Costa Rica hotel proves luxury and sustainability can go hand-in-hand

October 2011, San José, Costa Rica - Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort, a luxury boutique hotel located in Manuel Antonio, has set a new high this week after being named Costa Rica’s first hotel with a perfect score of five-star luxury and five-leaf sustainability.

“It is an honor to received this new, five-star designation,” said Hans Pfister, CEO and principle of Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality, a company that manages a number of luxury ecolodges in Central America, including Arenas Del Mar. “If you pair this luxury rating with our perfect, five-leaf score under the Certificate for Sustainable Tourism, we are demonstrating that luxury and Earth consciousness can go hand-in-hand – and that it doesn’t have to be one at the expense of the other.”

In determining Arenas Del Mar’s five-star rating, inspectors noted that they were impressed at how the hotel blends seamlessly into the rainforest and beachfront setting, not disturbing the nature and wildlife - something that’s been an objective for the hotel since the planning and construction phase.

“Since the start, we imagined Arenas Del Mar to be the perfect blend of sustainability and luxury. Today, I’m pleased to say that we’ve finally turned that dream into a reality,” said Pfister. “and because Costa Rica is already a country that leads the way in terms of sustainable and eco-tourism, earning this top distinction was no easy feat – and, ultimately, is made all the more sweet.”

As Manuel Antonio’s only luxury beachfront property, some benefits of Arenas Del Mar include spacious, air-conditioned guestrooms with private decks, hot tubs and sweeping ocean views; two gourmet restaurants that combine fresh Costa Rican cuisine with a wild rainforest and ocean backdrop; a full-service spa that specializes in massages, facials, wraps and more; and a range of available guided wilderness activities, ranging from early-morning bird watching tours and late-night rainforest treks to sunset catamaran voyages and adventurous whitewater rafting. Arenas Del Mar also offers direct access and tours of the lush and animal-rich Manuel Antonio National Park.

Sustainable highlights for Arenas Del Mar include limiting building mass to just 25 per cent of the total property, using solar panels to heat hot water, tiling roofs with recycled bags once used in banana plantations, using sustainable and Earth-friendly products in the hotel’s Las Brisas Spa, growing thousands of native trees and endemic plants and offering sustainability tours that, amongst other things, allow guests to try their hands at tortilla-making.

Of Costa Rica’s five-leaf rated hotels, four of the total 15 fall under the Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality umbrella: Arenas Del Mar, Lapa Rios Ecolodge, Harmony Hotel and Finca Rosa Blanca Coffee Plantation & Inn.

Learn more about Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort here. For more information please contact Hans Pfister at hans@cayugaonline.com.

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