At the last minute, we changed our plan and decided to check our Manuel Antonio. After having a mixed experience at our last hotel, we decided to splurge. And it's worth it. You park the car at the base of a hill, and you are taken by golf cart to the resort. After a trip uphill, you are greeted by wonderful check in staff and taken on a tour of the premises. The pool is the best part - 5 levels, waterfalls, floaty chairs, monkeys, views. And they make a mean smoothie at the pool bar. The restaurant is excellent as well, with views to the ocean over the entire Manuel Antonio area. The rooms are large and comfortable, with down pillows and comforters. This place is well worth the money. We didn't take a tour of the onsite preserve, but I assume that would be great as well.

We had a fantastic time at Gaia. The rooms were luxurious, the cascading pool perched on the hill breathtaking, but most memorable was the happy hour. Live music and Guaro sours while we watched the sunset every night! Adults only so that was nice. The food was delicious, the fesh fruit and home baked goodies each morning gave us a lot to look forward to! Coffee and boats in the distance, ahhhh, spectacular. We especially enjoyed meeting the owners, the Frenchie Tory Fiona whom resides there, and watching the local iguanas bask in the sun poolside.

My wife and I stayed here on our honeymoon and it was a perfect place to stay while in Manuel Antonio. We had a spa credit and we used every bit of it. The couples massages were terrific and the facilities were excellent. The restaurant at Gaia - La Luna - had great breakfasts (get the frittata) and dinners were excellent as well. They helped us with activities arrangements and the guided hike in Manuel Antonio National Park, the Gaia Reserve, and the horseback riding were all excellent. We had a beautiful room with a private rooftop deck, but we didn't use it much because we were out and about every day. I would be very excited to stay here again.

My husband and I spent 4 nights in February 2013 at Gaia Hotel & Reserve. We had an amazing time enjoying the beauty of the resort and all the fabulous amenities the resort has to offer. We would highly recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a relaxing, pampered, luxurious Costa Rican escape in Manuel Antonio :) Below are our thoughts on the specific aspects of the hotel:

Accommodations: We found the guest rooms at Gaia to be very comfortable. The first two nights of our stay we were in a Studio, which is the least expensive room that Gaia offers. Even being the least expensive, we found this room to be very spacious and very comfortable. Some reviewers have mentioned the rooms decor being too "cold" and the bathroom layout awkward, but we didn't feel that way at all- rather the decor just feels fresh, clean and minimal (in a good way!). The room was a quick walk to the pool area but also felt private as we had a little shared patio area that looked out onto the terrain in front of our room. Our second two nights we moved into a Suite, and even though we liked our first room - we LOVED our second room. It was more the two times the size of the studio, it had a large walk in bathroom with jacuzzi tub, and a little private deck area outside with two day beds to enjoy a cocktail. If you can afford the Suite, I would definitely recommend splurging for it, because it was amazing!

Hotel Grounds: Gaia is a truly gorgeous property- from the moment you arrive to the reception building, you get a glimpse into the property's true beauty. All the buildings are painted a clean, crisp white and the guest rooms are split into a number of smaller buildings, which was very nice since it gives Gaia that nice boutique hotel feel. The grounds were immaculate- always clean, never a leaf or branch out of place. My hands down favorite part of Gaia was the pool area... a four tier infinity pool with different seating areas at each level. The top level was our favorite, mainly because there was a bartender there ;) - but also because of the fantastic view out to the ocean. I spent most of my days in the pool/by the pool, and I couldn't imagine a place I would rather have been! The only very small negative I have about the grounds would be the spa- while it is a beautiful spa (and very reasonably priced), I wish they would have had a locker room area or an area where my husband and I could have gone to use a hot tub before our treatment. Other than that one minor complainant, Gaia's grounds were stunning and perfect.

Food & Drink: We loved the restaurant at Gaia. Breakfast is included with the room rate and it is great- a large menu with lots of options, fresh fruit, coffee/juice, and fresh baked goods. The servers are really sweet and accommodating- and if they do a good job, remember to leave them a tip even though your meal is "free" because they work very hard :) We also LOVED (yes, all caps was necessary for that) the 2 for 1 "Happy Hour" up at the restaurant from 3-6pm everyday. It was such a great deal- 2 drinks for the price of 1, and a great menu of tapas - each only $2 or $3. Not only was the food and drink a great price, but the restaurant had the most insanely amazing view of the sunset. 3 out of our 4 nights at Gaia we watched the sunset from our table, wich an amazing view and great drinks. We also had dinner at the restaurant one night. It was very good - my tuna was to die for!

Other Notes:
- I definitely recommend the spa. Even though I mentioned that I would have loved a locked room, it doesn't detract from the services they offer. Ask for Juan Carlos if you like a good massage- he is amazing!
- We booked a Zipling (through MidWorld ZipLining) and Catamaran Cruise through the hotel and would highly recommend both.
- There is a gym at the hotel, and even though the equipment is a bit outdated, it still works fine for those people wishing to workout everyday.

Overall we couldn't be happier with our stay. We had a wonderful time and felt very welcomed by the staff. During our visit we had the chance to meet two of the owners of the hotel- Chris and Borris. Both were super friendly and made a point to ask how we were enjoying our stay. It was so nice to see they are invested in their guests experience at their property. Chris & Borris, thank you for creating such a wonderful hotel! We will certainly be back again.