Buena Vista del Rincon

Buena Vista Eco Lodge & Adventure Center’s name tells visitors everything they need to know about this property. “Lodge” is an accurate description of the kind of no-frills rooms guests should expect, while “Adventure Center” conveys the property’s focus on activities rather than typical hotel amenities. 

The lodge is set on a 2,000-acre property that once served as a beef and dairy farm. Surrounded by extensive tracts of primary forest, the lodge offers gorgeous views of the Guanacaste prairies, Rincon de la Vieja Volcano, and the Gulf of Papagayo. Guests are likely to spot monkeys, birds, sloths, and a huge range of other wildlife during their stay. Sustainability is a priority here, with the lodge awarded four out of five leaves in Costa Rica’s respected Certification for Sustainable Tourism Program.

Guests are a diverse mix of groups, couples, and families, who share a common desire to connect with nature. The lodge mainly attracts Western tourists in the high season, while locals tend to come here in the low season. Buena Vista’s adventure center is a popular destination for group tours, so you’ll see a lot of day visitors here in addition to other guests.

Buena Vista Lodge is located on a 2,000-acre former ranch, in the foothills of Rincon de la Vieja National Park. Situated over 2,400 feet above sea level, temperatures tend to be much cooler at the lodge compared to the rest of Guanacaste. 

While this unusual location offers guests a chance to be immersed in Costa Rica’s flora and fauna, it’s also, not surprisingly, isolated. The nearest major town is Liberia, which is around an hour’s drive away. Around half the journey to Liberia is along a well-paved major highway, but the other half is along a bumpy, dirt road. Guests are mostly limited to eating dinners at the lodge, because only the most intrepid drivers will be comfortable navigating the forested road back to Buena Vista from Liberia after dark. Liberia’s airport can be reached in about a 90-minute drive. 

Guest rooms at Buena Vista Lodge are tidy and plain, with floral bed runners and matching artwork. Small windows and wooden walls give the rooms a dark look. Coffeemakers are set on simple desks, and some rooms have mini-fridges. Free Wi-Fi is available, but rooms lack TVs. Basic wardrobes hold personal safes, umbrellas, extra blankets, and a few hangers. There’s no AC; rooms are cooled by overhead fans. (Temperatures are lower at the lodge’s high elevation, so most guests don’t find the heat is a problem.)

Tiled bathrooms have wall-mounted hairdryers and compact vanities stocked with handmade bars of soap. Some bathrooms feature glass vessel sinks. Showers have older fixtures and pump bottles of body wash. Tiny terraces offer seating on cushioned benches. The main difference between each room category is the location and view: Cabins are close to a wonderful lookout point at El Mirador restaurant; View to the Lake Rooms have partial views of the ocean; and Haciendas are located close to the pool. Stone Rooms, which are set near the souvenir shop, include handsome stonework detailing. 

The lodge’s lovely outdoor pool is designed to look like a hidden lagoon, nestled amid trees and flowers with lots of natural rock accents. Loungers are clustered along the stone deck on one side of the pool, and there’s also a little, elevated hot tub. The pool includes a modest swim-up bar, which has a tiny, shaded dry seating area. 

The lodge has five private natural hot spring pools, located a 30-minute walk or a bumpy shuttle ride away from the main building. The lodge runs a free shuttle to the springs every hour or so, with guests riding on an enormous farm tractor. Five hot spring pools of varying temperatures are surrounded by forested greenery, with two rivers flowing alongside. It also contains a volcanic mud bath area, with two pots of mud. Guests are invited to dip their hands in the pots and cover their bodies with the volcanic mud, which is said to have exfoliating properties. After letting the mud dry, they can rinse off in open-air showers. There’s also an enclosed natural sauna, as well as Ficus, a small bar offering drinks and snacks. 

The property includes a large network of trails through primary tropical forest, some of which lead to picturesque waterfalls. There’s a 1,600-foot-long waterslide, and a trail of hanging bridges suspended through the forest canopy. 

Activities at the lodge’s adventure park are a huge part of the experience here. Guests can go horseback riding, ziplining, or learn how to make soaps or recycled crafts. There are also Costa Rican cooking classes focused on recipes made with corn harvested on the property, such as tortillas and empanadas. Guests can try their hand at milking cows, or learn about the process of roasting coffee beans. Most of these activities and experiences come at an extra fee. 

Buena Vista has four main restaurants, all of which incorporate ingredients produced on the property into their dishes. Eggs, cheese, and veggies like potatoes, corn, and eggplants are just a few of the foods grown and produced at Buena Vista. The main buffet restaurant, La Montana, is quite dark with wooden walls, tables, and ceilings, plus terra-cotta-tiled floors. Thick greenery lines the restaurant’s windows, which looks attractive but limits natural light. Tables are mainly long, communal set-ups ideal for tour groups, and there’s also a small snack bar. 

Coati and Restaurant Jaguar are similarly dark spaces, decked out virtually head-to-toe in wood. Coati’s low ceilings and wooden pillars further add to its cave-like feel. Restaurant Jaguar is slightly more upscale, distinguished by a tree gracefully protruding through the floor at its center. A free breakfast buffet is served here each morning. 

El Mirador restaurant has a breezy terrace that offers spectacular views of the Gulf of Papagayo, Santa Elena Bay, and the volcano, particularly at sunset. There are pool and foosball tables available for guests, in addition to a few board games. The food at all restaurants gets mixed reviews from guests.