PUNTA CACIQUE, Costa Rica--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 22, 2025--
Punta Cacique, a visionary luxury resort and residential development on Costa Rica’s pristine Cacique Peninsula, in the province of Guanacaste, proudly announces the grand opening of the Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique, the first Waldorf Astoria in Costa Rica. This premier property marks the beginning of a multi-phase project that will introduce a series of resorts, residences, and wellness-driven amenities, redefining what it means to visit and live at the nexus of luxury and authenticity within the expansive 600-acre development.
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Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique Resort
Strategically located just 25 minutes from Liberia International Airport, which services more than 15 airlines and nearly two million passengers annually (a more than 20-fold increase since 2000), and nestled between the vibrant beach towns of Playa Del Coco and Playa Hermosa, Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique offers guests and residents an unmatched blend of luxury and connection to local culture.
The property features 188 luxurious resort rooms (including 40 suites) and 40 private residences, all thoughtfully designed to harmonize with the landscape. Every guest room on the property offers breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and the spectacular coastline. Beyond the guestrooms, guests and residents can enjoy a multi-tiered pool, idyllic beachfront with cabanas and loungers, six distinct restaurants showcasing local ingredients, and a 17,000 square foot wellness sanctuary featuring a spa, gym, and movement studio. Dedicated kids’ and teen clubs provide engaging offerings for younger travelers.
The Punta Cacique Community
Revolution Places—the hospitality and real estate arm of Revolution LLC, a D.C.-based investment firm led by AOL Co-founder, Steve Case—first purchased the land in 2006. Revolution spent more than a decade searching for the right partners to develop the property before teaming up with Waldorf Astoria, the globally respected hospitality brand that in recent years has doubled down on delivering exceptional resorts and branded residential communities.
“When you arrive at Punta Cacique, you know immediately that you are in a special place,” said Steve Case, Chairman and CEO of Revolution Places. “The luxury and comfort level of the Waldorf, coupled with its track record of incredible service, made them the perfect partner to help unveil Punta Cacique.”
“Punta Cacique will offer the best of both worlds to guests and residents who come to Costa Rica seeking immersive luxury in a Blue Zone setting,” said Neal Herman, President of Punta Cacique. “This resort presents an opportunity to stay in a luxurious environment with unique amenities while also remaining deeply connected to the real Costa Rica. With easy access to nearby beach communities and beyond, Punta Cacique will serve as a basecamp, connecting guests and residents to exploration across the country.”
Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique Residences
The Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique Residences, designed by Garnier & Garnier, RoblesArq, Gensler, and EDSA, includes 20 estate homes and 20 condominium residences. With the condominium building sold out and nearing completion, the next phase—a limited collection of four- and five-bedroom estate homes—has officially launched, with the first deliveries scheduled for this summer. Each home is fully furnished and thoughtfully designed with expansive spaces, private pools, spacious outdoor terraces, and stunning ocean views. Residents will have full access to the resort and exclusive use of community amenities.
“Growing up in Hawaii, I saw firsthand how the economy evolved from agriculture to tourism, and how that transformation strengthened Hawaii’s economy and increased the value of resort real estate,” added Case. “Guanacaste is now on a similar journey, offering a rare chance to invest in an extraordinary and accessible destination, while it remains an emerging opportunity.”
To explore available residences, please visit waldorfastoriaresidencescostarica.com
Costa Rica in Demand
Brimming with wildlife, beaches, and rainforests, Costa Rica is world-renowned for its natural beauty. But what makes this Central American country 2024’s Travel& Leisure’sDestinationof the Year, and an increasingly popular hub for North American expats, goes far beyond geography. Costa Rica has emerged as a global leader in sustainability, thanks to its vast protected lands and strong commitment to sustainable travel.
Costa Rica’s year-round alignment with Central Standard Time makes it especially convenient for North American travelers, allowing for minimal jet lag whether visiting for vacation, remote work, or both. In the Guanacaste region, visitors enjoy a tropical savanna climate with a sunny dry season from December to April and a lush green season from May to November. With temperatures consistently ranging from the mid-70s to low 90s Fahrenheit (24–35°C), Punta Cacique offers a warm, inviting atmosphere throughout the year.
Beyond its natural appeal, Costa Rica boasts exceptional infrastructure. The country runs almost entirely on renewable energy, offers reliable high-speed internet and mobile coverage, and is served by two international airports—San José (SJO) and Liberia (LIR). Well-maintained roads and a reliable healthcare system further enhance peace of mind. The region’s extraordinary biodiversity—home to 5% of the world’s species—adds to its allure.
Despite its growth, Costa Rica has steadfastly preserved its genial and unhurried spirit. "Pura Vida" is more than a saying; it’s a way of life. At Punta Cacique, guests and residents can experience this ethos firsthand. Whether staying for a brief vacation or a longer stay at a residence, Punta Cacique offers a launchpad to the natural and cultural wonders of Costa Rica.
About Punta Cacique
Punta Cacique is a premier luxury resort and residential community located in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica. Spanning 600 acres of oceanfront and hillside terrain, Punta Cacique is designed to offer a seamless blend of world-class hospitality, sustainable development, and convenient access to a wide range of authentic Costa Rican experiences. Anchored by the Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique, the community will feature a curated collection of luxury resorts, private residences, and thoughtfully integrated amenities. Just 25 minutes from Liberia International Airport and adjacent to the vibrant beach towns of Playa del Coco and Playa Hermosa, Punta Cacique is a gateway to both relaxation and adventure on Costa Rica’s storied Gold Coast. Learn more at punta-cacique.com.
About Revolution Places
Revolution Places invests in unique real estate and hospitality opportunities that promote new models for travel and tourism based on healthy lifestyles, sustainable luxury, and appreciation for the natural environment. Revolution Places is part of Revolution LLC, a D.C.-based investment firm led by AOL Co-founder, Steve Case. Learn more at https://revolution.com/entity/places/.
Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique Resort is the first property to open in the luxury Punta Cacique community
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Nationwide protests in Iran sparked by the Islamic Republic's ailing economy are putting new pressure on its theocracy as it has shut down the internet and telephone networks.
Tehran is still reeling from a 12-day war launched by Israel in June that saw the United States bomb nuclear sites in Iran. Economic pressure, which has intensified since September when the United Nations reimposed sanctions on the country over its atomic program, has sent Iran's rial currency into a free fall, now trading at over 1.4 million to $1.
Meanwhile, Iran's self-described “Axis of Resistance” — a coalition of countries and militant groups backed by Tehran — has been decimated since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023.
A threat by U.S. President Donald Trump warning Iran that if Tehran “violently kills peaceful protesters” the U.S. “will come to their rescue," has taken on new meaning after American troops captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a longtime ally of Tehran.
“We're watching it very closely,” Trump said Sunday. “If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they're going to get hit very hard by the United States.”
Here's what to know about the protests and the challenges facing Iran's government.
More than 390 protests have taken place across all of Iran’s 31 provinces, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported Friday. The death toll had reached at least 42, it added, with more than 2,270 arrests. The group relies on an activist network inside of Iran for its reporting and has been accurate in past unrest.
Understanding the scale of the protests has been difficult. Iranian state media has provided little information about the demonstrations. Online videos offer only brief, shaky glimpses of people in the streets or the sound of gunfire. Journalists in general in Iran also face limits on reporting such as requiring permission to travel around the country, as well as the threat of harassment or arrest by authorities. The internet shutdown has further complicated the situation.
But the protests do not appear to be stopping, even after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday said “rioters must be put in their place.”
The collapse of the rial has led to a widening economic crisis in Iran. Prices are up on meat, rice and other staples of the Iranian dinner table. The nation has been struggling with an annual inflation rate of some 40%.
In December, Iran introduced a new pricing tier for its nationally subsidized gasoline, raising the price of some of the world’s cheapest gas and further pressuring the population. Tehran may seek steeper price increases in the future, as the government now will review prices every three months. Meanwhile, food prizes are expected to spike after Iran’s Central Bank in recent days ended a preferential, subsidized dollar-rial exchange rate for all products except medicine and wheat.
The protests began in late December with merchants in Tehran before spreading. While initially focused on economic issues, the demonstrations soon saw protesters chanting anti-government statements as well. Anger has been simmering over the years, particularly after the 2022 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody that triggered nationwide demonstrations.
Iran's “Axis of Resistance," which grew in prominence in the years after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq, is reeling.
Israel has crushed Hamas in the devastating war in the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah, the Shiite militant group in Lebanon, has seen its top leadership killed by Israel and has been struggling since. A lightning offensive in December 2024 overthrew Iran’s longtime stalwart ally and client in Syria, President Bashar Assad, after years of war there. Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels also have been pounded by Israeli and U.S. airstrikes.
China meanwhile has remained a major buyer of Iranian crude oil, but hasn't provided overt military support. Neither has Russia, which has relied on Iranian drones in its war on Ukraine.
Iran has insisted for decades that its nuclear program is peaceful. However, its officials have increasingly threatened to pursue a nuclear weapon. Iran had been enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels prior to the U.S. attack in June, making it the only country in the world without a nuclear weapons program to do so.
Tehran also increasingly cut back its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, as tensions increased over its nuclear program in recent years. The IAEA's director-general has warned Iran could build as many as 10 nuclear bombs, should it decide to weaponize its program.
U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Iran has yet to begin a weapons program, but has “undertaken activities that better position it to produce a nuclear device, if it chooses to do so.”
Iran recently said it was no longer enriching uranium at any site in the country, trying to signal to the West that it remains open to potential negotiations over its atomic program to ease sanctions. But there's been no significant talks in the months since the June war.
Iran decades ago was one of the United States’ top allies in the Mideast under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who purchased American military weapons and allowed CIA technicians to run secret listening posts monitoring the neighboring Soviet Union. The CIA fomented a 1953 coup that cemented the shah’s rule.
But in January 1979, the shah fled Iran as mass demonstrations swelled against his rule. Then came the Islamic Revolution led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, which created Iran’s theocratic government.
Later that year, university students overran the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, seeking the shah’s extradition and sparking the 444-day hostage crisis that saw diplomatic relations between Iran and the U.S. severed.
During the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, the U.S. backed Saddam Hussein. During that conflict, the U.S. launched a one-day assault that crippled Iran at sea as part of the so-called “Tanker War,” and later shot down an Iranian commercial airliner that the U.S. military said it mistook for a warplane.
Iran and the U.S. have seesawed between enmity and grudging diplomacy in the years since. Relations peaked with the 2015 nuclear deal, which saw Iran greatly limit its program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. But Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord in 2018, sparking tensions in the Mideast that intensified after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
FILE -A student looks at Iran's domestically built centrifuges in an exhibition of the country's nuclear achievements, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
FILE - An Iranian security official in protective clothing walks through part of the Uranium Conversion Facility just outside the Iranian city of Isfahan, on March 30, 2005. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
FILE - A customer shops at a supermarket at a shopping mall in northern Tehran, on Sept. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
FILE - Current and pre-revolution Iranian banknotes are displayed by a street money exchanger at Ferdowsi square, Tehran's go-to venue for foreign currency exchange, in downtown Tehran, Iran, on Aug. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
FILE - People cross the Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) street in Tehran, Iran, on Sept. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
FILE - Protesters march on a bridge in Tehran, Iran, on Dec. 29, 2025. (Fars News Agency via AP, File)
People wave national flags during a ceremony commemorating the death anniversary of the late commander of the Iran's Revolutionary Guard expeditionary Quds Force, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone attack in 2020 in Iraq, at the Imam Khomeini grand mosque in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
