Finca Luna Nueva Lodge

Finca Luna Nueva Lodge is a hotel where the 200-plus-acre farm takes precedence, not the other way around. This shows in every aspect of a stay here, from the free-range pigs and water buffalo you might come face to face with on one of the trails (don't worry, they're behind lightly electrified fencing), the free daily tour of the farm, where on-staff guide Ishmael explains the hotel's eco-conscious philosophy, or the paid chocolate tour that takes you from the grove of cacao plants on the farm to the drying and roasting to the final, sweet product. The truly serious enroll in the farm's international sustainable-farming internship program, which hosts young people from North America and Europe who learn about Finca Luna's Earth-first farming practices for three months at a time. 

The hotel is centered around the dining area by the pool, where the staff members take their family meals when the place isn't filled with guests, and around the two large, plantation-style, two-story casas where some of the guests rooms are -- Casa Luna and Casa Sombra. The guests (Americans, Europeans, and locals, including families and newlywed couples) and laid-back staff (similarly both tico and international) hang out in the open dining area, swapping stories and comparing notes on which rare birds they've spotted in the course of the day, or in the common areas with great views below the casas. Guests here range from casual eco tourists looking for a rainforest experience to serious scientists and students. Everyone should come away with a deeper understanding of food production, as the restaurant meals, from salad greens to pork chops, come fresh from the farm (the animals often picked and slaughtered by the interns).

The hotel sits about 30 to 45 minutes away from La Fortuna (depending on traffic and weather), and must be accessed by a bumpy, two-and-a-half-kilometer gravel road that's riddled with potholes. It's too far away to be easily accessible to people coming to the Arenal region for the usual adventure touring or volcano sightseeing. The nearby town is a small, one-stop stretch with a small restaurant and a couple convenience stores, and doesn't offer anything in the way of tourist attractions. Once you're finally past the gates, though, you're far from the traffic of the highway, and feel like you're finally truly secluded in the midst of the rainforest -- the property abuts a massive national wildlife preserve, and that's reflected in the wealth of exotic animals in the branches of the surrounding forest.

Depending on where you're staying, rooms range from modest to spacious. Individual Bungalows have claustrophobia-inducing views of the ground-level rainforest and a cut-in of earth, and Family Bungalows have two bedrooms and a living room but can feel cramped with several people. The rooms in the Casa Luna and Casa Sombra are high-ceilinged and have lofty views of the surrounding rainforest. All rooms have some pleasant rustic details, such as wood walls, ceilings, and floors (Casa Luna and Cosa Sombra rooms are decked out head to toe in wood). 

Modern comforts that are now standard in most hotel rooms are missing -- in most cases, expect a ceiling fan instead of AC, no fridge or safe, and definitely no TV (the hotel is focused on promoting guests' connection to nature, not Hollywood). A few guests have complained of water temperature in the showers not getting hot enough. The main lodge offers free Wi-Fi and the signal reaches some of the Casa Luna rooms, which are attached to the reception area by a covered walkway, but the location means these rooms can be a bit noisier. The tradeoff is convenience, however, as some rooms are a bit of a walk away from the main hub.  

The lodge offers multiple tours, including free daily two-hour tours of the farm, during which guests will get to taste plants from the organic garden and meet the farm's pigs, goats, and chickens (just don't get too attached, as they may show up on your plate for dinner). The rest of the tours are for a fee and are open to guests and non-guests alike: subjects include the farm's cocao plants (visitors learn how they are processed into chocolate), the Sacred Seeds Sanctuary (the hotel's garden of medicinal plants), and of course, the rainforest -- there are guided hikes of varying levels of difficulty, a night hike, and a birding expedition. Note that some tours are only offered if enough people are interested and the guides are available. A number of activities through off-site vendors can also be arranged, from zip-lining to horseback riding. 

The lodge also has a focus on wellness, evidenced by the large, open-air yoga platform and the full-service spa with bamboo treatment huts. The restaurant serves all three meals (important, given the secluded location) and the free breakfast includes fresh juice and coffee, whole wheat bread, homemade jam, farm-made cheese, traditional Costa Rican dishes, and eggs. Note that no alcohol is served, but there are a variety of healthy smoothies on offer. There are a pool and hot tub with adjacent plastic lounge chairs. Wi-Fi is available in the main lodge.