Castillo de Lilo

Tourism Service in Playa Potrero, Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

Castillo de Lilo sits above Playa Potrero in Guanacaste, a hilltop castle with 360-degree views over the Pacific coves that define this stretch of coast. Italian-Costa Rican hosts Marco and Ericka welcome reserved evening dining, sunset aperitifs, weddings, engagements, private parties, and corporate gatherings in a six-bedroom castle with a three-story tower and rooftop. The kitchen serves Italian and Mediterranean dishes with wines from their cellar, and the evening is built around sunset rather than a walk-in table on the beach.

Sunset dining above Playa Potrero

The main offering is a dining experience that runs from 16:30 to 20:30, by reservation only, with the menu chosen in advance. Once dishes are selected, those choices are final. Couples and groups can book, and the hosts can tailor the evening.

The package includes a welcome drink and a second drink with amuse-bouches during sunset. Appetizers are served on the terrace. The included drink does not cover premium liquors. Guests then tour the castle and the Klaus Jung Museum before sitting down in a private dining space for a three-course meal. Wine and other alcoholic drinks are sold separately.

Adult dinner is listed at $155 per guest. Guests ages 12 to 15 are $140, and children under 12 are $50. Add-ons include transportation, live music, and a romantic setup with roses and candles. The initial deposit is not refundable and sales are final, except that a booking cancelled because of a natural disaster such as an earthquake, flood, or fire is refunded.

How the evening is paced

Treat 16:30 as a hard start, not a flexible dinner hour. The drive leaves the sand at Potrero and Flamingo and climbs toward the ridge, so the approach itself is part of the night. You then move through welcome drinks, terrace appetizers, the tour, sunset, and a plated three-course dinner in a private room. That arc fills the four hours through 20:30, which is late enough that a second restaurant stop on the beach is rarely necessary.

Because every guest pre-orders one starter, one main, and one dessert, gather those choices before you book, including the kids menu if children are coming. For an anniversary or proposal, the rose-and-candle setup and live music are the extras to layer on at the same time. If you would rather not drive mountain roads after dark, add transportation when you reserve.

Starters, mains, desserts, and the kids menu

Starters run from seafood to vegetarian plates. The trilogy of seafood combines tuna tartare with avocado and mango, shrimp ceviche, and moscardini alla Luciana. That last plate is baby octopus in a Sicilian sauce with capers, anchovies, and tomato. Scallop duo pairs a garlic-marinated scallop on sweet mashed potatoes with a gratin scallop under breadcrumbs. Cozza Mediterranee is steamed black mussels in homemade tomato and garlic broth with bruschetta.

There is also an Italian charcuterie board with cheeses, hams, focaccia, jam, and honey. Beef carpaccio comes with cheese fondue and black truffle cream. A vegetarian trilogy offers vol-au-vent, a Caprese sphere with tomato and buffalo mozzarella, and squash flan. Freshly shucked oysters arrive with lime and spicy sauce.

Mains include handmade salmon ravioli with ricotta and lime zest. Grilled mahi-mahi comes with green Thai curry and coconut sauce, cherry tomatoes, chives, and roasted vegetables. Pistachio-crusted tuna steaks are served with orange, sesame-soy marinade, and caramelized red onions. Other plates include grilled lobster in garlic and parsley butter and Provençale octopus on basil mashed potatoes with burrata and pistachio.

There is bacon-wrapped filet mignon with demi-glace, ribeye smoked with rosemary and glazed with bourbon whiskey, and eggplant parmigiana with homemade tomato sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Mains come with seasonal vegetables. Desserts are scomposto tiramisu, dragon fruit cheesecake on an amaretto cookie crust, crème brûlée, chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream, and lemon sorbet.

Children can order pasta with Bolognese or tomato sauce, pizza, or chicken fingers with fries, plus vanilla ice cream with strawberries. When you pre-order, split the table across seafood, pasta, steak, and the vegetarian plates so the kitchen is not repeating one dish. Mention allergies while those choices are still open.

Weddings, proposals, and larger gatherings

The same castle is offered for weddings, engagements, private events, and corporate retreats. It has six bedrooms, a three-story tower, and a rooftop, and can hold parties of up to 300. Custom wedding packages are arranged by inquiry. Engagements are staged as proposals at the castle, and companies can use the property as a retreat. A sunset aperitif is listed on its own for guests who want the terrace and the view without the full dinner package.

For a ceremony or a large dinner, start with headcount and a sunset plan for the rooftop or terrace. Decide how the tower and rooftop will be used. Add live music or transportation if the whole party needs them. Dry-season months along this coast are the busiest for celebrations. Lock the date before you book florists or photographers in Flamingo or Tamarindo.

Getting there from Potrero, Flamingo, and the airport

The address is 4 km north of the sports plaza in Playa Potrero. Guests who drive should request the address rather than follow GPS, which can send cars the wrong way. That warning matters at dusk, when dinner begins at 16:30 and the road leaves the beach towns for a mountain approach.

From Playa Potrero, Playa Flamingo, and Brasilito, allow more time than a short coastal hop. Liberia is the usual airport gateway to Guanacaste. The last stretch is local roads, not a highway exit. Stays in Tamarindo or farther south mean a longer drive and a dark return.

Transportation can be added to the dinner package, which is often the simpler choice for an evening that ends at 20:30. Wear shoes you can walk in for the tour, including stairs in a three-story tower. The ridge is cooler than the beach after sunset, so a light layer helps.

Fitting the castle into a day on this coast

Keep the morning for the water and the afternoon clear. Swim or walk Playa Potrero or Flamingo, eat a light late lunch, and leave in time to arrive by 16:30. After 20:30 you will be heading back toward the hotels and villas along the shore, which still leaves a quiet night rather than another reservation in town.

For a proposal or anniversary, the private dining space and optional romantic setup carry the evening. You need the reservation, the pre-ordered menu, and a plan for the drive. For a multi-couple or family table, collect every starter, main, and dessert before booking. For a wedding or company gathering, treat the property as a full-site venue: rooftop sunset, tower, capacity up to 300, Italian and Mediterranean food, and wines from the cellar.

Pair cellar wines with the dishes you already chose when you book. Add transportation if the mountain return after 20:30 feels like too much. If you are driving, request turn-by-turn directions rather than dropping a pin. Keep breakfast and midday meals in Potrero or Flamingo and save Castillo de Lilo for sunset.

Location

Phone: 8850 8999