Bella Vista

Unless you have a live-in chef, views of dolphins from your bedroom, and 750 acres of rainforest at your doorstep, this five-bedroom Pacific coast villa is better than a home-away-from-home. All 8,000 square feet of contemporary stone, hardwoods, and furniture are yours: kitchen, indoor-outdoor living rooms, infinity pool and hot tub, bedrooms with ocean-view balconies, and the constant soundtrack of the pounding waves mixed with calls from monkeys and macaws—all just a 45-minute drive from San Jose, thanks to the region’s new highway. It’s an idyllic escape: days can be spent deep-sea fishing, surfing, or lounging on one of the country’s few white-sand beaches.