Arenal Volcano National Park La Fortuna, Costa Rica
Renovated
2024
Price
$$$$
Outside the door
The brand
NayaraRainforest casita grove
Standalone casitas sit tucked into the canopy, where sloths roost and footbridges lead between thermal spring pools.
“You are met with an expansive and gorgeous garden filled with parrot plants, rosy button gingers, delicate orchids and bright air plants…”
Where it shines
Remarkable
Dedicated personal hosts coordinate excursions, and every casita deck features a plunge pool.
Remarkable
Volcanic mud wraps fill cliffside open-air pavilions, paired with estate geothermal pools.
Remarkable
Resident naturalists lead sloth trails, while geothermal mineral pools thread the grounds.
What they say
Two Michelin Keys
Michelin
Forbes Recommended
Forbes Travel Guide
2026
Also in Condé Nast Traveler.
High-end, high-altitude, colorfully stylish, luxuriously sedate, and environmentally sensitive — Nayara Gardens is just about everything you’d want a resort in inland Costa Rica to be.
Tucked away
A place apart: the property is the destination.
Arenal Volcano National Park borders the grounds, with hiking trails leading across old lava flows and hanging bridges.
The rooms
Casitas have wraparound decks with private plunge pools, outdoor monsoon showers, and views straight into the forest canopy.
The pools and gym
Bring a swimsuit.
The curved swimming pool looks straight at Arenal Volcano, accompanied by forest whirlpools and a glass-walled gym pavilion.
The spa
Open-air pavilions perch over the cliffside, where treatments use local coffee scrubs and volcanic mineral mud.
Nostalgia Wine & Tapas Bar
Automated dispensers pour wine flights by the glass, served beside tapas in tufted velvet booths.
The resort's 50 huge and colorful casitas deliver the promise of views impossible to replicate, and all have outdoor showers and hot tubs.
At the table
Open-air pavilions serve Costa Rican breakfasts and Asian-Latin fusion under paper lanterns, alongside a thatched swim-up bar.
How it began
Hotelier Leo Ghitis opened the retreat in 2007 as the foundation for the surrounding rewilded rainforest estate.
Good to know
Stay here
Nayara Gardens
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La Fortuna
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Our shorthand
How we rate hotels.
The medals
Gold
Extremely rare. Sets the global standard.
Silver
Brilliant execution. And we’re picky.
Bronze
They did this well. You’ll notice.
Listed
A defining trait. Makes the hotel what it is.
The eight vibes
Design
Built around a vision. Even the door handles have a designer.
Luxe
Cared for at every turn. The bath is drawn before you ask.
Local
It could only be here. You wake up knowing where you are.
Social
Where the city goes out. The bar is full and the night is young.
Heritage
A building with a story. Once a palace, a monastery, a station.
Wellness
You leave feeling new. Rest, sweat, soak and sleep like a stone.
Classic
The city grew up with it. Same rituals, same regulars, same bar.
Resort
A world of its own. Something to do from breakfast to nightcap.
The scene
Lively
Where things happen: restaurants, shops, people.
Central
Well-located: walkable to some things, a short ride to more.
Quiet
Away from the crowds. Getting around takes intention.
Secluded
A place apart: the property is the destination.