We made a last minute reservation at this beautiful hotel between the towns of Quepos and Manuel Antonio, near the national park bearing the same name as the latter. The reservationist, Paola, was delightful and professional. She remained in contact with us through email during the weeks that preceded our arrival and was very attentive to every detail.

We were greeted at the Quepos Airport by Alex. He was the main driver for the hotel. A very warm and hospitable individual who made an excellent 2nd impression.

Upon our arrival, we were greeted by Paola, and then whisked up the hill to the reception where we were greeted by several members if the concierge staff. All were very warm, personable and ready to cater to our ever need.

One of them, in particular, distinguished himself as the consummate professional. His name is Andres Vindas. He is a credit to the hotel as he was always making sure that we were well taken care of....whether it was the spa, the restaurant, housekeeping or the different guides on the 5 tours that we took. What a pleasure to work with someone who enjoyed his work pampering others.

The hotel is lovely. The room was spotless, the restaurant was excellent and the professionals in the spa were of world class caliber. I had several deep tissues massages by Anna. Both massages were done perfectly. I cannot recall ever having a better spa experience. My wife had a massage, a 90 minute facial and a foot reflexology session that were all wonderful experiences.

The bed and linens were luxurious and the bathroom, Jacuzzi and shower a true pleasure. Our room was cleaned perfectly each day by the attentive housekeeping staff.

Our room included a couples massage, a $50 dining credit, a private tour of the on site nature reserve and a full breakfast each morning, either in our room or in the restaurant. Wow!

We toured the national park with Catia, an obviously well-educated Tica who was as charming as she was knowledgeable. She had a telescope with her and expertly spotted sloths, monkeys, bats and birds for us to view. She even took pictures with out cameras through her telescopic lens. If you your the park, be sure to spend some time on the 2 beaches inside of the park. They are both magnificent and much quieter than the nearby public park beach.

We also took a white water rafting tour. Our main guide was Flippy. Don't be fooled by the name, he is funny, nice and an expert rafting guide.

The 4 wheeling tour was also very fun but the 2 tours that were the most fun were the zipline and jet skis.

If you do the zip line (it's actually 10 zip lunes plus the Superman zip line, for a total of 11), YOU MUST do the Superman zip line at the end of the tour. Some didn't and they will regret it. If you skip any part of that your, you should skip what they call the "puzzle course" offered after the first 7 of the 10 zip lines that precede the Superman zip line.

The jet ski tour was a blast. We were able to moor the jet skis near some coral rock formations and snorkel. It was only a 2 hour tour. We each had jet skis. If I were to do it again, I would ride together with my wife and share driving duty.

If possible, I recommend a direct flight to San Jose and then the 20 minute flight on Sansa Airlines from San Jose to Quepos. You can get there by car from San Jose but it costa more to drive than to fly and takes 3 hours instead of 20 minutes. To us, it was a "no brainer" even though my wife doesn't like small planes. Having said that, the flight was so short that you didn't have time to be scared!

From the Quepos Airport, the Hotel Gaia is less than 10 minutes by car. Alex will gladly pick you up and take you to paradise.

I give this place my highest rating and recommend that you go before everyone else finds out about it and you are unable to get a reservation.

Bret Gerard