Nayara Gardens

Best hotel in La Fortuna. The rooms are spacious, beautiful and thoughtfully decorated / equipped. Exploring the grounds is like a tour in itself, lots of wildlife and beautiful greenery. Service is top-notch, super friendly staff always looking to help. Dinner at Ayla was 10/10. Spa also great.

Truly a fantastic resort in the midst of the rainforest. Everything is perfect from the time you check in to the time you have to say "see you soon". The staff is friendly and attentive, helping you with your every need. Michael at the front desk was aware of our needs and was extremely knowledgeable about the area and tours. Per his suggestions we did the La Fortuna Waterfall and Hanging Bridges Tour. Yahaira Sibaja Arroyo was our tour guide and she exceeded our expectations with her expertise of the local eco system, allowing us to get up close to nature while experiencing things not many people get the opportunity to see. Such as an anteater, the inside of a bee hive, poisonous snakes and several fruit bats hanging under a banana leaf. Her excitement was infectious and it made for a thoroughly enjoyable day. The resort itself is immaculate and offers several restaurants within walking distance or you can call and have someone pick you up. We reserved a room with a plunge pool overlooking the gardens. The room was well appointed, spacious and had a lovely outdoor shower. We will definitely return to this little slice of heaven in the rainforest of Costa Rica.

Excellent stay at Nayara. We had a gorgeous rain forest villa with its own plunge pool. Lovely meals at Ayla, Bamboo and Mis Amores. Night tour organised by the hotel was excellent. Fantastic service. They even turned around our soaking wet laundry in 1/2 day to get it back before we left. The one downside was breakfast. The egg station is great but everything else is not freshly made and it sitting out so is cold. Poor cereal choice and yoghurt selection. They could easily have some homemade granola and yoghurt for people to add fruit and toppings to. This was the only thing that didn’t feel five star

Nayara was one of the most amazing places my wife and I have ever been. We went for our honeymoon and are already planning our trip back. If we never left our villa (R35 or something), it still would have been the most luxurious vacation ever. We had a jacuzzi on our back patio that looked out directly into the rainforest. The workers were incredibly friendly and helpful, and we got to know a few of them. Our breakfast was complimentary. It wa very good every morning, your normal omelette bar and pancake/waffle/french toast selection, with other local options that were very fun to mix in. Lunch and dinner were all above average. We loved the Mediteranean place. No meal was bad, but everything is very expensive. A pina coloda was $23, and a normal dinner was above $100. It was a vacation so we had budgeted for it, but something that is good for us to keep in mind for next time. There are some incredible excursions and day trips you can do in the surrounding area we would really recommend, with repelling being our favorite. Then it was wonderful to come back from a day of hiking or doing something physical by sitting in the hot springs or jacuzzi.

We have stayed at four different resorts or lodges in La Fortuna over the past decade. Nayara Gardens is by far the best. Key reasons: Quality, quality, quality: the accommodations, the food, the staff are all exceptional. We stayed in one of the newly-renovated Arenal Pool casitas; what a dream. A private jacuzzi plunge pool on an expansive garden deck, dual rain showers (one indoor, one outdoor), blackout curtains on all the windows, daybeds in addition to a luxurious king size bed, beautiful fixtures and detailing everywhere. And the food: included breakfasts offer made to order egg entrees, a wide variety of fruits and fruit juices, fresh-made breads and pastries, French-pressed coffee, all served at tables with views of Mt. Arenal by friendly, accommodating staff. Moreover, there are half a dozen restaurants featuring a variety of world cuisines. Our favorite was the Asia Luna restaurant. Their Japanese offerings, from sea-fresh Nigiri to papaya salad and crisp tempura, rivals the quality found in major American cities. Sustainability: Unlike most resorts in Costa Rica, and certainly in America, no plastics or Styrofoam is used here. Since our planet is currently drowning in plastics of all kinds (a way for oil companies to sustain extraction levels), this is an important, appreciated commitment. And as our naturalist guide told us during one of the free early morning wildlife walks, the owners of the Nayara property restored what had been 100 acres of grazing land to rain forest, which has resulted in a nearly 100% carbon neutral resort. One suggestion for the resort staff: many visitors come to the La Fortuna area are birdwatchers (we are), and Nayara Gardens could do a bit more to highlight birding opportunities both on the grounds and nearby (like the remarkable Bogarin Trail in La Fortuna). While enjoying the jacuzzi pool below the Toucan Bridge spa, for instance, we spotted a keel-billed motmot sitting on a branch above us. I sprinted back to our casita for my camera and telephoto lens, and captured some priceless images of this beautiful bird. No one mentioned to us the likelihood of seeing this bird (or any of the many species we saw during our morning walks on the grounds). This is a feature of the resort that deserves celebrating!