A luxury, boutique resort, located in Manuel Antonio Beach, Costa Rica, is a 5 star eco-friendly hotel. Enjoy a tropical luxurious getaway in a spectacular exotic location. This is Gaia. They have managed to achieve an ideal blend of modern amenities and natural scenery for our guests to enjoy.
BTN caught up with this amazing resort to find out why they win this prestigious award.

The resort is nestled in the magnificent coastal forests of Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica, the hotel´s well-appointed, terraced suites and villas offers amazing views of lush and pristine surroundings that are beyond compare. They offer a great variety of top services such as fine dining in their on-site La Luna restaurant, luxury spa treatments at Terra Spa, gym, pool, one day tours, plus the availability of a myriad of personal services. Indulge yourself with their personalized services in an eco-friendly environment.

GAIA’s Private Nature Reserve
The hotel is located in a vast haven of lowland forests in which proliferates a remarkable biodiversity of wildlife. Originally the Gaia Garden (“Jardín GAIA”) was a center for the conservation and rehabilitation of local species and orchids. During the building of the hotel in 2005, the majority of the property was maintained untouched and remains until today available as a haven for local wildlife. This is where their guests can explore the flora and fauna Costa Rica has to offer on our daily guided tour. (Offered daily except on Mondays). The tour also includes a visit of the reintroduction program of the Scarlet Macaw which GAIA proudly hosts.

Gaia´s Private Nature Reserve is Costa Rica in its most pristine state. It is where many different species have a secure future thanks to the initiative of GAIA Hotel & Reserve to preserve this natural reserve for future generations to come and to reduce the ecological footprint. 

BTN: How important is your location for your guests and especially returning guests. Are guests looking in greater detail how they send their time in your resort, the use of the spa, wellness and gym features, the outside environment?

GR: Absolutely.  Tourism has changed and the natural outdoor events are preferred by our clients.

BTN: You have an excellent restaurant at your resort, boasting healthy fresh and local cuisine, are you planning to make any improvements to this venue over the coming months and are you finding you have to cater for the ever growing needs of Vegetarian and Vegan travellers?

GR: We started a long time ago providing a tasty full vegetarian and vegan menu which does not miss a beat on the flavourful category and are consumed by both vegan and non-vegan clientele.

BTN: You offer an array of outdoor activities taking advantage of your location in the beautiful national park, what tends to be the most popular and why?

GR: The most popular is actually our tour to our own nature reserve and the project of Reinsertion of Ara Macaos (Scarlet Macaws) into our environment in an area of the country where they had all disappeared due to poaching during the Chichita Banana and United Fruit Company over 50 years ago.  This project is also sponsored by Discovery Channel, National Geographics, the Smithsonian National Washington Zoo and the Ministry of the Environment of Costa Rica.  We have to date introduced over 200 scarlet macaws which are now free all over the county.  The second most popular is the Manuel Antonio National Park

BTN: How important is the weddings and honeymoon market to you, and do you offer special packages tailored to this growing segment of the travel market?

GR: We do have packages for both Honeymooner and small wedding up to 25 persons

BTN: Are you planning to make any changes to the operation of the hotel and its services in order to meet the sustainable needs and expectations that guests are now seeking?

GR: Our property is certified by the government to be 99.6% sustainable and with the 14 acres of nature reserve, our property is carbon negative.  We contribute to the sustainability of our planet daily.

BTN: What does it mean for your property to win the World’s Leading Green hotel award at the World Travel Awards and how do you communicate this amazing achievement to your guests and more importantly the staff at the resort?

GR: It means a lot.  We are a small boutique five-star hotel, and we spend over 100,000 dollars a year in our different preservation projects.  It is obviously very gratifying to receive this recognition.  Many thanks to all of you.

BTN: The UK is now the largest tourist market for Costa Rica, what other markets are proving popular for your resort?

GR: USA, Spain, Israel, Germany, France and México.