SANTA ANA, COSTA RICA

THE TOWN

While still in many ways maintaining its traditional feel of a typical Costa Rican town, along with its predominantly Costa Rican population, small stores, bars, restaurants offering local and international cuisine and Sunday fresh fruit and vegetable markets, Santa Ana has been recently experiencing real estate and commercial development unprecedented in the entire Central Valley. Its population has increased from only 35,000 inhabitants in 2000 to 44,000 in 2010. It has become the place of choice with upscale grocery stores, gourmet restaurants, banks, gas stations, medical and dental clinics, beauty salons, coffee houses, hotels, business centers, private schools, malls and small commercial centers springing up everywhere. Located on the outskirts of the capital city of San José. Named after Hacienda Santa Ana, a countryside estate founded in 1658, the canton of Santa Ana was established in 1907.

BUSINESS-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT

The Quality Real Hotel Santa Ana and the new Indigo Hotel are located in the heart of the new business district of Lindora de Santa Ana near the Business Centers Forum I & II, and is within 15 minutes of the international airport. The Business Centers Forum I & II offer state of the art business facilities meeting international standards in technology, design and parking where comfort in the work environment is set as the number one priority. Office spaces start at 200 m², the complex is backed up by its own emergency power plant, its telephone central counts with over 4,000 lines and connectivity has been secured through fiber optic cables to deliver the services of ICE, RACSA, AMNET and CABLE TICA. Also, close to the historical center of town, you will find the luxury boutique Hotel Luisiana and the Hotel Alta situated up in the hills above Santa Ana.

SHOPPING

Among many commercial centers and strips malls recently built in the upscale commercial area of Lindora de Santa Ana (i.e. Vistana Oeste, Vistana Este, Via Lindora, Boulevard Lindora) stands out Centro Comercial Momentum. It is strategically located right next to two exclusive gated communities of Hacienda Lindora and Bosques de Lindora, where homes can be had starting at around $500K, and across the street from the AutoMercado and Forum II business center. A modern contemporary-architecture design differentiates this mall from all others. It hosts a wide variety of bars and restaurants (Brad's Grille, Applebee's, Pizza Hut, Oliva Verde, Spoon, Gan Bei, La Creperie, Ichiban, etc.) as well as banks, beauty salons and spas, gyms, pharmacies and a lot more.

THE MULTIPLAZA MALL

The Mall Multiplaza, the biggest mall in Costa Rica, as well as PriceSmart (Costco) and Office Depot, are about fifteen minutes away in the direction of Escazu. The mall is home to over 340 businesses, a large food court, modern movie theaters showing North American movies in English, banks and financial institutions, department stores, restaurants and over 1,000 parking spaces. In October 2009, Multiplaza Escazú unveiled its "quinta etapa" (fifth stage) with the expansion of its floor area to include 86 stores, a new department store and more than 1.000 new parking spaces. The main focus of the expansion is the introduction of the Simán department store that is from Salvador and a host of other "pioneer" stores making their debut in Costa Rica for the first time such as Carolina Herrera, Hugo Boss, Salvatore Ferragamo Massimo Dutti, Furla, Armani & Change y Mario Hernández as well as other franchise stores related to technology, fashion, entertainment, gastronomy, beauty and accessories. Multiplaza Escazú first opened its doors in 1993 and grew to a total floor space of 41.000 square metres. With the latest addition the total floor space is 68.000 square metres and 2.600 parking spaces, 60% of which are covered parking. The major stores in Multiplaza Escazú are Cemaco, Palacio de Moda, Zara and Carrión. Automercado supermarket and Cinermark multi screen theatre attract customers to the mall. Multiplaza Escazu is part of a larger complex of commercial centers that also hosts the Hotel Real Intercontinental, Plaza Roble and Edificio Meridiano, home to the central offices of the HSBC bank in Costa Rica.

THE CIMA HOSPITAL

CIMA hospital, a frequent choice of expatriates, and the Clinica Biblica, a Tulane University affiliate both offer medical care with mostly English speaking staff and accept most North American medical insurance plans. CIMA is about fifteen minutes from Santa Ana.

THE HIGHWAY

The San José - Escazu - Santa Ana - Ciudad Colon - Orotina - Caldera highway has been in the planning and construction stage for almost 30 years. It wasn't until two years ago that the Autopistas del Sol, a Spanish consortium, was given the concession to complete the $230 million project and charge tolls to recover its investment. There is a toll of aproximately $2.50. The highway was officially inaugurated in January 2010. Drive time to the nearest beaches on the Central Pacific coast of Costa Rica is approximately 50 minutes. The completion of the new highway has already contributed to substantially raising land values throughout the Santa Ana area.

EDUCATION

There is a variety of private bilingual schools within short driving distance serving the international population of the Central Valley. Many are accredited by U.S.—based associations of colleges and schools and focus on the American High School Diploma program and a wide range of Advanced Placement courses, International Baccalaureate courses along with the Costa Rican national curriculum. Most of these schools offer the full range of programs starting at the pre-school level all the way through to university preparatory programs.

SPORTS

Going hand in hand with the real estate boom and economic development in general, Costa Rica now prides itself with a growing number of world class golf courses created by some of the best designers from around the world. Whether you prefer having the Pacific Ocean, the northwestern pampas or the mountain ridges of the Central Valley as the backdrop for your game, Costa Rica offers a wide range of options from which to choose.

Golfers in Santa Ana have access to the Parque Valle del Sol golf course located in Santa Ana. It is the first and the only professional golf course in Costa Rica open to the public in the Central Valley. The 18-hole championship golf course was designed by Tracy May in 1994 to be challenging and fair under most conditions and downright tough when the strong winds come down from the surrounding mountains. Due to its diverse layout, golfers are required to use all of the clubs in their bag throughout the game.

Also at Parque del Valle del Sol, you can find a Tennis Academy.