Hacienda AltaGracia, an Auberge Resort

The hotel is truly special. It was one of my favorite trips. The scenery was beautiful, the hotel and spa are breathtaking, the staff is one of the best at any hotel I've been to. The food was very good. The prices of the activities and excursions are priced too high. The only one I would do again is the horseback riding. It was awesome! The other experiences were great...they were just priced 50% too high. But, that didn't put a damper on our trip. I wish I was back there!

Since my return I cannot stop recommending this resort to everyone. I felt so cared for and no detail was missed down to the hot water bottles in my duvet every night! The food is hands down the best I’ve had at any resort and visiting masters Priscilla and Yamuna are life changing healers. If they are there during your stay you must book a session with them, and if they are not, wait until they come! You will not leave the same way you arrived.

My wife and I recently got away for a warm vacation during the cold winter in the US. We have gone to Riviera Maya, Mexico multiple times but grew tired of the eating/drinking/laying on the beach routine. So we decided to look for something that still had a luxurious feel, great food, great service, safe and allowed us to be active. This resort kept coming up in Travel & Leisure and Condé Nast and it looked intriguing. One of the most amazing parts of the trip was before we got to the resort. We landed in San Jose and before we got into the customs line, we were greeted by an airport employee with a sign for the resort who swept us away into a private airport lounge to clear customs and relax before taking our small flight to the resort. The line to clear regular customs for the country was so long and when we asked, the employee said that everyone else probably had to wait about two hours to clear customs! When we got to the resort, there were several things that I noticed instantly. We have traveled to high end hotels throughout Europe, The Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, Bora Bora, etc so we have a good feel for quality service and properties. The people were extremely warm and welcoming. They genuinely seemed happy that we were there at their resort. The grounds were beautiful and immaculately maintained. The property sits on the side of some rolling mountains and the general feel is that you are a personal guest at some Latin American billionaire’s private ranch. Our room was a Casa, which is a free standing “villa” with some great views of the valley. It has a large porch and sitting area, spacious and well-appointed living room, bedroom, closet and bathroom. The villa was so well designed and every single detail was thought through. There were gluten-free snacks already in the room (per our dietary requests) binoculars, steamer for clothes, a yoga mat, a Bang & Olufsen blue tooth speaker, stocked mini fridge, etc. The room is a perfect mix of luxury without feeling pretentious. It’s decorated in Costa Rican style so you get a feel for the people and culture but also extremely comfortable. My wife’s favorite part was every evening during turndown service, they would put hot water in two water bladders, inside of a sleeve and placed under the covers to warm the sheets. She would climb into the warm bed after dinner and immediately doze off. Because the resort is spaced out and has a lot of hills, you can message the staff and request a cart come pick you up and drop you anywhere on the property at any time. With all the meals being included, my wife and I barely used that and enjoyed walking after we ate. The property is at a little over 3,000ft elevation and walking on the hills could work up a sweat, which we really enjoyed. For horse lovers, the stables are a must. Even if you don’t want to ride, you should visit. We did ride and enjoyed a two hour ride up in the mountains and the views were amazing. The big difference is that the staff at the stables were happy to have us visit and just pet and spend time with the horses. Most of the time in the USA, they view us visiting the stables as a nuisance or some kind of liability. Here they take pride in the roughly 35 horses on property and my wife made me walk with her EVERY day to visit them. We also try to eat organic at home so visiting a property that served quality food was extremely important. No matter which restaurant we visited or which meal we ate, the quality of the ingredients and the detail and care that went into each dish was evident. One of our favorite people that week was Andrey. He was extremely friendly, personable and was happy to talk about the resort, his family, the town, Costa Rica, etc. Also his knowledge and level of service was the best! There was plenty of variety in the food as the dinner menu was different every night! The resort has plenty of classes that are included with your room rate as well as others available for additional cost. They are clearly marked so you know ahead of time if there is a charge. We took a coffee class with Tacho in Mercado which was really cool to see how using different coffee making techniques and equipment led the same coffee to taste differently. After the class was over, I explained to Tacho some of the issues I have with making espresso at home. He took me behind the counter and we experimented with grind size, amount of coffee, amount of water, etc so I knew what to look for when making adjustments to my machine. My wife love cappuccinos and all of the baristas make great designs with the foam on top. Sure enough, the next day, Tacho took me back behind the counter and worked with me on my technique for the froth so I could make better designs for my wife’s froth drinks. My point for going into so much detail, is that Tacho is a great example of the care and attention you’ll get if you engage with these warm people. Lastly, we had some great treatments at the spa but they also have a sauna and fantastic steam room in the men’s and women’s locker rooms. Those facilities were included in the room rate so even on the days we didn’t have a treatment, we could come use the facilities and then hang out by the large indoor pool and relax. Also included in your room rate is a clay treatment where they combine clay and a mix of your choice of herbs. You rub it all over your body and then lay on a heated stone table for about 15mins. It’s enough time for the clay to have some good benefits for your skin without getting dry and cracked. Then you get up and rinse off at the shower. This was one of the best vacations we have ever taken and would love to bring our kids back to experience the resort as well. If I could give this place six stars out of five, I would do it!

Whether you’ve been to Costa Rica before or not, this is the way to do it. What a fabulous place to re-charge or just get away. So many activities to do, or do nothing at all but enjoy the magnificence and beauty of the resort. It’s well worth taking the half-hour charter flight provided by Hacienda AltaGracia from the San Jose airport to the resort. This is a world-class property and it would be virtually impossible not to be blown away by the fabulous, perfectly-attentive staff. On a scale of 1-10, it’s an 11.

The team at Hacienda AltaGracia is unmatched. From the moment you arrive at the airport through to the final goodbye, it is clear that each moment of the guest experience is carefully considered to ensure a seamless guest experience. The way in which the property incorporates the culture of Costa Rica, curates an array of activities for all interests, and embraces the beauty of the region has left me physically, mentally, and spiritually aligned. The resort experience was beyond what I could've imagined, and I cannot wait to go back time and time again! Shoutout to Koen, Ignacio, Andre, and Kevin for being standouts and for sharing their passion with us!