A Global Hotel Giant Is Bringing a Rare Luxury Brand to Costa Rica — for the First Time

Hilton is extending one of its most exclusive nameplates into a market it has never touched with the brand. The company announced Maravé Manuel Antonio, LXR Hotels & Resorts, which will introduce the LXR collection to Costa Rica for the first time when it opens, currently targeted for 2029.

The resort will sit on a nearly 40-acre coastal estate with roughly 650 feet of Pacific beachfront near Manuel Antonio, one of the country's best-known stretches of rainforest-meets-ocean scenery. Plans call for 173 hotel rooms, suites and branded residences, placing it firmly in the low-density, high-touch category that defines LXR, Hilton's portfolio of independent luxury properties.

The project fits two development trends that keep reappearing across the region. The first is luxury operators pairing hotels with branded residences, using real-estate sales to help finance marquee resorts. The second is a hunt for environmentally distinctive destinations — coastlines, jungles and reserves — that give a property a built-in identity rather than relying on the brand name alone.

Costa Rica has become a natural target for that strategy. The country already draws a steady flow of upscale and all-inclusive travelers, with properties such as the JW Marriott All-Inclusive Resort Costa Rica and Secrets Papagayo anchoring its luxury tier. Adding a rare LXR flag deepens the roster of premium options and signals that major chains see room to grow at the very top of the market.

An opening several years out means plenty can change, and 2029 is a long runway for a resort still on paper. But the announcement is a clear statement of intent: Hilton wants a foothold in Manuel Antonio, and it is using its most rarefied brand to claim it.