Los Elementos: Villa de Agua
(PRWEB) September 03, 2013
Just a few years ago, getting to Dominical required a Toyota Land Cruiser, a compass, and a chiropractor adjustment afterwards. The roads to Quepos were horrendous--alternating pot-holed pavement with rough, rain-washed dirt. From there it became worse—the road between Quepos and Dominical was riddled with holes the size of Jacuzzis, streams that temporarily used it as a causeway, and bridges soldered of rusted rails from an old railroad. Often, travelers who would brave the trip were turned back because of damaged bridges, or rivers that couldn’t be crossed. The notion of an uber-luxurious vacation rental home in the middle of the rainforest was laughable.
Today, things are different, and suddenly the beautiful stretch of coast called the ‘Costa Ballena’ (Whale Coast) is more accessible than ever. Several major infrastructure projects have streamlined the way for travelers, opening a new market of clientele for the pristine coast. These projects include:
- A new highway from San Jose to the coast, cutting the drive time down by over half an hour.
- Several new major bridges to replace the old, decrepit bridges both north and south of Quepos.
- A new highway connecting Quepos to Dominical (strangely, the only section of the coastal highway which wasn’t paved).
- Plans for the future expansion of the Quepos Domestic airport, to allow for private jets and larger commercial aircraft.
“Between the new Pez Vela marina in Quepos and the expansion of the airport, Costa Rica is opening up the area for a different sort of clientele,” said one local property owner. “When the rich can fly here directly in their private jets, we’ll see a more affluent development.”
Los Elementos: Villa de Agua is counting on it. Without doubt the most luxurious and exquisite home on this part of the coast, this Balinese vacation rental is aimed at those who can afford to fly here on their own jets. While it used to take hours to get to Dominical from San Joe, with the new Quepos – Dominical highway, the drive time from the airport to Villa de Agua is a mere 15 minutes. Visitors can literally have breakfast in their own home in the U.S., and lunch at Villa de Agua, in Dominical, Costa Rica.
Currently, the tourism brings around $100 million to the area yearly. With the expansion of the airport, this number could go up by as high as 40%.
“This is great news for both hotels and vacation rentals, which are suffering from lower occupancies right now,” said realtor Scott Williams.
When the expansion will be carried out is yet unknown, but the government is in the process of the expropriation and payment for the necessary lands to extend the runway. Once this phase is completed, construction will begin.
The future of Quepos and Dominical is changing rapidly, and the area’s affluence of natural beauty is now becoming accessible to the wealthy. With Villa de Agua just down the road, they will now have a place to stay—and write home about.