Local Restaurant Review: Graffiti Resto & Wine Bar

One night last week, Lolly & I found ourselves in Jaco looking for somewhere to grab dinner when I remembered reading about a new restaurant in town called Graffiti. Hidden in the Pacific Center (look for the KFC) at the north end of town, Graffiti Resto Cafe & Wine Bar is a tiny gem.

We entered the small restaurant and were immediately greeted by a very welcoming server who sat us at a table next to the window. The walls are covered in graffiti art and the radio was pumping a reggae version of Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain." We arrived on the early side and there were 4 or 5 other tables of diners already settled in.

The menu is a mixture of tropical dishes and Asian items (there is a small sushi menu). The menu is a bit tongue in cheek, with the main courses referred to as "Ghetto Gourmet." Our server happily explained the entire menu to us taking special care with the house specialty steak, rubbed with coffee and cacao. In the end, we both decided on fish dishes. Lolly tried the catch of the day, dorado (mahi mahi), encrusted with macadamia nuts and served with a miso sauce. This was a really lovely dish- all of the flavors complemented and none overwhelmed. The fish was also offered with your choice of 6 different sauces.  I opted for a tuna special, a coconut encrusted filet of tuna seared with a Thai chili sauce. We also tried 2 of their martinis - a cucumber basil martini & a lemontini. Both were delicious. Entree prices range from $15 to $20 and martinis are all priced at $5.

All in all, we highly recommend this great new find for your next trip to Costa Rica!

Buen provecho!

Del Pacifico Announces Launch of New Fractional Private Residence Club

June 14, 2012 (Esterillos, Costa Rica) - Del Pacifico, a master planned resort community on the central coast of Costa Rica near Quepos and Manuel Antonio - announced today the launch of the Del Pacifico Club, a private residence club offering fractional real estate and carefree ownership.  Fractional real estate and residence clubs have grown in popularity because of the market conditions and buyers get much more home for the money, lower upkeep costs and the ease of ownership. Many consumers are finding it’s the smarter way to own an international second or vacation home.

Owners can choose from one, two and three bedroom villas nestled on a hilltop overlooking the warm tropical waters of the Pacific, and woven into the very fabric of Costa Rica’s rich cultural heritage and stunning natural beauty. Owners at the Del Pacifico Club will have exclusive access to the amenities of it’s sister property the Alma del Pacifico Hotel, ranked a top ten in Central America. Owners will enjoy private beach access, restaurant and bars, fitness facilities and their acclaimed spa.

“We are excited to add the Del Pacifico Club to the other real estate offerings at Del Pacifico", says Barry Strudwick, developer/partner at Del Pacifico - “The residence club will give the ability for people who love beautiful Costa Rica but realistically would only visit their home here 5-6 times per year.  They’ll enjoy a luxury home and the services of a boutique hotel for a fraction of the cost and none of the hassles associated with owning international real estate or a home in Costa Rica”, adds Strudwick.

The Del Pacifico Club offers fractional ownership in the seaside village nestled on a hill overlooking the Pacific. Additionally, the Club will offer one-bedroom Plaza Studios and two-bedroom and three-bedroom Villas. All the Del Pacifico Club units come fully and beautifully furnished with prices starting at only $39,000.

The Residence Club at Del Pacifico is a fractionally owned residential property. Buyers receive a 1/10th-deeded real estate interest in a world-class Costa Rican vacation home without the hassles of full-ownership. Like other forms of real estate, fractional residence club ownership interests can be sold, willed, deeded or placed in a trust. This proven real estate model has been coined the smarter way to own a vacation home, and has been successful in other elite destinations around the world.

Residence Club Partners of Asheville, NC, the management company at Del Pacifico Club, feels this model will change the future of second home ownership in Costa Rica forever. “In addition to a growing trend in fractional ownership and residence club home ownership vs. whole ownership, Owners are demanding more services and hassle free ownership that residence club owners enjoy at all of our clubs. Owner services at our clubs include a Club Concierge, housekeeping, onsite management and very unique custom experience packages, things you don’t get with the typical real estate purchase,” says Mandy Allfrey of Residence Club Partners.

The Del Pacifico Club is a private residence club within the Del Pacifico second home community near Quepos and Manuel Antonio, on Costa Rica’s beautiful central coast. Vacation and second home buyers interested in learning more about The Del Pacifico Club in Esterillos, can visit www.delpacificoclub.com

Costa Rica's Medical Tourism Industry Highlighted in the New Yorker

Did you know that 15% of all tourism to Costa Rica is related to medical tourism? This is a major driver for real estate values. Medical tourism is nothing new- for years people have been traveling overseas for procedures that they couldn't afford in their own country or for the opportunity to use a doctor who is the premier in his or her field. For years, patients have traveled to the Mayo Clinic for cancer treatment or to Latin America for cosmetic surgery.

View fullsize

Last week, the New Yorker featured an article about the medical tourism boom in Costa Rica. Click here to read their take on the trend.

Explore why resort real estate (and condos at Del Pacifico) will profit from this high growth trend.  To learn more about medical tourism in Costa Rica, click here to request a copy of our medical tourism report.

Questions? Contact us for more information.

Special Offer to International Living Visitors to Costa Rica

I wason the plane recently, coming back from Del Pacifico &Alma del Pacifico Hotelfor the inauguration of the Beach Bar at Alma... 

During my trip I met four different people who were subscribers to a publication called International Living which is published by Agora Publishing. Agora also publishes hard asset oriented newsletters, including the Oxford Club Communique & the Sovereign Society Newsletter. It struck me that this was a disproportionate number of the total people who read these investment newsletters. Over the past several months we have also met several people visiting Costa Rica to look at real estate investments at projects in the Southern Zone of Costa Rica, like Hacienda Matapalo & the Pacific Lots projects on the Osa Peninsula. Over the past year perhaps a dozen people have visited Del Pacifico after their visits to Osa to view real estate. The general consensus is that Del Pacifico is much further along than these other projects in Southern Costa Rica. Coincidentally, all these visitors actually drive through Del Pacifico on their way to the south.

For anybody wishing to visit with us on your trip to Costa Rica, please contact our US office and we will arrange a special discounted rate to stay at our beachfront hotel or in one of our extraordinary condos. 410-727-6444

Tips for Riding a Horse on the Beach

Riding a horse on the beach, I believe, is everyone’s fantasy. It is one of the most popular and romantic places to take a ride. As we all know, a horse is a free spirit. When you ride a horse on the beach you can do it one of 3 ways. By nature a horse has 3 speeds, they are "walking, trotting and cantering.”

Walking
Most of our horses are trained to go on the beach.  They like it too- although not all of them like to walk on the water. Walking with a horse on the beach will give you time to enjoy the scenery & to get to know your horse. You will learn to feel the horse relax. Once you do this, you can go on to the second step, Trotting.

Trotting
Before you do this make sure to walk the horse around to get to know him better, feel the reins and make sure to call the horse by his name and every now and then pat your horse on the neck NOT on the back. Sit tight, relax as much as you can and loosen the reigns a bit, without losing contact with the horse. We are not cantering therefore we have to hold back the reins a bit. At the beginning it will be a little pumping but a few steps and you will be fine. It is a little faster than a walk. Mostly of the tour horses are good trotting.

Cantering
We all go wild and enthusiastic riding a horse on the beach. When you gallop or canter on the beach make sure you have done the 2 previous steps.  Try Cantering a few times to get the feeling of it, then let your fantasy go and gallop.

Tips for Horseback Riding in Costa Rica
1. Always make sure to listen to your guide.
2. Dress appropriately: jeans are the most friendly, don’t forget a cowboy hat, sunscreen and a bottle of water.
3. Take the reins with both hands, lower your elbows and relax your shoulders. Loosen the reins without losing contact with the horse.

View fullsize

4. Feel the fresh breeze and the salty dew from the ocean as you gallop along with your horse through the soft brown sand, and you could even take your horse for a gallop along the crashing waves for a really exciting adventure.

5. Always stay with your group. Enjoy every moment as if it were the last, don’t rush, simply enjoy the ocean’s beauty, the subtlety of the horse’s gallop and the pleasures that Del Pacifico may give you.

6. Don’t forget to pat your horse every now and then, take pictures, and enjoy the view.

7. Contact us to schedule your horseback tour!