Whale watching
Fresh seafood
Hand-made bamboo furniture
USD 255
Costa Rica is home to Central America's last remaining lowland rainforest. And right in the middle of that beautiful tropical jungle is the intimate and quietly luxurious Lapa Rios Ecolodge. It pokes up from the forest canopy, on a low hill above the roaring Pacific Ocean.
Life here is simple, where email is as foreign as alarm clocks and 8am meetings. That's not to say there isn't much to do. Those humpback whales aren't going to watch themselves after all. But things move at that languid, tropical pace that seems to spark romance, and extinguish stress. There's lounging by the pool to be done, and surfing on the Pacific swells, and long meals of wild-caught fish and organically grown salads.
There are only 16 bungalows at Lapa Rios Ecolodge, so you're more likely to see monkeys at the pool than a crowd of people. You'll rest on hand-made bamboo furniture, beneath a palm-thatched roof. And your private verandah? The perfect place to enjoy an organic coffee and ocean view.
Weather for Puerto Limon
Andrew Harper Recommended
Travel + Leisure - The World's 500 Best Hotels - January 2008
Conde Nast Traveler - Gold List - 2008
Forbes Traveler 400 - The World's Very Best Hotels and Resorts - 2008
Rainforest Alliance - Sustainable Standard-Setter - 2007
Travel + Leisure - World's Best Awards - 2007
Conde Nast Traveler - Reader's Choice Award Winner - 2005 & 2007
Conde Nast Traveler - Green List - 2005
Andrew Harper - World's Best Hotels, Resorts & Hideaways - 2005