Belmar

Sustainable chalet-style hotel in harmony with its natural surroundings. Wooden walls and furnishings lend an alpine feel but the views are classically Costa Rican.

Perched on a hillside within the cloud forest, this chalet-style hotel has very spacious guest rooms with generously sized beds. They are cosily-decorated with locally handcrafted wooden furniture and offer sweeping views of the surrounding woodland, the Nicoya peninsula and nearby valleys, enjoyed from private balconies or panoramic windows. Some rooms also have a hot tub.

The service is excellent and staff are very helpful in arranging tours of the forest by day or night, led by local guides along trails which lead right from the hotel's doorstep. The restaurant offers a menu of creative interpretations of traditional Costa Rican dishes, using ingredients grown on the hotel's own family organic farm. It's a treat to dine on the terrace on a clear day, enjoying views across the cloud forest to the Pacific ocean in the distance. There's even an on-site micro-brewery. Hotel Belmar holds the coveted 5-leaf award for sustainability.