Global Financial Group has announced plans to develop Azulera Resort Village, a US$300 million dollar resort community, in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

The company first revealed their plans on May 18 in San Jose, Costa Rica, before an audience of 170 leading Costa Rican government officials and dignitaries, including newly elected President Oscar Arias.

The resort village will overlook Brasilito Bay on the Pacific Coast, 40 miles from the international airport in Liberia. Spanning 557 acres, the community will feature the Hyatt Regency Azulera Resort and Spa, a Greg Norman-designed championship golf course, shops, condominiums, townhouses, villas, and private luxury homes. In addition, there will be a commercial village strip, which will offer residents access to the finest goods and services in a convenient and secure setting.

"To create Azulera Resort Village, we have assembled a dream team of designers, architects and hospitality companies, whose portfolios include some of the world's most celebrated resort destinations and golf courses," said Anil Kothari, president and chief executive officer of New Jersey-based Global Financial Group. "With a collaboration of this caliber, Azulera will be the premier resort community on Costa Rica's Pacific Coast."

Construction is scheduled to begin in July 2006. The project's first phase - the hotel and golf course - is scheduled for completion by the end of 2008.

The Hyatt Regency Azulera will be the newest resort destination in Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica's most coveted vacation destination. The bio-sensitive luxury resort will sit in a 47-acre tropical forest that stretches from mountain peaks to the rugged Pacific Coast. Nestled within a pristine forest, Hyatt Regency Azulera will provide an elegant, yet unobtrusive retreat, where guests can enjoy the area's dramatic scenery.