After months of construction, the new JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa drew a notable crowd Wednesday, including President Oscar Arias, for its official opening.

The new hotel, at the Hacienda Pinilla Beach Resort in the northwest Guanacaste province, is the 40th JW Marriott property worldwide. JWs are fashioned and furnished to be a cut above traditional Marriotts.

Grupo Poma's Real Hotels & Resorts Division will operate the new Guanacaste lodging, which consists of 310 rooms, 20 of them junior suites, one presidential, and a 25,000-square foot pool, a spa, four restaurants, two bars and executive meeting rooms.

In addition to President Arias, more than 100 guests attended Wednesday's ribbon-cutting event, including U.S. Ambassador Peter Cianchette.

Speaking at the inauguration, Arias connected Costa Rica's effort to overcome the global crisis with the hotel's founder, saying, “Costa Rica is a small country, but it has the right to dream big, the same right that John Willard Marriott had more than 80 years ago.”