Planning a group trip to Costa Rica and torn between booking a block of hotel rooms or renting an entire private resort? For families, wedding parties, retreats, and friend groups, the "whole-property" model usually wins — here's an honest side-by-side so you can decide.
The core difference
At a hotel or all-inclusive resort, you're one of many guests: shared pools, shared restaurants, rooms scattered across floors, and per-person pricing that climbs fast with group size. With a private-resort buy-out, the entire place is yours — the pool, the kitchen, the grounds, the courts — and everyone stays together.
Cost: it flips with group size
For one or two travelers, a hotel is usually cheaper. But the more people you bring, the more a whole property makes sense. Instead of paying per room per night (plus resort fees and per-person dining), you split one property rate across the whole group — and you can cook or bring in a private chef instead of paying restaurant prices for every meal. For weddings especially, a private estate avoids the per-guest reception fees resorts pile on (see our wedding cost breakdown).
Privacy & togetherness
This is the big one. A private resort means no strangers, no crowds, and no splitting up. Your family reunion, retreat, or wedding party shares meals, mornings by the pool, and evenings together — the whole point of traveling as a group. It's the difference between a trip you took near each other and one you actually took together.
Amenities you control
At Bella Vista, that includes 4 private pickleball courts, a pool, a volcano-view jacuzzi, and space to host a wedding or retreat — all reserved just for your group, on your schedule, not the hotel's.
When a hotel still wins
Traveling solo or as a couple, want daily housekeeping and a concierge, or prefer being in the middle of a resort town? A hotel may fit better. Renting a whole property shines when you have a group — roughly 8 to 28+ people — and you value privacy, togetherness, and value.
See if a private resort fits your group
Bella Vista sleeps up to 28 across four houses and hosts up to 80 for events. Explore the whole-property villa, our weddings and retreats pages, or check your dates. Booking direct also saves you the platform fees you'd pay on Airbnb or VRBO.