The Top 15 Hotels Near Lapa Rios

Thatched-roof bungalows perched on a ridge above the Osa Peninsula, with no phones, no televisions, and walls that open to the rainforest breeze instead of air conditioning. This eco-lodge sits inside Costa Rica's last lowland tropical rainforest, and the whole operation runs on the principle that the landscape is the amenity. Board is included, excursions range from self-guided walks to dolphin swims, and the deck views over the Pacific make doing nothing feel productive.

1. Michelin Guide 1 Key

Twenty steel-and-concrete bungalows on stilts above two river gorges, connected by elevated walkways and strung with hammocks, in a dwarf forest most people drive straight past on the way to the beach. Rio Perdido is a sustainably built resort in the remote San Bernardo Lowlands, earning two Michelin Keys, where the hotel tucks itself into the landscape rather than the other way around. Thermal waters and hiking trails sit just outside the door.

1. Michelin Guide 2 Keys

Five circular lodges perch in the mountainous interior of northern Costa Rica, each with a fire-heated hot tub on the terrace and a panoramic sweep of rainforest, Lake Nicaragua, and distant volcanoes. It's a luxury lodge that earns its "origins" name by making the jungle the whole point, from horseback tours to nighttime wildlife walks. Jean-Luc L'Hourre runs the kitchen. The Michelin Guide awarded it one Key.

1. Michelin Guide 1 Key

The casitas here sit on a private tapir reserve bordering Tenorio Volcano National Park, which sets the tone immediately. This jungle hotel runs more elegantly than the average eco-lodge, with wraparound rainforest decks, outdoor showers alongside proper bathrooms, a spa, riverside yoga, and a swim-up bar for when the wilderness feels like enough. A Michelin Key recognizes it. The surrounding trails, the electric-blue Rio Celeste, and Arenal's hot springs are right outside.

1. Michelin Guide 1 Key

The pool runs over 130 feet long, a house DJ works the deck after dark, and the mangrove forest presses right up against the suites. El Mangroove is a boutique resort on Papagayo Bay, 85 suites fitted in natural wood and stone, with a staff-to-guest ratio that makes crowds by the water essentially impossible. It holds a Forbes Four Star. The airport is 20 minutes away, which makes the "quick Costa Rica escape" fantasy considerably more plausible.

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Four Star
2. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

Open-air check-in with Culebra Bay spread out below you sets the tone for this Pacific coast resort on the Papagayo Peninsula, a Michelin Key and Forbes Four Star property where the villas, designed by Costa Rican architect Ronald Zürcher, curve like shells into a 28-acre hillside forest. A single staff member handles your arrival, golf-cart transfer, and everything after. The bars and pools are where the place actually lives.

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Four Star
2. Michelin Guide 1 Key

Canopy Suites sit on stilts in the treetops with private infinity pools, which tells you most of what you need to know about the ambitions here. This Forbes Five Star resort on a scenic hilltop above the Pacific mixes rose stucco buildings and thatched pavilions with an Arnold Palmer golf course, a sprawling spa, and several restaurants. Howler monkeys provide the ambient noise, and the Pacific breezes do the rest.

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Five Star
2. Michelin Guide 2 Keys
3. 50 Best 2025 · Most Admired Hotel Group Award

A suspension bridge across a jungle ravine is how you reach some of the rooms, which tells you most of what you need to know about how this Ritz-Carlton Reserve resort operates. Treetop villas hover above the forest floor on Costa Rica's Papagayo Peninsula, while a funicular drops guests to the beach club below. Multiple pools, a sprawling spa, and a lineup of restaurants fill the gaps between surfing, sailing, and a full Arnold Palmer golf course nearby.

1. Michelin Guide 2 Keys
2. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Recommended

Each of the 35 adults-only villas at this jungle resort sits over a spring-fed private plunge pool, with volcanic mud treatments at an open-air spa and Arenal's canopy right outside. Honeymooners fill most of the hammocks, but anyone who wants to disappear into a national park without giving up the oversized bathroom has found the right address. Michelin awarded it 3 Keys and Forbes a Four Star rating.

1. Michelin Guide 3 Keys
2. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Four Star

Hot springs fed directly by Arenal volcano run through the property, and the resort has leaned into that fact hard enough to build an entire thermal river system around it. Tabacón is a five-star eco-resort with 105 rooms, open-air spa bungalows, and a resident shaman who leads traditional sweat ceremonies in the rainforest. Rooms have private terraces and jacuzzis for the relaxation-averse who still want to relax. Two restaurants cover local and international ground.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

Plunge pools come standard with every casita and villa at this rainforest resort inside Arenal Volcano National Park, which sets a certain tone early. Nayara Gardens sits at the kind of altitude where the canopy stretches out below your terrace and the volcano fills the rest of the view. Between ziplines, river rafting, and volcano treks, the outdoor shower barely gets used. Multiple restaurants cover the range from Costa Rican to Asian-inspired.

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Recommended
2. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

Thirty-one casitas spread across a hundred-odd acres of rainforest, each with its own plunge pool and an unobstructed view of Arenal Volcano straight through the trees. This is a luxury rainforest resort that sits where most hotels don't bother, right at the park's edge, well away from the coasts. Local materials, low-key in atmosphere but not in comfort, and enough guided expeditions, from volcano hikes to sloth-spotting, to justify staying a week.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

Safari-style glamping on the lower slopes of an active volcano, which is either thrilling or deeply on-brand for Costa Rica, depending on your disposition. The tented roofs are the only thing between you and the jungle, but they do keep the rain out. Shared restaurants and a spa connect to two sister resorts nearby, though the real point is what's outside: ziplines, river trips, suspension bridges, and horses all waiting by morning.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

Each of the 21 villas at this adults-only cliffside boutique hotel comes with a private saltwater plunge pool and a hammock aimed at the Pacific, which makes leaving genuinely difficult. Las Catalinas was designed from scratch to need no cars, so the mood stays quiet. The central infinity pool has an outdoor bar and in-water fire pits that light up at sunset, which is when everyone stops pretending they had other plans. Michelin awarded it 2 Keys.

1. Michelin Guide 2 Keys
2. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Recommended

Las Catalinas is a car-free town on the Guanacaste coast, which means the Santarena Hotel is the rare Pacific resort you walk to from the beach rather than shuttle to from an airstrip. The architecture nods to colonial mansion style without going theme-park about it, and rooms come with balconies or gardens, some with sea views. A rooftop pool, a Mediterranean restaurant, a lobby bar, and a bakery make leaving optional, if not quite inevitable.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels