The Four Seasons Tamarindo is the closest thing I've found to a fairy tale in real life - which surprised me, because it also felt like the world's best kept secret. But I don't think it will stay a secret for long. Built into an immense cliff on the Pacific coast, with no other development in sight, the setting alone feels a bit surreal. But peel back the luxury wrapping, and what actually makes this place special is the people. Every staff member I met was warm, funny, and genuinely themselves, which meant it was the best possible version of Mexican hospitality. You will still get the Four Seasons polish, but with staff who are never running a script. I went in expecting some level of Disney-ified version of Mexico for Americans, but what I got was the real deal, from the farm that grows your breakfast, to the guide who remembers your name at the pool. I genuinely felt like I was let in on a local secret - and I can't wait to go back.
I'm a Seattle-based luxury travel advisor, and I'd love to help you plan a stay here, including getting you a room upgrade before you even arrive. More on that below!
And before we dig in, I want to disclose that I was invited to a complimentary stay, but paid for my own airfare, transfers, food and beverage, and activities. However, everything you read is my honest take, and nobody read this before I hit publish. (For better or worse - lol.)
Four Seasons Tamarindo Rooms & Suites
When you stay at a Four Seasons, you know what you are getting, and I always appreciate the remarkable consistency in the quality of their rooms. This property is divided into two sides, and they are both lovely in different ways. On one side, the beachfront rooms sit closer to the restaurants and pools, and have a stunning view of the non-swimmable beach. These rooms have many connecting options and pull-out couches, and some have bigger dining areas too, which makes them really easy for family and friend groups to use together.
The other side of the property is the cliffside suites, which is further uphill, reached by golf cart, and split into upper and lower units for each building. These are the more secluded and romantic rooms, all with their own infinity pools. It's also worth noting that they have villas and beach houses as well, but these were occupied during my stay, so I did not get a chance to view them in person. And of course, I have to note that every room has AC.
I stayed in a "Cliffside Ocean View One Bedroom Suite with Inifity Pool" and it was absolutely flawless. The "room" is more spacious than most Seattle condos! Warm carved wood paneling, locally woven rugs, modern fixtures, and a classic Four Seasons king bed all led to an extremely comfortable stay. All of the rooms - even entry level ones - are very generous and spacious. I really loved the layout of my suite, with a living room, bedroom, and bathroom roughly equal in size and all with incredible views of the ocean. I found all of the furniture comfy and well-proportioned, including the little dining table where I got to try the brilliant pastry chef’s creation of a mescal truffle. I also loved the wooden shutter aesthetic, but if you are a blackout curtain person, they do require a bit more work to close at night. Click the video to see a little tour of my room.
The highlight of this room was, of course, the deck with a massive private infinity pool. It was big enough to swim laps in if you wanted to. It was so wonderful to swim all hours of the day and night, watch the sunsets from my pool, and watch the stars come out. I probably spent as much time in water every day as I did sleeping, which was pretty incredible. This is the sunset view from the pool! I also loved that the room had a Bluetooth speaker that you could take out there. But I also liked other little details, like the outdoor shower having a big stone block (easier to shave your legs!), coffee from different coffee-growing regions of Mexico, and the huge closet where I could iron and hang my linen and cotton dresses. Apparently, the closet is also a phenomenal toddler/baby room since you can shut the door for sleeping without needing you to be silent after bedtime!
One quick note is that the cliffside suites are split into upper and lower units. I was in an upper level, but my lower-level neighbor reported visits from raccoons and coatis while he was using his pool. If you don't want furry visitors, request an upper unit.
Four Seasons Tamarindo Restaurants & Dining
There are three restaurants onsite: Coyul, Nacho, and Sal, each with their own personality. Coyul is the only one that serves breakfast, but all three serve lunch and dinner. Since you are in a remote area, leaving the resort is a chore - so it's important that the food is excellent. Thankfully, it is.
Coyul, the breakfast spot, deserves serious praise for its gluten-free offerings. I have celiac and therefore low expectations for substitutions, but the fresh-baked gluten-free toast I ate every morning with pineapple preserves was some of the best I've had anywhere in the world. Their buffet and a la carte menu also have lots of savory options, like huevos rancheros, mole tamales, and chilaquiles. The one day I ate the breakfast buffet, it was after an hour-long hike, and I ended up not needing lunch - it’s very generous.
Nacho is a more casual taqueria, and it was our first stop after a long travel day. The Sikil Pak, a traditional Mayan dip of pumpkin seeds, garlic, tomato, and habanero, was one of the best things I ate on the entire trip. The wild boar tacos and fish tacos were both excellent, too. And of course, the view can't be beat!
Sal, perched just above the tide with sunset views, was our favorite by a wide margin. The local red snapper came grilled with perfectly crispy skin, and the baby beets and carrots were some of the sweetest I've had. If you're celebrating something, this is where you should eat. But there is nothing stopping you from eating there every night! Besides the immaculate setting, we got a lesson in local food history, including the macabre origins of pozole. We learned that chile, lime, and salt are the holy trinity of Mexican food, and that pozole started as soldier’s food using human remains as the meat, especially to imbue the power of a defeated opponent. Is that true? Not sure, but it's a hell of an origin story! :)
I also think it would be fun to do a progressive dinner across all three restaurants. Start at Nacho for tacos and drinks, head to Sal for your main course, and finish at Coyul for their outstanding desserts. The rosemary and orange flan was a novel delight, and the rice pudding was the best I've ever had.
It's also worth mentioning that you can get food delivered to your room or the swimming beach, but there is no onsite kitchen at the swimmable beach, so plan ahead by about 45 minutes for food to arrive. I had a lovely shrimp Cobb salad, and somehow it arrived with perfectly cooked shrimp that were still warm, without the lettuce wilting. So I’m not sure what magic they used, but I was impressed.
Lastly, if you don't drink, you're well taken care of here too. The tamarind, horchata, and lime slushies at the beach shack really hit right at 95 degrees, even without alcohol. They also offered a daily tepache, which is a Mexican pineapple fermented drink that was made in Mesoamerican times before kombucha was cool. They change its flavor pairing every day: cinnamon and clove, basil and chamoy, and other creative takes. And of course, Seattleites with high standards for coffee will find great espresso, Chemex, and more.
The Heart of Four Seasons Tamarindo: People & Place
One thing that really stood out to me is how proudly Mexican this place feels, in both the property itself and the people who are hosting you. It feels so much more warm, inviting, and fun than similar five-star properties, so it's worth talking about.
Let's start with the architecture itself. This property was designed by Mexican architects, and it took 15 years to build because the owners insisted on using only local Mexican craftspeople, artists, and contractors. And it shows up in every detail: hand-carved panels from a neighboring state, art from a local collective, and even beach totes woven by women in nearby villages. Each room has a pull-out couch with a custom-made Four Seasons mattress, which are not only comfy but will soon be produced in Mexico as well. The spa also has an area for Temazcal, a special pre-Colombian ritual with local healers for spiritual clarity and relaxation. Needless to say, there is pride throughout the physical architecture in being Mexican-designed and built.
When it comes to the people, the care they put into your stay feels so personal. About 90% of the staff come from surrounding communities, and it shows in how genuinely proud everyone seemed to share this space with us. One of the things I loved the most was the personality of everyone working at the resort - there was nothing scripted or fake at all. The staff were so warm and welcoming, which is typical of Mexico, but also really had a lot of personality and great stories. It was such a fun experience to get to know them. I already told you about the pozole story, but another staff member showed us pictures of his 3 dogs, a rooster, a chicken, and a parrot that is learning to talk and call his name like his wife does, lol. We laughed a lot with staff, and service was excellent, but it was that unpolished, unscripted vibe I loved the most.
I think it was also easy to see the staff were well cared for. No one was taking jobs from locals, and everyone I talked to said they loved their job, had been there many years, and were paid well. (Yes, I asked! I care about this stuff!) Also, many of the guests are Mexican or at least Spanish-speaking - we were easily able to speak Spanish or English with everyone, but it was nice to be somewhere Spanish was still the default.
I think overall, what is nice (and also, potentially a drawback for some people) is that you are not getting the sterile, corporate, deferential type of service you might expect from other Four Seasons properties. Instead, you’re getting amazing service that feels authentically Mexican without anyone hovering, waiting for your next request. For me, that is a win - I actually love more boutique-feeling hotels and resorts, and this felt like the best possible version of a Mexican resort. It was totally different from what I was expecting.
Rancho Lola, the onsite farm, is where a lot of this care also becomes visible. It's home to guardian dogs, sheep, chickens, donkeys, bees, and an experimental vanilla-growing operation. Our guide Judith let us meet lambs that were only two days old! The farm is working to increase production to 30% of the vegetables used, but they want to continue buying the rest from local farmers so the community benefits rather than gets replaced. Their compost and worm system has brilliantly fed both the golf course and the farm for over 20 years, and they keep native stingless bees for pollination even though it's a worse setup for honey production, because it's better for the local ecosystem.
Beyond the farm, most of the property stays wild and protected, with active partnerships on things like jaguar tracking. Only a small percentage of the total property has buildings on it. And from December through March, you can spot migratory whales right from your balcony, some of the very same humpbacks that spend summers off Alaska and Washington.
I've stayed many places that talked about sustainability, but this is one of the few places that let see it in action and ask questions. The way they are approaching sustainability is extremely thoughtful and localized, and I really believe you can feel good about supporting the local economy by staying here.
Four Seasons Tamarindo Activities & Things to Do
Rancho Lola Farm Tour
If you do nothing else, don't miss visiting the farm, which houses guardian dogs, sheep, chickens, donkeys, vegetables, bees, flowers, and an experimental vanilla growing operation. You can taste fruits and native bee honey, and see their compost operation, which I was extremely impressed by. They use the clippings from grasses as well as animal manure, put it in massive worm bins, and drain the liquids for liquid fertilizer for the golf course, which is brilliant. This system has been in place for over 20 years, and it is all they use on their immaculate golf course - another win for sustainability! They also grow all of the tropical flowers, succulents, and other ornamental plants that are used across the hotel, with zero imported products. It’s truly astonishing to see how much thought they have put into what they will and won’t produce onsite, and why.
The Art of Guacamole
This was also another favorite, as we learned how to make guacamole using a traditional molcajete (mortar and pestle) made from local volcanic rock. Our guac professor told us that it’s believed the rock may impart additional flavor, and we learned that the basis of all good guac is salt, chile, and lime before you put anything else in. I also added garlic, cilantro, tomato, and onion for a very traditional take. And then we got a bit wild and added fruit (cucumber, pineapple, or mango) - and even got to try toasted maguey worms (used in mescal) and grasshoppers! I honestly thought the grasshoppers were delicious - but so was our guacamole. We also loved getting to know our teacher and his penchant for comically bad movies, as well as hearing about his grandma’s prized molcajete that has been with her from age 6 now well into her 80s!
Beach & Swimming
For swimming, it helps to know that there are two distinct beaches. The main resort beach is dramatic and wonderful for walking, but can be a bit rough for swimming. Tamarindo Beach, just on the other side of the cliff, is calm, warm, and perfect for actually getting in the water. We went on yellow flag days, but I found it quite calm and easy to manage. There were many shaded loungers as well as sunblock throughout the area, so I didn't worry about burning. And of course, the Tamarindo beach also has a cute little beach shack with those fabulous slushies, and beach toys available for snorkeling, paddleboarding, floating, and more.
Obviously, you can also swim in your private pool - which I did. A lot. I think I watched almost every sunset from here, and it was restorative in a way I wasn't expecting.
Getting Active
If swimming doesn't wear you out, the amount of land conserved as a part of the property means that you can enjoy the jungle throughout your stay as well. There are nature hikes, forest bathing, birdwatching, and of course the stunning spa, which is set in the forest. On my nature hike, I learned that there are dozens of indigenous plant and animal species that are only found in this area, and even some which have been discovered onsite, like a new species of native bamboo. To be a part of this active conservation area is pretty cool, and there is lots to do and see. There is also the onsite golf course, plus an excellent gym with free weights, pilates classes, and cardio and weight training machines (leg press, ham curl, etc.). As a weightlifter, it had everything I needed and then some.
Four Seasons Tamarindo Service
The people are, without question, the best part of this resort. Every staff member I met felt like a real person, quick with a joke, happy to chat, and clearly proud of where they work. That warmth is consistent everywhere, from breakfast to the beach club.
Like any resort in a beautiful, remote place, a few things move at a gentler pace. Golf cart pickups can take close to their full 15-minute window, and one Sunday breakfast felt a little slow. But none of it took away from how well cared for we felt overall.
The one place I'd love to see them grow is anticipatory service around dietary needs. I have celiac, and while staff always asked about allergies at every meal, which I deeply appreciate, it would be lovely to eventually be remembered from one day to the next. This partially a Four Seasons problem, since their own booking system doesn't currently have a way to note this across an entire stay. This is exactly the kind of detail an advisor can flag to the resort ahead of your arrival.
Four Seasons Tamarindo in Mexico: Is It Worth It?
Yes. Wholeheartedly.
This is a resort that manages something rare: it feels remote and wild and a little bit magical, while still delivering every bit of the comfort and care you'd expect from a Four Seasons. It surprised me in the best ways. The setting is dramatic, the food is genuinely excellent, and the people who work there made the whole trip feel personal in a way that's hard to manufacture.
My stay reminded me a lot of living in Costa Rica over 20 years ago - and so I think this stretch of Mexico is about to get a lot more attention. I think you should experience it for yourself while it's still a well-kept secret! Rates are currently competitive, and there's a guaranteed room upgrade on the table right now, which makes this an especially good time to go.
Ready to take the trip? I'd love to help you plan it. I'm a Four Seasons Preferred Partner, which means I can secure the perks you can't book on your own, and take care of every detail - dietary needs included! - before you even land in Manzanillo. Click the button below to send me your details, and let's talk about your trip. Reach out here
How to Get to Four Seasons Tamarindo, Mexico
For a resort this remote, getting there is actually pretty easy. Fly into ZLO, the Manzanillo airport, which has good connections from LA, Mexico City, and Puerto Vallarta. From there, it's about an hour by car to the resort. There's also a private flight from Puerto Vallarta to Manzanillo if you'd rather skip the drive, or a four-hour car transfer for anyone who has the time.
Because of its airport options, this pairs beautifully with a longer Mexico itinerary. Add LA for a couple of museum days beforehand, Mexico City if you want to eat your way through the capital first, or Puerto Vallarta's Old Town for honeymooners who want a livelier stretch on either end.
Four Seasons Tamarindo FAQ
Where is Four Seasons Tamarindo located?
It's on the Pacific coast of Mexico near Manzanillo, built into a cliffside above the ocean.
How do you get to Four Seasons Tamarindo?
Fly into ZLO (Manzanillo), which connects easily from LA, Mexico City, and Puerto Vallarta. From the airport, it's about an hour by car transfer, or you can arrange a private flight or a longer drive from Puerto Vallarta.
Is Four Seasons Tamarindo good for families?
Yes. The beachfront rooms have connecting options and pullout couches, and there's a family pool close to the restaurants. Note that there are no two-queen rooms, so a sofa bed is typically your second sleeping option. Also, the cliffside suites are great for couples with a toddler or baby in tow.
Is Four Seasons Tamarindo all-inclusive?
No, it operates a la carte for dining and activities rather than an all-inclusive model. However, many activities are included with your stay, you simply need to reserve them.
Can you swim at Four Seasons Tamarindo?
Yes! Tamarindo Beach is calm and swimmable, with warm water year-round.Is Four Seasons Tamarindo worth the price?
Yes, especially if you want the grandeur of a Four Seasons resort combined with a genuinely magical setting, real sustainability work, and staff who make you feel at home the whole time.
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