Best Resorts in Costa Rica

Despite its stature as a luxury hotel, this place feels more like a boutique bed and breakfast than a mega-resort, and offers all the creature comforts of home, if home were a 40-room converted "Tropical Victorian" mansion. Located just off of Paseo Colon, Hotel Grano de Oro is a sanctuary in the heart of the city. Beautiful flowers burst from the corners, hallways are lined with original art, and fountains of Spanish tile highlight the atriums, where the sound of water adds to the ambience. The rooms are impressive enough, but it's the restaurant that has folks writing home and coming back for more: French chef Francis Canal has turned the once simple caf?-- into one of the country's best dining establishments.

Hotel la Condesa is luxurious and unpretentious at the same time. Geared toward the business traveler as well as those visiting Costa Rica solo or with families, Hotel la Condesa has a sauna, an adult and a children's pool, a casino, and a cozy fireplace in the lobby. Spa services are available, and there is a business center, an on-site restaurant, and a coffee shop cafe. A complimentary breakfast is served each morning, and room service is available during certain hours. Airport shuttles can be easily arranged, and the hotel's concierge is happy to arrange sightseeing and tours to nearby attractions.

The Beacon Escazu Hotel San Jose is located just outside the capital city, convenient to SJO International airport. With only 27 rooms surrounded by lush gardens, the Beacon Escazu manages to be luxurious without being ostsentatious, and the building's style is a blend of Old-Colonial and modern architecture. Each room is elegantly furnished with pieces custom designed to accentuate the hotel's architectural style, including the signature centerpiece king-sized beds, which are fitted with Serta comfort topped mattresses and luxuriously high-thread count linens. Guests have the ability to monitor the air-conditioning in the room, so no matter what Costa Rica's weather is like outside you know you'll get a comfortable night's sleep.

Just outside of downtown San José and close to the Juan Santamaría International Airport, the Grand Tara Resort awaits. A secluded location in the hills of San Antonio de Escazú offers an intimate feeling and a magnificent view, overlooking three volcanoes and the entire San José metropolitan area. The resort includes an excellent on-site gourmet restaurant,a full service spa, and a casino, making it an ideal destination for travelers seeking luxurious accommodations, personalized service, fine dining and gambling during their stay in Costa Rica. The Grand Tara Resort specializes in weddings, and its sprawling grounds and decked out banquet rooms have become a favorite spot to tie the knot.

AmaTierra Retreat & Wellness Center calls itself "a life-enhancing guest facility" and it may be just that. Nestled on 8 acres in the Costa Rican mountains one hour west of the capital city of San Jose and one hour north of the Central Pacific Beaches, AmaTierra can be your home away from home as well as your home base as you venture on day trips to a variety of area attractions. AmaTierra's, elevation, at 2000 feet, creates an ideal climate which stays between 62-84 degrees year round. This special eco-resort features an infinity-edge pool, a balcony with breathtaking views and 10 private casitas, each with an outdoor patio. AmaTierra offers basic lodging and breakfast as well as all-inclusive vacation packages such as Wellness & Adventure Packages which include healthful meals, activities and wellness services, including yoga in an open-air gazebo.

The Ecolodge Inn at Coyote Mountain is an exclusive nature lodge offering a cozy yet luxurious retreat from the world to intrepid travelers on its 70-acres private nature reserve. The expansive grounds invite both outdoor adventures and near total seclusion, and an excellent on-site restaurant that serves farm-fresh food three meals a day makes it hard for some guests to leave the premises. Though more remote than many other hotels, the Inn is just a day trip from the Arenal Volcano, Carrara National Park, and the Central Valley. Guests can enjoy breathtaking views of the Pacific and Nicoya Peninsula and an escape from the concerns of modern life,

With only sixteen rooms, El Silencio is not only quiet, but small and cozy, too. Some rooms have fireplaces, other have balconies, all feature Egyptian cotton linens, down comforters and high-quality guest bathrooms. Also included are windows that open and slippers. A nightly turndown service is offered. Guestrooms are all non smoking. El Silencio Lodge and Spa's restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A lounge with a bar is open for drinks. The hotel serves a complimentary cooked to order breakfast each morning in the dining room. A full service health spa has body treatments, massage and treatment rooms, and facials. This 4 star property offers a conference room with complimentary wireless Internet access. Located in the suburb of Sarchi Norte, the property has 60 square meters of event space . Airport shuttle is available upon request, and wedding services and tour assistance are available. Guest parking is complimentary. Additional property amenities include a cafe, gift shops and laundry facilities. El Silencio Lodge is a smoke free property. Notifications: Guests must transfer to the property via required shuttle and must arrange the transfers by contacting the property before travel, using the contact information on the booking confirmation.

Get in touch with nature and meet the wildlife that abounds at Playa Cativo, a boutique beachfront luxury eco-lodge on a 1,000-acre private reserve in Golfo Dulce, one of only four tropical fjords in the world. Accessible only by boat, Playa Cativo is a true escape from the rest of the world, producing hydro-powered electricity and growing food for its El Gavilán Restaurant in its own organic garden. Explore the rainforest, hike from the beach to waterfalls into the surrounding Piedras Blancas National Park, and lookout for some of the 350 species of birds. All rooms boast ocean views, king-size beds and bathrooms with hot-water rain showers.

Located in the picturesque Orosi Valley, Rio Las Perlas Spa and Resort was once an expansive coffee plantation. Today, it has been transformed into a luxury resort with 69 rooms and suites, natural hot springs including 13 jacuzzis, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and sun terrace, and even a replica of a famous church in Orosi, one of Central America's oldest churches. Renovated in 2003, each of the comfortable rooms comes with an en suite bathroom with cable TV, a minibar and fridge,and a balcony. Spa treatments and an in-house gym round out the offerings, and a recently opened casino adds excitement to the scenery.

Just about an hour south of San José, Savegre Hotel, Natural Reserve & Spa lies in a private reserve of 400 hectares, an the ideal base for exploring Costa Rica's amazing tropical cloud forest and many of its nearby attractions. Hotel Savegre's services are a perfect match for nature lovers seeking a memorable experience. The resort has 41 rooms, a bar and restaurant, day spa, conference room, laundry service and shuttle service, as well lush gardens and an extensive network of trails. To top it off, the resort has a friendly staff that will go out of its way to make you feel at home.