ECO ESCAPE
ROOM SERVICE
Decorated with wooden furniture and pale beachy colours, rooms here are simple and elegant. Dreamy king-size beds have 400-thread-count organic cotton linens and mini-bars are filled with a rotating selection of local snacks and drinks. Although the emphasis here is on disconnection, rooms don’t scrimp on techie features, offering free Wi-Fi, iHome radios and flat screen TVs. Most rooms feature covered decks – some of which have outdoor hot tubs – for taking in the natural surroundings in comfort.
Get back to nature at a stylish Costa Rican eco-lodge, a cozy B&B in Upstate New York and B.C.’s Nita Lake Lodge.
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BEACH AND EATS The resort’s stand-out feature is its access to not one but two pretty beaches. Two lagoon-style swimming pools offer additional lounging locales – the upper pool has dramatic views of Playa Espadilla and the lower pool is steps away from Playitas Beach. A pair of restaurants, El Mirador and Playitas Restaurant and Bar, stay true to the resort’s ecofriendly leanings with menus focused on locallysourced, organic food and drink. An à la carte breakfast is included in the room rate. The low-key spa has some ocean view treatment rooms and room rates also include two activities – a tortilla-making class and a behind-the-scenes tour of the resort’s green initiatives.
ARENAS DEL MAR BEACHFRONT & RAINFOREST RESORT, COSTA RICA Arenas del Mar combines the back-to-nature experience of a rustic eco-lodge with the swish amenities of a luxury hotel. Get up close and personal with Costa Rica’s flora and fauna without roughing it, enjoying a vibe that’s accordingly upscale yet relaxed. The main entrance to Manuel Antonio National Park, one of Costa Rica’s most popular national parks, is a 15-minute drive from Arenas del Mar. The resort takes up about a quarter of its 11-acre property, with the rest of the land serving as a private nature reserve. Developers worked to minimize the resort’s impact on its natural surroundings so monkeys, iguanas, sloths and other animals move freely around for prime wildlife viewing on the property. Rooms from $400. arenasdelmar.com
ABOVE: Three-
quarters of the Arenas del Mar property operates as a private nature reserve for prime wildlife-spotting opportunities
