Costa Palmas is the 1,500-acre East Cape master community single-handedly redefining Mexico's luxury real estate ceiling. Four Seasons Residences run $2.2M to $22M-plus, Amanvari opens August 2026, and Casa Blake delivers a sub-$1M entry. The beach is swimmable, the marina holds 250 yachts, and the airport is 45 minutes away.
Key Takeaways
- ✓ 1,500-acre master plan on Baja's East Cape with 3 km of swimmable Sea of Cortez beach
- ✓ Four Seasons Residences (open since 2019) priced $2.2M – $22M+ with top villas above $40M
- ✓ Amanvari — Aman's first Mexico property — opens August 1, 2026 with 4-to-7-bedroom branded villas
- ✓ Casa Blake entry residences from ~$850K; 250-slip marina handles yachts up to 250 ft
- ✓ 45–60 minutes from SJD airport; East Cape appreciation running 6–8% annually since 2020
Buying at Costa Palmas?
We track every release inside the master plan — Four Seasons, Amanvari, Casa Blake, marina lots, and Pacific Bluff homesites. Skip the cold MLS feed.
Schedule a Private Briefing1. What Is Costa Palmas?
Costa Palmas is a 1,500-acre privately developed master community on Baja's East Cape — a 60-mile stretch of Sea of Cortez coastline running north from San Jose del Cabo. The development sits near the village of La Ribera, roughly 45 to 60 minutes from Los Cabos International Airport (SJD) via Highway 1. According to the official Costa Palmas masterplan, the community delivers three kilometers (about two miles) of swimmable beach, a Robert Trent Jones II championship golf course, a 250-slip deep-water marina handling yachts up to 250 feet, an active Marina Village, a Beach & Yacht Club, and an open-architecture brand stack of Four Seasons, Aman (Amanvari), and Casa Blake.
The land plan is intentional. Rather than the high-density resort corridor pattern, Costa Palmas spreads inventory across distinct neighborhoods — beachfront villas, golf-course homes, marina residences, hillside Pacific Bluff homesites, and the village core. The architectural review enforces consistency without forcing uniformity, and most of the residential product carries branded residence services.
The development opens in distinct phases over a roughly 20-year horizon, with new inventory tranches released to qualified buyers ahead of public marketing. As of mid-2026, the active categories include Four Seasons branded residences (multiple sub-product lines), Amanvari residences (pre-opening), Casa Blake condominium homes, marina lots, golf-frontage homesites, and Pacific Bluff hillside lots.
2. Location, Airport Access, and Why the East Cape
The East Cape's geography is the structural moat. The Sea of Cortez faces east into a protected gulf rather than into the open Pacific. The water is calm, warm, and genuinely swimmable — a feature most "Cabo" beachfront cannot claim. Jacques Cousteau famously described the Sea of Cortez as "the world's aquarium," and the marine reserves at nearby Cabo Pulmo make the diving and sport fishing some of the most productive in the Western Hemisphere.
Travel logistics:
- From SJD airport: 45 to 60 minutes via Highway 1 to the Costa Palmas gate
- From Cabo San Lucas: approximately 90 minutes by car
- From San Jose del Cabo: approximately 50 minutes
- Planned regional airport: approximately 10 minutes from the property (per Costa Palmas masterplan updates)
- By boat: direct via 250-slip deep-water marina that handles yachts up to 250 ft
That airport transfer is the single most-cited tradeoff vs. the Corridor. It is a real cost — but it is also the reason the East Cape feels structurally quieter, less commercialized, and visibly less built-out than the resort corridor between Cabo and San Jose. Most Costa Palmas buyers explicitly want that distance.
3. Four Seasons Resort and Residences
Four Seasons Los Cabos at Costa Palmas opened in 2019 as Four Seasons' first Baja property — a 141-key low-density resort plus an active residence community. The resort itself was named to Four Seasons' top-tier portfolio immediately, and the residence component has steadily added inventory across distinct product lines:
| Product | Type | Starting Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marina Cove Casitas | Compact villa | ~$4.8M | Entry to the Four Seasons program |
| Marina Residences | Marina-front condo / townhome | ~$4.95M | Direct marina frontage |
| Marina Cove Residences | Marina-side villa | ~$5.5M | Slightly larger, marina cove views |
| Beachfront Residences | Beachfront villa | ~$7.95M | Direct Sea of Cortez frontage |
| Sunset Villas | Premium villa | ~$11.4M | Top end — sunset orientation, larger lots |
| Custom estates | Owner-built | $20M – $40M+ | Subject to architectural review |
The published Costa Palmas range — confirmed by multiple East Cape brokerages — runs $2.2M to $22M for branded inventory, with custom estates climbing higher. Four Seasons residence owners receive full resort access, white-glove maintenance, in-residence dining, rental program participation if desired, and concierge.
4. Amanvari Residences — Opening August 2026
Amanvari is the second branded resort inside Costa Palmas — and it is Aman's first property in Mexico. The opening is set for August 1, 2026, and reservations are live on aman.com. The resort runs an intentionally tiny footprint: 18 casitas averaging 833 square feet, each with a private heated pool. Casita rates start at approximately $3,000 per night with peak-season pricing past $7,000.
The branded residence collection is separately offered — 4-to-7-bedroom whole-ownership villas spanning 13,000 to 20,000 square feet of covered indoor and outdoor living. Each villa carries private entrances, landscaped courtyards, dedicated staff quarters, and full Aman service — 24/7 Aman Private Office access, in-residence dining with private chefs, dedicated butler service, full spa access including the signature temazcal sweat lodge, and bespoke adventure planning.
Final residence pricing is not yet public. Comparable benchmarks suggest Amanvari villas will anchor the top of the Costa Palmas range and likely exceed it: Aman Tokyo residences have traded as high as ¥20 billion (approximately $129 million USD) on the secondary market, and Aman New York residences listed up to $180 million on launch.
For the full breakdown — pricing logic, service stack, opening timeline, and how Amanvari compares to other Aman properties globally — see our dedicated Amanvari Residences guide.
5. Casa Blake, Marina Village & Lower-Entry Options
The misconception about Costa Palmas is that everything is $5 million-plus. The lower-entry inventory is real and underbought. Three product lines matter most:
- Casa Blake — a boutique hotel-and-residences offering inside Marina Village. Residences start from approximately $850,000, materially below the Four Seasons floor. The architecture is more relaxed, the units more compact, and the address is the same Costa Palmas gate.
- Marina Village — the dining, retail, and waterfront promenade district that anchors the social core of Costa Palmas. Residences here trade marina frontage for the day-to-day energy of the village.
- Marina lots and slip ownership — for yacht owners, marina lots paired with slip ownership offer the working-class entry to Costa Palmas (still ultra-luxury by any normal definition, but the lower end of the master plan).
Buyers using Casa Blake as the entry point often upgrade within Costa Palmas later. The development's internal upgrade path is well-established — owners trade up from Casa Blake to Marina Cove Casitas, to Marina Residences, to Beachfront Residences, and occasionally to Sunset Villas or custom estates. The same agent, the same HOA structure, and the same architectural review handles all of it. That sequential upgrade pattern is one of the structural reasons Costa Palmas resale velocity is healthier than at most competing Mexican luxury developments — internal demand backstops external demand.
Casa Blake is where buyers with East Cape lifestyle priorities but Cabo-Corridor budgets often land. The trade-off: smaller residence, fewer Four Seasons brand-service touches, but every other amenity at Costa Palmas — golf, marina, beach, Beach Club, future Aman access — is the same.
📥 Free Download: The Complete Baja Buying Guide
Closing costs, fideicomiso mechanics, branded-residence HOA economics, and the East Cape buyer checklist — in one PDF.
Download Free Guide6. The Amenity Stack — Golf, Marina, Beach Club, Pickleball
Master-planned communities live or die on the amenity stack. Costa Palmas is built to over-deliver:
- Robert Trent Jones II Championship Golf Course — 18 holes routed from hillside through marina and along the beach. Per the Costa Palmas masterplan, the course is designed as a residential amenity rather than a tournament venue, with frequent ocean and mountain reveals.
- 250-slip deep-water marina — handles yachts up to 250 feet. Direct fueling, full service, and seamless customs clearance.
- Beach & Yacht Club — the social hub for residents and resort guests, with day-bed service, casual dining, and direct beach access.
- Pickleball & tennis — the standard expectation in 2026 luxury communities; Costa Palmas delivers a multi-court complex.
- Spa & wellness — Four Seasons Spa is open today; Aman's spa opens with Amanvari in August 2026 (including the signature temazcal).
- Sport fishing & diving — direct access to the East Cape's marlin and tuna grounds and to the Cabo Pulmo marine reserve.
- Equestrian, mountain biking, hiking — the Sierra de la Laguna mountains sit directly inland.
7. Full Pricing Tier Breakdown
Here is the consolidated price-tier view across active Costa Palmas inventory as of mid-2026:
| Tier | Product | Starting Price | Ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry | Casa Blake residences | ~$850K | ~$2.5M |
| Marina | Marina lots + slip | ~$1.5M (lot) | ~$8M+ built |
| Four Seasons — Compact | Marina Cove Casitas | ~$4.8M | ~$6M |
| Four Seasons — Marina | Marina & Marina Cove Residences | ~$4.95M – $5.5M | ~$10M |
| Four Seasons — Beachfront | Beachfront Residences | ~$7.95M | ~$22M+ |
| Four Seasons — Premium | Sunset Villas | ~$11.4M | ~$40M |
| Pacific Bluff homesites | Owner-built villa lot | ~$2.5M (lot) | $15M+ built |
| Amanvari Residences | 4–7 bed branded villa | Top of range | $40M+ |
| Custom estates | Architectural review | $20M | $40M+ |
Total Costa Palmas inventory is constrained by the master plan. Buyers should expect roughly 20 years of phased release, with prime locations (beachfront, sunset orientation, hillside views) selling first inside each tranche.
8. Costa Palmas vs The Corridor — Side-by-Side
The structural decision most Cabo luxury buyers face is Costa Palmas vs the Corridor — the 20-mile stretch of luxury communities (Palmilla, Querencia, Chileno Bay, Cabo del Sol) between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. Here is how they actually compare:
| Factor | Costa Palmas | The Corridor |
|---|---|---|
| Drive from SJD airport | 45–60 min | 15–30 min |
| Beach swimmability | Yes — Sea of Cortez (protected) | Mixed — most Pacific beaches are unsafe |
| Master-plan footprint | 1,500 acres, single developer | 20-mile corridor, many developers |
| Resort brand stack | Four Seasons + Aman + Casa Blake | Montage, Ritz-Carlton, One&Only, Park Hyatt, Las Ventanas |
| Entry pricing | Casa Blake ~$850K | Corridor entry ~$500K |
| Branded-residence ceiling | $40M+ | $29M+ (highest published Corridor sale) |
| Density & traffic | Low — single-gate master plan | Higher — active corridor highway |
| Marina | 250-slip deep-water | Cabo Marina (off-property) |
| Golf | RTJ II (1 course) | Multiple — TPC, Cabo del Sol, Querencia, Palmilla |
| Privacy | Higher | Lower (more density, more tourists) |
| Best for | Privacy seekers, yacht owners, long-hold buyers | Multi-property variety, easier airport access, social density |
The lazy answer is "Costa Palmas is quieter, the Corridor is more convenient." The accurate answer is that they serve different buyer profiles, and a meaningful slice of high-end buyers own at both. For deeper Corridor analysis, see our Cabo San Lucas vs San Jose del Cabo and Pedregal vs Palmilla guides.
9. The Investment Case — Appreciation, Brand Stack, Scarcity
East Cape appreciation has run roughly 6 to 8 percent annually since 2020, the fastest sub-region in Los Cabos. Costa Palmas is the structural driver of that growth — adding the Four Seasons in 2019, Amanvari in 2026, and the planned regional airport upgrades creates a stacked-tailwind cycle that few comparable destinations can match.
The buyer profile reinforces the price floor. The Hollywood Reporter flagged Costa Palmas as "Hollywood's new super-private (anti-Cabo) Mexican hotspot," documenting Gwyneth Paltrow, Michael Ovitz, Milla Jovovich, Colin Hanks, and CAA's Bryan Lourd among repeat visitors and second-home buyers. Concentrated ultra-high-net-worth ownership tends to dampen downside in a soft market because these are not financed flippers.
Three structural moats:
- Swimmable beach scarcity — Pacific-facing Cabo properties cannot replicate it. Diamante, Quivira, and much of the Corridor have dangerous surf.
- Dual-brand resort stack — Four Seasons + Aman in a single master plan is unprecedented in Mexico. Each brand reinforces the other.
- Master-plan control — one developer, one architectural review, one 20-year horizon. The Corridor's fragmentation is its weakness.
One often-overlooked structural factor: the East Cape lifestyle pull is real and growing. The communities surrounding Costa Palmas — Los Barriles, Buena Vista, La Ribera — have built a genuine year-round expat base, with strong fiber-optic internet (Telmex and Starlink redundancy), modern medical access, and an active retiree and remote-worker community. That base reduces single-asset development risk because Costa Palmas is not the only thing happening in the area — it is the apex of a broader, organic, multi-decade buildout.
And on the demand side, the buyer composition is durable. Costa Palmas trades disproportionately to repeat luxury-real-estate owners who already own at Aspen, Hawaii, Lake Tahoe, Park City, and Punta Mita. The decision to add Costa Palmas to the personal portfolio is not a starter-home decision and not a leverage decision — it is a generational asset decision. That cohort behaves differently in soft markets, holding through downturns rather than dumping at par.
10. Ownership Mechanics for Foreign Buyers
Americans, Canadians, and all foreign nationals can fully own at Costa Palmas through a fideicomiso bank trust — the standard mechanism for foreign ownership in Mexico's restricted zone (any property within 50 km of the coast). The trust confers complete ownership rights: live in the property, rent it out and keep 100 percent of income, sell at any time, pass to heirs, or use as collateral.
Key cost components:
- Fideicomiso setup: $2,000 – $3,000 one-time
- Annual fideicomiso fee: $550 – $1,000
- Closing costs total: typically 4–8% of purchase price (acquisition tax, notario fees, legal)
- Annual property tax: ~0.1% of assessed value (a fraction of US rates)
- HOA / brand-service fees: Four Seasons residences ~$25K–$60K+ annually depending on size
- Marina slip fees: separate, by vessel size
For the complete legal framework — restricted zone rules, the SRE permit, notario publico role, and the 40-to-45 day closing timeline — see our guide for American buyers and the 2026 closing costs breakdown.
11. What to Do Next
The Costa Palmas decision sequence we recommend with serious buyers:
- Define the use case. Primary residence, second home, rental investment, or generational hold? The right product (Casa Blake vs Four Seasons Beachfront vs Amanvari) depends entirely on this.
- Visit during shoulder season. November through April delivers the best weather. May-to-September is hot and humid — important to test before you write a deposit.
- Tour every active product line. Four Seasons Marina Cove, Beachfront, Sunset Villas, Casa Blake, and (post-August 2026) Amanvari. Most buyers shift their preferred product after the in-person walk-through.
- Compare against the Corridor. Walk Palmilla, Chileno Bay, and Querencia. Many buyers commit to Costa Palmas after the direct comparison.
- Run the carrying-cost analysis. HOA, fideicomiso, taxes, and rental projections. The economics differ materially across products.
For broader East Cape context, see our East Cape Baja real estate guide. For the deep Amanvari brief, see our Amanvari Residences guide. Or skip the reading and tell us what you actually want — we will send back what is available inside the gate.
Get the Costa Palmas Inventory Sheet
We track every active release across Four Seasons, Amanvari, Casa Blake, marina lots, and Pacific Bluff homesites. Skip the public MLS feed — get the real picture.
Contact Our East Cape TeamFrequently Asked Questions
How much does Costa Palmas real estate cost?+
Costa Palmas pricing ranges from approximately $850,000 for Casa Blake condominium residences to $40 million-plus for top Four Seasons Sunset Villas and Amanvari estates. The published Costa Palmas range is roughly $2.2M to $22M for branded inventory, with custom homesite construction running higher. Marina lots, golf-frontage lots, and Pacific Bluff homesites are available for owner-built villas under the master plan's architectural review.
Where exactly is Costa Palmas?+
Costa Palmas sits on Baja's East Cape near the village of La Ribera, approximately 45 to 60 minutes from Los Cabos International Airport (SJD) via Highway 1. The 1,500-acre community fronts roughly three kilometers (about two miles) of swimmable Sea of Cortez beach, framed by the Sierra de la Laguna mountains. A planned regional airport about 10 minutes from the property will further compress travel times.
Is the beach at Costa Palmas actually swimmable?+
Yes — and that is the rare structural advantage. Most of the Pacific-facing Cabo coastline has dangerous riptides and undertows that make swimming unsafe. Costa Palmas fronts the calm Sea of Cortez, which Jacques Cousteau famously called the world's aquarium. The protected water is genuinely swimmable, supports paddling, snorkeling, and diving, and underpins much of the development's pricing premium.
What is the difference between Four Seasons and Amanvari at Costa Palmas?+
Four Seasons is the established resort — 141 keys plus an active residence community that opened in 2019 across beachfront, golf, and marina locations. Amanvari is Aman's first Mexico property, opening August 1, 2026, with just 18 casitas and a small collection of 4-to-7-bedroom branded villas. Four Seasons skews family-resort and social; Aman skews private, design-led, and lower-density. Buyers frequently consider both inside the same gate.
How does Costa Palmas compare to The Corridor?+
The Corridor between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo runs 15 to 30 minutes from SJD and centers on golf communities like Palmilla, Chileno Bay, and Querencia. Costa Palmas trades a longer airport transfer (45 to 60 minutes vs. 15 to 30) for materially more privacy, a swimmable beach, larger lot sizes, and a single master plan rather than a dense corridor. Pricing overlaps but Costa Palmas ceiling is higher.
What HOA fees and ongoing costs should I expect?+
HOA fees at Costa Palmas vary by product. Four Seasons branded residences typically run $25,000 to $60,000-plus annually depending on size and service tier, covering resort access, full-service maintenance, and concierge. Marina slip fees are separate and tied to vessel size. Property taxes in Mexico are exceptionally low — typically 0.1 percent of assessed value annually. Budget annual fideicomiso bank trust fees of $550 to $1,000.
Can foreigners buy at Costa Palmas?+
Yes. Americans, Canadians, and all foreign nationals can fully own property at Costa Palmas through a fideicomiso bank trust, the standard mechanism for foreign ownership in Mexico's restricted zone. The trust gives you complete ownership rights including the ability to sell, rent, remodel, and inherit. Setup runs $2,000 to $3,000 with annual fees of $550 to $1,000. The 50-year term is renewable indefinitely.
Is Costa Palmas a good investment?+
Costa Palmas has anchored 6 to 8 percent annual price growth across the broader East Cape since 2020, faster than the Corridor. The development draws repeat ultra-high-net-worth buyers — Gwyneth Paltrow, Michael Ovitz, Milla Jovovich, and Colin Hanks have all spent time there per The Hollywood Reporter. Adding Amanvari in 2026 cements the brand stack. Long-hold buyers have historically outperformed; the swimmable beach and dual-brand resort presence give Costa Palmas a durable moat.
Aaron Cuha
Real Estate Advisor & Los Cabos Market Expert
Real estate advisor and founder of Living In Cabo. 15+ years helping families navigate complex real estate decisions. Strategic partner with Ronival — Baja's largest brokerage.
