It was a stormy afternoon when we went for a walk in sunny December, normally a decent month to visit the Costa Rican West Coast. But this day, the weather Gods were ill-tempered and the elements in full motion. The waves slammed upon the rocky beaches, rain came down on us and the wind blew in our faces.
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How I stumbled upon the Sunset Reef Hotel
I’m on the Costa Rican coastline at the beaches of Malpais. It’s in this small town near Santa Teresa on the Nicoya Peninsula where I stumbled upon what seemed to be an abandoned hotel. I quickly took some photos and put a pin on my map to geolocate the hotel for a later moment, when the weather conditions would be a little more favorable. I remember the fish market nearby, thinking: who on earth is going to buy your fish here in this desolate place, with these weather conditions and barely anybody visiting the beach accept for us? But I remind myself not to judge to quickly.
Research mode: activated.
After returning to my accommodation, I immediately started doing some research about the place. Why was it abandoned? What happened here? Was it a storm? The windy and rainy conditions from when I visited the place suggested it could’ve easily been destroyed that way. Or was it pillaged by crooks not living the famous pura vida-lifestyle? And did this demolition happen recently or has it been this way for a very long time? So many questions.
But luckily, it didn’t take long before I got my answers. And no, it wasn’t a storm, crooks weren’t the problem either and yes, it had probably been this way for quite a while. Apparently, this specific hotel was called the Sunset Reef Hotel in “the good ol’ days”, according to a blogpost I found, dating back to September 2012. It says: “Unfortunately, it was built illegally on public land, so the owners had to abandon it after operating it for many years.” And even though I was unable to find how long it had been abandoned, this rather ancient blog post already alludes to this hotel being abandoned for a long time. And it still doesn’t answer my main question: why?
Maritime Zone Law of 1977
I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t find out how long it was abandoned and what kind of place this used to be. However, I was able to find out my main question as to why it was abandoned. “It was built illegally on public land”, said the blog post. That got me wondering. Why was it illegal to build on this public land?
Well, that has everything to do with the Maritime Zone Law of 1977. In an era where environmental conservation was becoming a global focus, Costa Rica enacted the Maritime Zone Law, prohibiting construction within 200 meters of the high tide line. This explains why there are no hotels or restaurants directly on the beaches in Santa Teresa. The first 50 meters from the high tide mark is considered a public zone and cannot be built upon, while the next 150 meters is a restricted zone where construction can only occur under specific conditions, with the right permits. This visionary legislation aimed to safeguard the country’s coastal ecosystems and maintain public access to its pristine beaches. In other words: the government was simply sticking up for nature.
So, even though I still have a ton of questions about what type of place the Sunset Reef Hotel used to be and what kind of people ran the place, I was still glad I found out this much. I’ll continue my investigation, so if or when I find something interesting, I’ll add it to this blogpost. And if anyone ever stayed at this place, please feel free to contact me and let me know what type of hotel this was. Until next time!
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Sem Bergman 