-friendly luxury all-inclusive on this coast, families who want suite space and serious pool infrastructure, and early adopters comfortable being among the first guests at a brand-new operation. The El Jobo location is beautiful but remote — about 1.5 hours from Liberia airport, with Arenal and Monteverde multi-hour excursions — so plan to stay on-property. It now competes above RIU Palace Costa Rica, Planet Hollywood, and the Papagayo crowd on price; the open question a few months of real guest stays will answer is whether the service delivers at that level from day one.
Pros
- +This is the world's first all-inclusive JW Marriott — Marriott put its flagship luxury badge on the opening, and the top-to-bottom conversion of the former Dreams Las Mareas shows a real investment, not a logo swap
- +The 44,000-square-foot pool complex is billed as the largest resort poolscape in Costa Rica, replacing the old Dreams infinity pools with something substantially bigger
- +All 415 accommodations are suites — junior suites start at 527 square feet with a private furnished balcony or terrace and a hot tub, and swim-out options are available
- +Eleven restaurants and bars cover Costa Rican, Japanese, Asian, Italian, seafood, and international buffet concepts, plus JW's interactive culinary school and the brand's first stand-alone root beer stand
- +The 45-suite Griffin Club is a hotel-within-a-hotel with private check-in, butler service, and exclusive pool and beach access — a genuine VIP tier rather than a lounge upsell
- +It earns and redeems Marriott Bonvoy points, which is rare currency at a Costa Rica all-inclusive and a big deal for points travelers who were previously locked out of this coast
- +The 16,000-square-foot Spa by JW includes kid-friendly treatments alongside a dedicated mindfulness hub, so wellness programming spans the whole family
- +The El Jobo site keeps what always worked here: reliable Guanacaste dry-season sun (December-April), a secluded Pacific cove, and dry-tropical-forest hillsides inside the 3,000-acre Costa Elena community
Cons
- −Zero guest track record — the resort opened September 10, 2026, so every review you can find predates real stays; expect opening-months service kinks as 11 venues and a new staff find their rhythm
- −Pricing jumped sharply from the Dreams era: introductory all-inclusive rates run around $900 per night for two (some listings quote per person), roughly double what comparable Guanacaste all-inclusives charge
- −The remote El Jobo location hasn't changed — figure about 1.5 hours from Liberia airport, and marquee Costa Rica attractions like Arenal and Monteverde remain multi-hour road trips
- −Marriott Bonvoy award-night availability wasn't loaded at launch according to points-focused coverage, so redemptions may lag cash bookings for a while
- −It's a conversion of the Dreams Las Mareas buildings, not a ground-up build — the bones are a decade old, so it's worth confirming how deeply your specific room category was renovated
- −Nearly all marketing imagery so far is pre-opening renderings rather than photographs, so the real-world finish level is still unverified
- −Playa El Jobo's Pacific surf is stronger than Caribbean-calm water — young or weak swimmers need supervision in the ocean, with the pool complex as the fallback
- −There is essentially no off-resort dining or nightlife in El Jobo, so at these prices you are committed to the resort's own venues for the whole stay