Gaia Hotel & Reserve

We just spent four glorious days here. Everyone on staff was very friendly, professional, and made us feel welcome. We were greeted with a cool towel and a delicious welcome drink of fresh squeezed juices. The setting is in the park so you’re surrounded by the flora and fauna of the jungle, and we took the scarlet macaw tour the day we arrived so we could get the lay of the land. They’re working to reintroduce scarlet macaws into the park and have a really interesting free guided tour of that process. Our rooms were very large and we were even treated a private rooftop deck space. The restaurant was excellent. We were happy to have all our meals there. From our concierge Jose to everyone we met - Yonantan, Andre, Jans, and others - we could not have asked for friendlier or more gracious service, not to mention their patience when I wanted to practice my limited Spanish with them!

Amazing!. We had a fantastic time at Gaia. Boris runs a beautiful resort with a top-notch staff. Thanks to Jans for taking care of us, but also thanks to the entire staff. The accommodations, food, drink and everything was first-rate. If you're heading to Costa Rica, you need to consider Gaia Hotel and Nature Reserve.

The worst experience ever. I would rather sleep on the street than stay at Gaia. I will never recommend this place. Stay away. There are much better hotels in Manuel Antonio and Quepos. It far from the park and the beach and it is not worth the cost.

The hotel is beautiful (with great views) and the service is first class. We loved our room. Breakfast was delicious and plentiful. The dinner we had at the hotel's La Luna restaurant was the best we had during our stay in Costa Rica. There is a good fitness center, which was important because there is nowhere safe (because of the hills and roads ... it's safe from a crime perspective) to run outside in the area. One downside is that there is not much space for chairs by their pools because the hotel is built on a steep hill (yes, there is a shuttle). If you want beach chairs and umbrellas at Manuel Antonio Beach, we would suggest you take care of them yourself at the beach, as the person the hotel uses has extremely uncomfortable chairs (unless the hotel's lovely owner subsequently switched based on my recommendation). There are plenty of options at the beach (don't pay more than $10 for two chairs and an umbrella or $30 for four chairs and an awning). We booked a surf lesson while on the beach as well. We wholeheartedly recommend the Gaia!

This trip was my third stay in CR, my husband’s second. Previous trips were to the Four Seasons Papagayo, so a very different experience. I am an experienced traveler, having spent 20+ years in global meeting and event planning in the pharmaceutical industry, including incentive program design and operation. My husband and I won a stay at Gaia in a golf tournament auction. We upgraded to a different suite type and arranged for a longer stay than what was outlined in the award package, and both requests were handled beautifully. There were limitations to the time period (i.e Blackout Dates) for the Gaia trip, and we knew that we would be at the tail end of the CR rainy season. And through hurricanes on the Caribbean side, and an El Nina “trough” on the Pacific side, it really did rain. Like 24 hours a day during our 5 days, but we knew the chance we were taking…but an award trip is an award trip! What makes Gaia exceptional are the people, staff and food quality. We would have enjoyed our upgraded suite more if it wasn’t raining - again, not the hotel’s fault. Also would have enjoyed the pool more, but we did go in even with it raining. I can agree with some of the feedback about the rooms, but our suite was perfectly appropriate, but again, we were on an award package. Spa was really nice, our massages were excellent. Breakfast options included in our package were wonderful, and they make incredible cocktails in the evening. Dinners were also exceptional, including the special “romance dinner” that we booked. We opted to only use the tours and providers recommended by the hotel - there is a large PDF they can send you with their preferred providers. Normally, I am a “self booking queen”, but I trusted their recommendations. We were VERY pleased with the tours and offerings, great price points. One tour - horseback riding - was cancelled due to the rain, but again, not hotel’s fault - it was a safety decision by the supplier and we understood. We also used the hotel’s transfer from the airport to hotel - this was also a great decision. It’s a long ride if you fly into San Jose - almost 3 hours - and our driver was GREAT. We stopped for lunch on the way to hotel - had a great meal, and then stopped for snacks on the way back to airport. Same driver, great van. Also, there are excellent restaurants quite close to hotel - all an easy and safe Uber trip. In all, five star rating because of the quality of the experience. Alex, you were an amazing concierge and host for our trip - thank you!