Short answer: most people who end up investing in a Costa Rican hotel start by exploring, long before they look at a specific property. That is the stage where we keep things simple: a written discovery itinerary for the regions that fit your idea, and, if you want to see them with us, a guided day on the ground. It costs little compared to what is at stake, and it saves you from spending months in the wrong region.
Why start with the place, not the property
Costa Rica is a small country with very different markets inside it. A lodge in the cloud forest, a beach hotel on the Pacific, an eco-lodge near a volcano and a boutique hotel on the Caribbean coast live from different guests, different seasons, different access and different costs. The same budget buys something completely different in each.
Many investors begin with a listing that caught their eye. We suggest the opposite order. First understand which regions fit your idea, your budget and the life you want around the investment. Then look at the opportunities in those regions. A property is easy to fall in love with; a region is what decides whether the business works.
The Explorer pack
- Explorer itinerary: USD 490. A written discovery itinerary for the tourism regions that fit your idea, with where to stay, what to look at and who to meet.
- Guided location day: USD 1,500 per day, transport included. Daniel or I spend the day with you in a region, so you see it through the eyes of people who know it.
Prices are per group of up to four people and exclude IVA (Costa Rican value added tax), hotel nights and meals. Larger groups are welcome on request, with their own quote.
Everything after that, from the shortlist to the letter of intent, is scoped and quoted in writing once your brief is clear.
What is in an Explorer itinerary
The itinerary starts from a conversation about your idea: what kind of hotel, what budget range, how involved you want to be, and what matters to you beyond the numbers. From there we write a route through the regions that fit, and leave out the ones that do not, with the reason.
For each region it covers:
- How you get there and how guests get there. Airports, road access and travel times, because access shapes both your guests and your costs.
- Where to stay. Hotels to stay in as a guest, chosen because they tell you something about the market you are considering.
- What to look at. The towns, the beaches or the forest, the land around them, the level of development, and what a guest actually does there.
- Who to meet. People who can tell you how the region really works, from our own network where it helps.
- What to ask. The questions that matter in that region, so the trip gives you answers rather than impressions.
You travel on your own schedule, with a plan that makes every day count.
A guided location day
If you want to see a region with us, Daniel or I spend the day with you. We pick you up, and we drive the region together: the towns, the roads, the land, the hotels that compete for the same guests. We stop where it is worth stopping, we have lunch where the market can be read, and we talk to the people you would work with.
Daniel reads the destination: guests, seasons, access and where tourism in the region is heading. I read it as an investor: what a business here can carry, what it would cost to put right, and what has to happen for a plan to work. Between us you get both readings in one day.
One thing we do not do on a location day: visit the properties on our register. Those owners have trusted us with confidential businesses, and their doors open later, when you have a written brief, a mandate and proof of funds, and you ask for a specific asset. This protects them, and it protects your time.
Who it is for
- Private investors and families considering their first hotel in Costa Rica.
- Operators and investors from abroad who know hospitality but not this country.
- Anyone who has a budget and an idea, but not yet a region.
It is not the right first step if you already have a mandate, capital in place and a specific asset in mind. Then we go straight to your brief.
What comes after
Exploring ends with a clearer brief: the regions, the type of asset, the budget and the timeline. From there, the path is the one we describe in how we guide investors in Costa Rican hospitality. Our blind teasers are public and can be downloaded from every listing on our site, under its CHN reference code. We match them to your brief, including silent listings, and for each asset you choose you register and sign an NDA for that asset, which opens its identity and file.
Frequently asked questions
How do I pay?
By bank transfer or through an online payment link, before the itinerary is written or the location day takes place.
Can I cancel?
Payments are not refundable, but you can change the date of your location day. Let us know as early as possible and we will find a new date together.
How many people can join?
The prices are for a group of up to four people, which keeps the day personal and fits one vehicle. Larger groups are welcome on request, with their own quote.
Can we visit hotels that are for sale during the location day?
Not the ones on our register at this stage. We visit regions, towns, land and comparable hotels as guests. Specific assets open later, under NDA and with the owner’s consent.
In which languages do you work?
Spanish, English, Dutch, German and French.
How do I start?
Write to us with your idea, even if it is still rough. We reply with a short set of questions, and from your answers we prepare the itinerary.
CHN Hospitality Partners is an intermediary in hospitality businesses in Costa Rica, not a real estate agency. Tara Nowacki and Daniel Chavarria guide investors in hotels, lodges, resorts, hospitality development land and joint ventures, from the first scouting trip to the letter of intent and beyond. Write to tara@invest-costarica.com or daniel@invest-costarica.com.
General orientation only. Not legal, tax or investment advice.
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