High on the ridge at Escaleras, the rainforest-blanketed hillside between Dominical and Uvita on Costa Rica's Southern Pacific coast, a new estate has just hit the market that says a lot about where high-end travel in the country is heading. Acqua Blu, completed in 2025 and listed at $5.69 million through Blue Zone Realty, is a 13,000-square-foot, five-bedroom, seven-bathroom home set on roughly 1.36 acres at about 1,300 feet above sea level — high enough that the Pacific views stretch to the horizon and the house sits level with the treetops.
The design leans hard into indoor-outdoor living. A pivoting steel entrance door opens onto a water feature, a floating staircase leads up to the main spaces, and retractable glass walls let the line between inside and out all but vanish. Materials are modern — glass, stone, steel, concrete — with a standing-seam metal roof built for the tropics, Spanish anti-slip tile, and interior gardens plus a second-level atrium pulling greenery into the structure itself. Furnishings were custom made in Costa Rica and Bali.
All five bedrooms are private suites with full five-piece bathrooms and jungle or ocean views. Wildlife is part of the package: toucans and scarlet macaws pass through the surrounding rainforest daily.
The wellness and entertainment setup is where the property makes its case. There's a chef's kitchen with Invisacook induction cooking and double stainless fridges, a billiards lounge, a gym, sauna, steam room and cold plunge. Outside: a 360-degree saltwater infinity pool, a heated jacuzzi for ten, and a sunken fire pit sized for about 15 people. A four-car garage and parking for eight vehicles round it out.
Why does this matter to travellers, not just buyers? Because Escaleras is becoming one of Costa Rica's premier luxury enclaves, and properties like this often end up in the high-end rental pool. If you've ever wondered what the top tier of Southern Pacific accommodation looks like — infinity pools merging with ocean, monkeys and macaws at eye level, sunsets over the Pacific from 1,300 feet — this is the benchmark. And the wider area delivers regardless of budget: Dominical's surf beach and bohemian town are below the ridge, Uvita is the gateway to Marino Ballena National Park with its famous whale-tail sandbar, and humpback whale season runs in two annual windows. Whether you're browsing the market or booking a villa nearby, the Escaleras ridge is now firmly on the luxury map.
