BY CAROLE HEADLEY | Taking a leading role in promoting LGBTQ tourism in Costa Rica while educating the broader society on an embrace of equality and inclusiveness, the ANdAZ Península Papagayo Resort on that Central American country’s northwest Pacific Coast celebrated Pride Month this past June by being the first hotel and tourism company to join a nationwide push in support of human rights protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
ANdAZ’s action won the praise of the Asociación Empresarial para el Desarrollo (Business Association for Development), a Costa Rican group working to integrate LGBTQ non-discrimination protections into workplaces throughout that nation.
“Costa Rica is a leader in the world for its tourist attractions, its nature, biological diversity, and, especially, its hospitality,” said Victor Castro, an official with the group. “In addition, a hotel like ANdAZ is the first in signing a pro human rights agreement, placing it in a privileged place of inclusive global tourism.”
WEDDING PRIDE
Costa Rica’s scenic wonders — including beaches, mountains, and jungles — its stable democracy, and its welcoming people have long made it a beloved destination for tourists worldwide. ANdAZ, with its recent Pride season action, is communicating its commitment to serving LGBTQ travelers in ways they’ve come to expect when they spend their vacation dollars.
ANdAZ and Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast make for an ideal honeymoon, and the hotel also offers full-service wedding facilities. Though Costa Rica has not legalized same-sex marriage — so that couples would need to formalize their unions legally stateside — ANdAZ boasts expertise in serving the wedding needs of all couples who wish to host a ceremony there.
The hotel, owned by the Hyatt group, includes 153 rooms, including 21 luxury suites, and has spa services, three restaurants, two outdoor pools, access to two gold sand beaches, and panoramic views of Bahía Culebra.
And the ANdAZ Península Papagayo Resort has grabbed the attention of highly regarded travel experts.
In Condé Nast Traveler’s 2016 Readers’ Choice Awards, it was voted among the top 15 Latin American hotels. The magazine wrote, “The ANdAZ Península Papagayo is a naturalist’s paradise: a series of earth-hued stone and hardwood structures that blend seamlessly into the greenery.”
Named as one of Travel & Leisure’s top 20 “getaways for parents (only),” the magazine wrote of the venue, “This upscale yet understated hotel ensconced in Costa Rica’s bio-diverse Península Papagayo will be nirvana for adventure-loving naturalists… You can zip-line between tree canopies and monkeys, surf, whitewater raft, hike to the volcanic peaks of Rincón de la Vieja National Park, and, without much effort, spot humpback whales, sloths, macaws, toucans, and sea turtles during your stay.”
And Dujour, naming the ANdAZ Península Papagayo Resort among the world’s top 11 destination wedding locales, wrote, “For a truly breathtaking experience, host your wedding at this chic beachfront hotel.”
For more information, visit https://papagayo.andaz.hyatt.com. Photographs courtesy of the hotel.
