Situated among 500 acres of lush privately owned jungle in a remote area of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula, the villas on Playa Barrigona represent the penultimate tropical retreat. Owned by iconic American-born actor Mel Gibson, this prime piece of beautiful real estate features three separate homes nestled on a hilltop overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Not only does the property offer the sights and sounds of the Costa Rican jungle, but a secluded white sand beach, where olive ridley sea turtles come to lay their eggs, is only a short walk away. The estate’s homes are custom-fitted with native Costa Rican woods and Spanish and Italian tiles, while each villa features a spacious layout, a living room with vaulted ceilings, a full kitchen, full air conditioning, a private pool, barbecue areas, and multiple verandas that provide breathtaking views of the ocean and surrounding jungle. The largest of the three villas is the seven-bedroom and eight-bath Casa Guanacaste, while the two smaller villas (Casa Barrigona and Casa Dorada) feature two bedrooms and additional living spaces. The nearby villages Samara and Nosara offer quaint restaurants and shops. The estate was purchased by Gibson in 2007 for a reported $25.8 million and has been on the market since March 2012 for a current asking price of $29.75 million.
Mel Gibson is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter who has been in the entertainment industry for 38 years. Gibson was born in Peekskill, New York and moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia at the age of 12 where he later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art. The 58-year-old actor’s breakout role was as the title character in the 1979 film Mad Max, a role he reprised twice more in later sequels–Mad Max 2 (1981) and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985). Gibson has also starred in and directed close to 50 films over the course of his career, including Tim (1979), Gallipoli (1981), The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), The River (1984), Lethal Weapon (1987), Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), Hamlet (1990), Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), The Man Without A Face (Gibson’s 1993 directorial debut), Pocahontas (1995), Braveheart (1995), Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), The Patriot (2000), The Passion of the Christ (2004), Apocalypto (2006), The Beaver (2011), Machete Kills (2013), and The Expendables 3 (2014). Gibson was named “The Sexiest Man Alive” in 1985, was named an honorary Officer of the Order of Australia in recognition of his “service to the Australian film industry” in 1997, won an Australian Film Institute Global Achievement Award in 2002, and won two Academy Awards in 1995 for Braveheart–Best Picture and Best Director.
Check out a video featuring Mel Gibson’s 500-acre tropical luxury retreat below, courtesy of Christie’s International Real Estate’s YouTube channel. Click here to view the listing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDQPZL_SKlk
Video by ChristiesRealEstate/YouTube.com
Photo by pursuitist.com
