Spanish hospitality giant Sol Meliá is to open an eco-luxury resort in Papagayo Bay, Costa Rica.

The company will operate the 381-bedroom resort under its Paradisus Resorts brand and leisure facilities will include an YHI Spa and Health Club and five restaurants while business travellers will be targeted with 19,000sq ft of meeting facilities.

The hotel is being developed on 21 hectares on the Northern Province of Guanacaste.

The property will be operated by Sol Meliá under a management agreement, in partnership with Switzerland-based private equity group SunVesta Holding, represented by its subsidiary Richland Investments and its Costa Rican partner DIA S.A.

Paradisus Papagayo Bay is part of Sol Meliás expansion strategy, which includes the opening of two resorts in Playa del Carmen, Mexico in November 2011.