4 Best Hotels in Golfito, The Osa Peninsula and the South Pacific

Planted between the tranquil Golfo Dulce and tropical forest, this luxury ecolodge brilliantly fuses high design, luxe comfort, and gastronomic flights of fancy in two restaurants with an eco-consciousness dictated by its castaway location accessible only by boat. The original three-story lodge has five spacious suites with panoramic views, even from the chic, beautifully tiled bathrooms. A four-plex building nearby can accommodate family groups, and eight new rooms have private plunge pools and face a swimming pool. A charming cottage for two sits even closer to the shore, screened by tropical foliage. With a palm-fringed beach, a second large freshwater pool, a spa, and trails leading through forest to an organic garden, this is a true tropical paradise. Room rates include the round-trip boat transfer, kayaks and snorkeling in the bay, a two-hour guided tour, and yoga and meditation classes.

Hands down, this is the best ecolodge on the gulf, combining comfortable, upscale accommodations and great food with an emphasis on adventure on both land and sea. Out the front door of the lodge are beach, bay, and mangroves, with kayaks, snorkeling, fishing, sailing, and swimming; through the back door is a forested mountain with hiking trails, a waterfall, plenty of wildlife, and a resident naturalist to interpret the trails and lead bird-watching walks. The Edible Garden tour is a hit with visitors, especially when it includes turning raw cacao beans into chocolate cake. The night walks are filled with nocturnal natural wonders; you will often see more creatures than during daylight tours. For contemplative types, there is a beachfront yoga deck and a resident yoga instructor who does double duty as a massage therapist. The palatial two-story main lodge is a tree house, crafted from 15 kinds of wood. Scattered around the mature garden are luxurious, hexagonal wooden cabins with folding, shuttered doors and windows, gleaming hardwood floors, handmade wood furniture, and private verandas. Each secluded cabin's private bathroom has an open-air shower with its own exotic minigarden. For guests more comfortable in rooms and showers with walls, there's a stucco guesthouse with four large, comfortable rooms, shaded by mango trees. The upper-story rooms have terraces that are great bird-watching perches. Breakfast and lunch are served at the large wooden table in the second-story dining room–cum–lounge, with an unbeatable treetop view. Dinner, featuring imaginative meals made with local ingredients, is served in one communal sitting, after the cocktail hour, which always includes a plate of tasty bocas (appetizers).

Everything at this luxury resort—designed like an art deco ocean liner incongruously dry-docked in Golfito's American Zone—is first-class, and guests stroll among gleaming hardwoods, polished brass, and stained glass. A magnificent art collection, commissioned for the hotel, lines corridors equipped, gangway style, with white hand railings and portholes. The smallish standard rooms feel a little subterranean, but feature such swanky amenities as fine linens, marble bathrooms, handsome furniture, well-designed closets, lots of mirrors and reading lights, and strong air-conditioning. Upper-level, deluxe state rooms and suites are brighter and more spacious, with large bathtubs and private balconies. The public areas are grand, filled with more art, sculpture, and stylish leather furniture. Across the road from the main hotel lies a self-contained resort, with a magnificent pool, gym, tennis and squash courts, and a spa. Service is polished and friendly throughout the hotel. Included in the room rate is an excellent buffet breakfast, served in the gloriously over-the-top main dining room. 

This well-managed ecolodge in a 35-acre nature preserve bordering Piedras Blancas National Park is run by Austrians who have successfully instilled some sense of Teutonic order in the jungle. The rustic cabins have two tidy rooms (can be rented separately) with tile floors, reading lamps, and airy, private bathrooms with plenty of hot water. The rooms are a little dark, but are brightened by colorful, appliqué curtains and woven-cotton bedspreads made by Guaymí and Boruca artisans. A saltwater swimming pool is cool and refreshing, and fragrant white ginger and ylang-ylang encircle a pond. Another nearby pond has a lookout for bird-watchers and is home to contented, well-fed caimans. Local guides lead visitors along thrilling trails to the waterfalls and deep into primary forest. The dining room, lighted by romantically flickering candles, serves huge portions of wholesome and delicious local food. For families or foursomes, there is a fully equipped Jungle Villa with two bedrooms with forest views.