Costa Rica, its villas and its lodges
Luxury hotels in Costa Rica
7 hotels
Nayara Springs
Five-star · Arenal: La Fortuna
Adults-only villas inside Arenal Volcano National Park, each with its own spring-fed plunge pool at the foot of the volcano.
From $1,000 per night
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Pacuare Lodge
Four-star · The Pacuare River
A treehouse of an eco-lodge on the Pacuare, reached by raft down the rapids and the very opposite of the ride in.
From $900 per night
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Casa Chameleon Las Catalinas
Four-star · Papagayo & Guanacaste
Adults-only villas in Las Catalinas, the new car-free beach town planned between the mountains and the Pacific.
From $700 per night
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El Silencio Lodge & Spa
Four-star · Bajos del Toro
Environmentalism gone high-end, deep in the cloud forest of Bajos del Toro: the forest first, the luxury a close second.
From $600 per night
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Rio Perdido
Four-star · Papagayo & Guanacaste
Named for a lost river, a hotel on stilts between two gorges in the dwarf forest of the San Bernardo lowlands.
From $450 per night
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Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo
Four-star · Papagayo & Guanacaste
A hilltop resort over the Pacific at Papagayo, the international chain's polish in a country of eco-lodges.
From $1,400 per night
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Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve
Four-star · Papagayo & Guanacaste
An understated central lodge on a Papagayo clifftop, orbited by villas and canvas treetop tents over the Pacific.
From $2,000 per night
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The country that invented ecotourism keeps its best addresses far apart, each in a different Costa Rica. Seven houses, from the volcano to the river: villas with spring-fed plunge pools inside Arenal Volcano National Park; two resorts on the clifftops of the Papagayo peninsula and, along the Guanacaste coast, a car-free beach town and a hotel on stilts between two river gorges; a lodge deep in the cloud forest of Bajos del Toro; and a treehouse of a lodge on the Pacuare, best reached by raft. Liberia airport serves the north-west in under an hour; San José the volcano, the highlands and the river. December to April is the dry season.
The neighborhoods
Papagayo & Guanacaste
The Pacific north-west — the Papagayo peninsula's clifftop resorts and the beaches of Guanacaste. The zone also takes in Guanacaste's dry-forest hills, the car-free town of Las Catalinas, the river gorges near Bagaces and the surf at Tamarindo and Nosara; Liberia airport is under an hour away.
Arenal: La Fortuna
The volcano and its national park — hot springs, hanging bridges through the canopy and the villas at the park's edge. Around it lie the lake and its winds and the La Fortuna waterfall; San José is about three hours away.
Bajos del Toro
A valley of cloud forest and waterfalls in the highlands north-west of San José, with one lodge in the forest. The valley holds the Toro and Catarata del Toro falls, trout streams and coffee farms on the slopes, about two hours from the capital.
The Pacuare River
The rainforest river of the Caribbean slope — world-class rapids and the lodge on its bank. The lodge is reached by raft or by road, about three hours east of San José; indigenous Cabécar communities live upstream and the Turrialba volcano rises above.
Good to know
Which are the five-star hotels in Costa Rica?
One. The five-star house we list in Costa Rica is Nayara Springs, the adults-only villas with spring-fed plunge pools inside Arenal Volcano National Park at La Fortuna. Six more houses hold four-star standing: Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo and Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, on the clifftops of the Papagayo peninsula; Casa Chameleon Las Catalinas in the car-free beach town of Las Catalinas; Rio Perdido on stilts between two river gorges near Bagaces; El Silencio Lodge & Spa in the cloud forest of Bajos del Toro; and Pacuare Lodge on the Pacuare River, reached by raft or by road.
Where to stay — Guanacaste, Arenal, the highlands or the Pacuare?
Papagayo and Guanacaste for the Pacific: dry-forest hills, beaches, golf, surf and the resorts, an hour from Liberia airport; Arenal for the volcano, the hot springs and the canopy walks, about three hours from San José; Bajos del Toro for the cloud forest, waterfalls and a single lodge two hours from the capital; the Pacuare for the river and the rainforest, with an arrival by raft that is half the point. The classic route pairs Arenal with the coast; ten days take in three or four of them.
When is the best time to visit Costa Rica?
December to April is the dry season on the Pacific side and in Guanacaste — sunny, hot and the high season, with the highest rates over Christmas and Easter. May to November is the green season: mornings clear, afternoon rain, forests at their fullest and lower rates, with the heaviest rain in September and October on the Pacific. The Caribbean slope and the Pacuare run to a different rhythm, driest in February and March and again in September and October.
How do you get around Costa Rica?
Two international airports: Liberia in Guanacaste, under an hour from Papagayo and Las Catalinas, and Juan Santamaría at San José, about three hours from Arenal, two from Bajos del Toro and the base for the Pacuare. Between regions the houses arrange private drivers, and small planes link San José with La Fortuna and Liberia in under an hour; the Pacuare lodge sends a raft or a four-wheel drive, and the highland roads are slow but paved.
How do I reserve a stay?
Search your dates on the hotel's page to see reference rates, then send the concierge a request. The concierge confirms exact rates and availability with you before anything is booked, and any payment and its timing are set out before you confirm.
