Where Luxury in the the Rainforest Meets the Sand

Arenas Del Mar, 12 acres of lush tropical flora that touches the beautiful sands of the Pacific Ocean, is the only hotel in Manuel Antonio whose landscape is 100% endemic species of plants and trees. It is an incomparable experience to walk just a few steps from the tropical rain forest onto one of the most beautiful and written about beaches in the world and then diving into the 80 degree turquoise water.

As for the hotel itself, one guest recently wrote in TripAdvisor, "I cannot say enough good things about this place! Everything at Arenas Del Mar was absolutely wonderful! We stayed in an Ocean Breeze Superior Room and it was so very nice. The staff was second to none. I mean they did anything and everything to make sure that we were happy at all times and we were!!! The food at both restaurants was excellent. It was so good that we ate there 6 of the 7 nights we were there. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. The beaches were gorgeous and it was so cool to see monkeys outside our balcony! The massage and facial that I had at the spa was incredible! I almost cried when we had to leave. I cannot wait to go back!"

Culture for the children

 Costa Rica is a country with an abundance of art and culture.  The national government sponsors a number of art schools and conservatories and dance, theater and music performances, take place daily in the capitol city of San Jose. It is rare, however, to find cultural and artistic exhibitions in rural and/or coastal areas of the country. Luckily, the nearby town of Quepos was chosen as a site to host the Campañia Nacional de Danza (National Dance Company).   This particular show, part of Dance Company´s national tour, was an abstract, freestyle dance piece portraying the atrocity of child prostitution (an issue with which the Costa Rican government has been battling for the past decade and our law severely punishes). relaying on theatrical elements this performence told the story of an executive white collard man with an obscure secret .Through images was shown to us, his marriage, later his promiscuous adventures with this secretaries, and later this pedophylic tendencies. A puppet of a child comes into the scene with a character that represents its "pimp". Not a happy ending on this story. While the content of this show was rather dark and brooding, its theme touched on an important topic that, unfortunately, affects many of the smaller coastal towns in Costa Rica where uncontrolled tourism development has spawned a number of social problems, including drugs, prostitution and sexual exploitation of minors. Those in attendance not only learned an important lesson about how to confront and deal with this issue, but were also left dazzled by the dance performance’s use of nontraditional elements.  At the end of the play an open forum allowed the audience to express its firm conviction to protect our children.Costa Rica raices high art and culture as weapons of peace and once again they prove to be the best tools for transformation and to raise conciousness about this problems. It is these types of artistic expressions that positions Costa Rica not only as an ecological destination, but as the “Central American Capitol of the Arts” as well.  VIVA LA CULTURA! 

By: Jose Pablo Fdez, naturalist guide

Art Exhibits

Over the past year and a half of operation, Arenas del Mar has been working hard to promote national culture and art in the surrounding community by allowing local artists to present their work to our guests. On May 23, 2009, we hosted Cantarella Mara, who (along with her husband) presented various pieces created from silver and fused glass.

Hungry Boa

We just ended a terrible drout in Quepos (the dry season hit us hard this year). We had no rain for the months of February, March and April, and in the typically rainy months of August, September and October, we received very little rain. As a result, we noticed very few boa constrictors on our property grounds recently, as they (along with some amphibians and fresh water turtles) tend to hide in moist, cool burrows. Boa constrictors have been reported to reach up to 18 feet in length and can spend up to a whole year without food. The first boa constrictor that we were able to witness this season in the Manuel Antonio National Park was caught feasting on a green iguana after its long long dry season's nap.


By: Jose Pablo Fernandez,naturalist guide

Delfines y ballenas en la costa!!

Sailing is fun! On the rugged coast line of Quepos you can enjoy cruising next to rocky cliffs carpeted with moss and trees anchored on them. Also travel through rocky isles conquered by avian life like fregates and boobys. But besides all this scenic treasure the most exciting thing would by the encounter with some of the smartest creatures of this planet, the dolphins! On the Quepos coast and through out the waters of the Manuel Antonios National Park 55 ooo hectares of marine reserve, many species of cetaceos could be found. Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis, would be the most exciting to find because it can roam on groups of up to 60 individuals. Also the Long-snouted Spinner Dolphin Stenella longirostris centroamericana could amaze you with his acrobatic jumps. Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus and Pacific Spotted Dolphin Stenella atrenuata are the other 2 most common kinds. But this is not all Rough-toothed Dolphin, Steno bredanensis, Striped (or Blue-white) Dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba and Fraser's Dolphin Lagenodelphis hosei complete the list of the 7 different types of dolphins. Theres many types of small whales around that are confused with dolphins at the distance like the Pygmy Killer Whale Feresa attenuata, Pygmy Sperm Whale Kogia brevicops, Dwarf Sperm Whale Kogia simus, and the Short-finned Pilot Whale Globicephala Macrorhynchus.

And if you visit us (www.arenasdelmar.com) on the right time, meaning from july to december, you have big chances to see many whale species that travel through here. The most common the Humpback Whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, that come around to give birth to its babys. Also False Killer Whale Pseudorca crassidens, Great Sperm Whale Physeter catodon, Killer Whale (or Orca) Orcinus orca, and the giant Blue Whale Balaenoptera musculus.

So, theres lots to see!!!

By: Jose Pablo Fdez, naturalist guide.

Cayuga Trainings

These past few days, members of hotels managed by Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality (including Arenas del Mar) have been enjoying continuous and useful trainings as part of the formation of high-performance teams. These trainings have included: motivational training, first aid, revenue management and time management. Thanks to Cayuga for continuing to invest in us (especially during these difficult economic times).


Traveling to Harmony Hotel