Movie superstar Mel Gibson has placed his 500 acre beachfront jungle compound up for sale with a reduced asking price of $40.7 million. He originally tried to sell the property in 2010 for $43.75 million but there was little interest. Situated in Costa Rica’s evergreen Nicoya Peninsula this enormous compound is not even visible on maps giving the ultimate privacy to any would-be celebrity buyers. Indeed, the Playa Barrigona region is so sought after that sea turtles literally travel thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean to lay their eggs on this beach!
Deep in the jungle
While this courtyard style house will not be to everyone’s liking there is no doubt it has a lot going for it. An impressive seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms will be more than enough to entertain friends and family on a regular basis. The house consists of Spanish and Italian tiles with an array of stone carvings and native wood from the surrounding jungle. As you might expect, in this extremely hot and humid climate there is an impressive crescent shaped swimming pool and relaxation areas.
Additional houses
The two additional properties are two-bedroom houses which have their own living rooms, kitchens and swimming pools. An open-air dining facility and commercial kitchen were shipped in from Bali and apparently reassembled on site. So, we have privacy, plenty of accommodation, swimming pools galore not to mention the perfect escape from the attention of the paparazzi. Mel Gibson seems to have thought of everything?
Inside the main property
The main property is extremely spacious with very high ceilings, an open plan structure and an array of indoor/outdoor seating areas. There are also large fans within the three properties to help combat the heat and humidity you’d expect from a jungle dwelling. As we touched earlier, there is a very strong wooden theme right across all three properties and wide verandas on the upper and lower levels of the main house.
The bedrooms in the main property are large and spacious with minimal furniture, opening out onto their own private balcony. The curtains offer protection against unwanted insects but are also thin enough to ensure continuous circulation of air – something which is vital in this type of climate. From the bathrooms to the bedrooms, living rooms to the kitchen everything is based on an old world style with an extremely expensive finish.
Will this property sell?
The fact that the asking price has been reduced by just over $3 million since 2010 would indicate a lack of firm interest in the compound. To say this is a specialist property is an understatement but for a celebrity looking for privacy, does it come any better than this?
It is unclear from the sales documentation whether there are retail outlets and other facilities within a relatively short commuting distance. The images give the impression of a very private property deep in the Costa Rican jungle away from the everyday hustle and bustle of life. Ironically, this proved to be the ultimate hideaway when Mel Gibson needed somewhere to lay low after his DWI arrest.