This is the largest resort hotel on the Central Pacific coast, and also the best of the big ones. In fact, it revels in its size, offering up niceties that a smaller hotel can’t match, like an 18-hole golf course and a massive maze of pools that are designed to bring to mind the canals of Venice. (They really are a wonder, featuring a host of small bridges connecting islands of chaise lounges and lush gardens, interspersed with secret grottoes and quiet corners.) It’s a good thing the pool is so fabulous, because the beach in front of the resort is unappealing hard-packed dark sand. But the rooms are quite swank, harking back to the Spanish Colonial era with stucco walls, heavy wooden doors and furnishings, pale yellow Spanish-tile floors, and a wrought-iron railing on the (usually) tiny balcony. Buffet breakfasts are massive. And a host of good dining options are available on-site and in the nearby marina, everything from a poolside grill and traditional Costa Rican to a 1960s-style steakhouse and an elegant modern Mediterranean eatery.