Big thanks to Michael and Alex along with the rest of the crew at Gaia. Very helpful and friendly. Chill and accommodating. The messages were also great. We look forward to coming back again. Worth every dollar and minute 🤙
When I first arrived I was escorted up to top by a golf cart then I was greeted by Jose with a complimentary fruit drink at front desk and he was fantastic he showed me around the property and explained all the thing this hotel has to offer and I can text him via what’s app for any questions or concerns I had! Thank you to Nathalie the concierge manager for texting and coming to my room to check on me and for the back massage at the spa I enjoyed that! Everyone here at this resort goes above and beyond to help me and is very friendly and helpful! Now let’s get to the room it was a jungle suite and my fav part was the shower it has a rainfall shower head and 6 jets coming out of it and it was huge and spacious! Also I like the free wifi and we can use our smart tv to watch Netflix, Disney plus and more! Also free complimentary international calls wow! They also have complimentary breakfast which was delicious the fresh fruits, croissants, and banana bread was my fav along with the Costa Rican breakfast! You can also get a ride from security to go to the beach which was convenient! I like how you can see wildlife from my room I saw a sloth, birds, and a monkey on the tree! They do offer covid testing here and they come to the room but it’s $70 US per person. Overall I loved this resort in Manuel Antonio and would def recommend it to anyone!!!…
Gaia is an amazing boutique hotel that I would highly recommend . We were 2 couples staying for 4 nights in the later half of our vacation. The first half was in the Arenal area staying at Tabacon. The hotel has a great mix of services and amenities, which makes it stand out and an eclectic mix of hotel guests from various age groups and countries. Since the hotel is smaller, you can quickly get to know people from a shared tour, the pool area, or the Sky Bar. On the amenities side, the hotel is located high up with fabulous views from its multi-tiered pool area, restaurant, and Sky Bar. They assign a personal concierge to every room available to you in person or via text, have a shuttle service to the beach and national park, a spa, and a free tour of their own nature preserve. In the nature preserve, they have a Scarlet Macaw program to help re-introduce the bird to this area of Costa Rica. The food at the restaurant is very good and breakfast is ordered from a menu rather than a buffet. Our group loved the croissant french toast and fresh orange juice. We went to the Sky Bar every night before dinner to enjoy the amazing views and sunset. One night we had a small troop of squirrel monkeys visit in the treetops surrounding the Sky Bar. We also saw Scarlet Macaws everyday. The hotel stood out to us in so many ways that if there was a Excellent Plus rating I would give it that. …
You can see pictures to note the beauty of the property and read descriptions of how lovely the suites are. What you don’t know until you visit is the flawless service of Gaia resort. The people who work at the resort from the top down are so kind and hospitable and efficient. Our concierge, Alejandro, never disappointed in responding to our texts and requests. Never impatient or too busy to help us. Such a pleasure to work with. The wait staff and bartenders, shout out to Marcos, always with a smile and ready to provide exceptional service. The cleaning staff, above and beyond, coming by twice a day! The most relaxing vacation I have ever had, we will be back. Truly Pura Vida in Costa Rica!
This was the first time staying here, my mom and I went and chose the PURA VIDA package. We had our own personal concierge, who helped schedule our activities as well as added activities. The entire staff is amazing! Such a beautiful place and they take such great care of you! Such a friendly, peaceful place to visit
At our prior two hotels in CR, everything smooth plus no glitches. At Gaia, the pluses -- wonderful views, good on-site nature tour, decent (not great) free breakfast, and very good restaurant (food was much better for lunch and dinner). Staff generally very good. A few unexpected negatives at this (5-star) price point -- a "confirmation" for the Manuel Antonio park that was cancelled, a room in need of upkeep, spotty Wi-Fi (and TV), gym is a little sad (dumb bells not replaced but the rust was painted over and the paint came off on my son's hands). And we had a few "bugs" that we didn't encounter at other hotels in CR. Michael at Reception was helpful trying to make everything right. Although I wouldn't return with my family, other families may have a better experience.
I wanted to like this place - it is a good location and most of the staff is very nice. The Macaws are beautiful. We might have just had bad luck because the concierge we were assigned to was never on property for the whole week we were there, and the way they are organized that person makes all your bookings and arrangements. What did this mean for us? Pretty much confusion, just about every day, including a car to the airport on our way out that was half an hour late. (We don’t know if we ever actually booked it or it was just a last minute scramble). The rooms are so-so. On the whole, a disappointing ending to what was otherwise a a beautiful area in Costa Rica. I know others had a different experience, but I would never return or recommend it to anyone else. At a minimum if you decide to go, make sure your concierge is going to be on property during your stay.…
This Christmas, my husband and I, our 2 adult sons and their 2 friends (6 total) spent 2 weeks in Costa Rica and our last 3 nights at Gaia Hotel and Nature Reserve. We secured 2 rooms, a deluxe suite and a loft deluxe suite. Even though we spend about 50 nights a year in hotels, I almost never write a review. I am feeling compelled to share for the benefit of others. The hotel is built into a steep cliff with many levels and stairs. It felt like a maize trying to get around, perhaps because there wasn’t much signage as we would reach a corner or top of stairs. Leaving the property requires walking down the steep hill, or calling for the golf cart. Going anywhere off property requires a taxi. The staff did a great job getting us checked in, giving us an overview and taking us to our rooms. Throughout our stay they were responsive to our requests, brought us extra blankets, shuttled us in the golf cart up and down the hill, and called for Taxis. Twice we took the hotel shuttle to and from the beach. The hotel was reasonably clean. The towels were nice and the shower had very good water pressure. The mattress was OK, but definitely not luxury. The hotel does technically offer everything they claim on their website. The website shows the hotel has won many best in class awards and claims “5-Star Luxury”-which we assumed included high quality furnishings, consistent design and a well maintained property. We were actually quite shocked at the condition of the grounds. It is in desperate need of updating, major renovation and a professional designer. It is hard to describe, but the furnishings and décor are mismatched and much of it seems old or just very low quality. The lighting is fluorescent and/or bulbs are mismatched throughout the property. The outdoor furniture above the deluxe suite was nothing more than plastic lawn furniture. Everything has many coats of paint caked on with drip marks everywhere. The strategy seems to be, “go touch that up”. Our room had a loose door handle, a broken faucet, missing grout and the toilet seat was too small for the toilet. It seems like so much of the property has been “patched up”. The loft suite felt like a cave with almost no natural light or access to outside, all window panes on all doors have been blacked out, I assume to create privacy. The deluxe suite had more access to nature and natural light. The gym was in sad condition, my husband was able to get a workout in, but left with silver paint on his hands as the dumbbells had even been touched-up with paint. The upper lounge was a nice place to watch the sunset, but after dark, the lighting was very bright and fluorescent, which is a shame, because this area could easily be a sexy cocktail lounge area with some nice warm mood lighting. The layout of the lounge was also odd, with giant overstuffed chairs surrounding two large conference room sized rectangular tables, instead of multiple smaller tables/chairs to create conversation areas like in most lounges. The pools were in extremely rough condition, went to the beach every day. For these 3 nights, our travel agent gave us three choices, this hotel was double to triple the price of the others, we went for the “luxury” as described on the website, but it was not. This hotel would have been OK for half the price. Again, the staff was good and I do feel management cares, they just may not understand industry standards for “5-star luxury”, or how to keep up with property maintenance in an effective way. And yes, we do know the challenges of the damp rain forest and the fact we were in Costa Rica, and not Los Angeles (for example). And yes, travel during Christmas is pricey, but still should have been half the price for the condition of the property.…
Gaia review Visited during the Christmas week with our teenage son based on the other positive reviews. Overall beautiful property, clean, with very attentive staff who made an effort to learn our names and teach us about their country. Pros: Beautiful lush forest right on the property with a private guided tour included Friendly, attentive staff Huge rooms Nice pool Very timely shuttle service Cons: Some unexpected glitches (considering the price), like no bathroom counter space for toiletries Issues like single waste basket in room, broken safe were promptly addressed Door to bathroom had translucent windows, so using bathroom at night (dark with no nightlight) would light up room. Restaurant menu limited, food just ok. Tried pretty much everything on the menu during 3 day stay. Hotel not close to many other food options, though there are restaurants at the beach, accessible by shuttle. Tips: Take the Reserve tour, wear pants and hiking shoes. Luna restaurant is popular with tourists at other hotels so make reservations. Reserve tour options like the Manuel Antonio Park guided tour and ATV tour (we used Viator option) Overall great trip!…
We spent three nights here at the start of our Costa Rica tour. From 'pre-holiday' communication to the last 'farewell' all the staff were wonderfully friendly, helpful and made the stay all the better! The views from the Gaia are stunning, and the regular fly-past of red macaws will take your breath away. Our room had a private terrace as well as balcony, lounge area, good sized bedroom and bathroom, and although showing some signs of aging, was always super clean and did not distract at all from the excellent experience. It's part of the charm! The food served was lovely and as this was our second time in Manuel Antonio we didn't feel the need to eat elsewhere in the evening! Cocktails were great! (Thanks Riccardo and Alexis!!) in the roof top bar and pool! Highly recommended, would happily stay again! Thanks for a great and memorable stay Boris and all the team! …
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