This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit one of the best lodging options I’ve seen in all Costa Rica, the Rio Celeste Hideaway Hotel. The purpose of my trip was to find a good alternative for those travelers who don’t like to follow the most traveled routes but prefer to stay in hidden-special places off the beaten track. As a matter of fact, we’ll be featuring this hotel in one or a few of the vacation packages that we’ll be launching in the next couple of months; new vacation packages including “off the beaten track” type of accommodations around all Costa Rica. At this hotel, I found what I was looking for.
Rio Celeste Hideaway Hotel Map:
Location:
The Rio Celeste Hideaway Hotel is located on the foothills of the Tenorio Volcano National Park, a very beautiful rainforest area in the Guanacaste Volcanic Mountain Range. One of the things I liked the most about it, is that because it is immersed in a lush tropical rainforest, you go to sleep every night with the sounds of the jungle and/or the rain, which makes it a very relaxing experience. Also, having delicious Costa Rican coffee in the morning or afternoon outside the porch overlooking the colorful tropical vegetation was a very good experience for us. The morning hikes to Rio Celeste, which is the main attraction of the area, were very nice because the hotel’s staff keeps the trails very well maintained, it’s only a 700 meters walk (1/2 mile approx.) and we got to see some wildlife on the way to the Blue River; we saw howler monkeys jumping from tree to tree, several species of butterflies, birds and many insects. We even decided to get in the blue waters of the Rio Celeste River (Rio Celeste means “blue river” in Spanish). Another way of seeing the blue river is to go to the Tenorio Volcano National Park, which is only 1 kilometer (3/4 of a mile) from the hotel, where one can hike for about 3 hours and be able to see the place where the river turns blue; admire the blue lagoon and the blue waterfall (rated as the most beautiful in the world by Paris Match). If you like to take pictures this is also a great place, because of the contrast between the rainforest vegetation and the blue color of the river.
We had an amazing time at the hotel’s grounds; my wife kept looking and taking pictures of the several types of flowers because the place is nothing but a huge garden, while I had a very relaxing time at the swimming pool and the Jacuzzis with great views of the local vegetation. The restaurant is also very good, the staff is very friendly and the food was delicious, especially the deserts!
In regards to the rooms, we could not ask for more; the rooms are huge, with a porch as I had mentioned before and with a unique outside shower. The whole setting of the Rio Celeste Hideaway Hotel is very romantic; I would definitely recommend this place for a honeymoon, a romantic getaway, or for those who really like to appreciate nature.
Follow us on Facebook to see great pictures and information about Costa Rica
Read more interesting articles about great destinations of Costa Rica