How do we pick our hotels?
We visit them! Our hotels are carefully assessed for quality and experience before being added to our curated hotel collection. We aim to bring you the best selection and match you with the best hotel for you through first-hand experience.
Where to stay in Costa Rica:
Because of the wide range of Costa Rica resorts and hotel experiences, our Experts have categorized each by both style and budget to illustrate the differences between each unique property. By style, each accommodation is categorized as Lodge, Eco Lodge, Boutique Hotel, Resort, All Inclusive, or Hotel. By budget, each accommodation is categorized as Exclusive, Luxury, Deluxe, Moderate, or Budget. Several of our Costa Rica hotels have multiple budget categories as they feature multiple rooms with varying levels. Likewise, several have more than one hotel style and are labeled accordingly. As our labeled categories are intended to be a tool to compare Costa Rica resorts and hotels, they are representative of the comparative accommodation experiences within each destination. In addition, budget categories may increase during Costa Rica’s peak seasons and for holiday travel.
Exclusive Costa Rica Resorts
Guanacaste, in the North of Costa Rica, contains the country’s most exclusive resorts. Thanks to the Pacific Coast, this area has experienced the greatest tourism development, and Guanacaste is the only region in which a traveler can find all-inclusive Costa Rica resorts with luxury accommodations.
Boutique Hotels
The best place for finding boutique Costa Rica hotels is either in Manuel Antonio or on the Nicoya Peninsula. In Manuel Antonio, the surrounding beaches are stunning. Hotels are more likely to be cliff-side than beachfront, but the views are worth it. On the Nicoya Peninsula, life runs a little slower, and yoga and surf retreats abound.
Luxury Villas
The South Pacific holds the best of luxury villas. These homes-away-from-home will delight every sense, with all the treats of the best of the best, yet the privacy that’s necessary for a truly relaxing (or romantic) vacation. What could be better than living in the lap of luxury?
Lodges and Eco Lodges
Eco-lodging is perhaps the easiest of accommodations to find in Costa Rica. Thanks to the push for environmental friendliness, many of even the larger resorts are dedicated to maintaining a carbon-neutral livelihood. However, if what you want is truly an eco-escape, check out the wild Osa Peninsula, where untouched forests and cove beaches are some of the most natural places you’ll find in the world. Monteverde Cloud Forest and Tortuguero, where the quetzal flies and the turtles lay, respectively, also contain eco-friendly accommodations for visitors. If you’re looking for rustic, head to the South Caribbean, where tourism hasn’t taken hold. The hotels and lodges in this area might be missing some of the trappings of home – like WiFi – but it’s perfect if you’re looking to get back in tune and disconnect from our technologically complicated reality!
