If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD295.00), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Boutique Earth-kind stay Río Perdido is set in true wilderness – 1,500 acres of untamed tranquillity. Its 30 stilted bungalows are tucked away, so that you’d never know its well-spaced, private suites were there; nor its 20 miles of walking, running and cycling trails, its thermal river and bathing pools. There’s no sign of the adventure-toting Río Blanco; not even the hotel’s polished dining and bar spaces, treatment rooms and yoga platforms are in plain sight: only the resident howler and capuchin monkeys, plus a handful of lucky guests, are aware of its beneath-the-canopy Edenic charms.
Smith Extra
Get this when you book through us:
Truffles handmade with Costa Rican cocoa; stays of three nights or more get a $100 credit a room
Noon; earliest check-in, 3pm. You’re welcome to stash your luggage and use the hotel’s facilities if you arrive earlier.
Prices
Double rooms from £266.94 ($333), including tax at 13 per cent.
More details
Rates include à la carte breakfast, a guided morning hike and an introductory yoga session. There’s a two-night minimum stay, although it’s advisable to stay at least three.
Also
An introductory yoga session and a guided morning hike are included free with your stay. Two of the East Bungalows meet Costa Rican and ADA regulations for wheelchair-accessible rooms, and chauffeured golf-carts are available to ferry those with mobility issues around the reserve (on request).
At the hotel
Yoga platforms, network of trails, artisanal boutique, mountain bikes, and free WiFi. In rooms: air-conditioning, smart TV, minibar, coffee-maker, tea-making kit, and Costa-Rica-made Aromas bath products. In Center Bungalows, instead of a TV, there’s an HD projector, pull-down screen, and a sound bar with a dedicated subwoofer.
Our favourite rooms
Most of the bungalows at Río Perdido lie east of the thermal river: cosier than their Center counterparts, these original stilted suites are elegantly dressed in pale hues with painted wood and polished concrete floors – their contemporary lines softened with rustic wall hangings and textured cushions. East Bungalows come with a made-for-reading corner sofa beside the window, and open onto a private balcony with a pair of hammock chairs. Center Bungalows have a larger footprint, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the forest, and a dark-hued, elemental aesthetic that brings together black concrete, volcanic-rock flooring, solid steel, brushed copper and singed-hardwood walls. As well as a spacious, private terrace, these bungalows have side-by-side outdoor showers, and a projector set-up for movie nights.
Poolside
Find your Goldilocks bathing temperature among the three geothermal mineral pools edging the main building at Río Perdido: the first two are curvaceous and wider than long and offer the warmest (first), then the coolest (middle pool), and finally the one in-between at the Canyon Bar, which has a swim-up counter served by submerged stools. The water in all pools is heated by geothermal activity, and completely untreated – only filtered and tested for mineral content – it’s basically a health-kick while you bathe. All are open from 7am until 10pm, and although little Smiths are allowed, pool floats and splashy hijinx are not – these are pools for peaceful, contemplative dips.
Spa
With mineral-rich natural springs, a thermal river and pools, plus volcanic mud shipped riverside so that you can slather on a health-boosting pack ahead of your soak, it’s fair to say that the whole of Río Perdido is one great outdoor spa… Indoors, it’s complemented by three open-air treatment rooms in the base of the main building, where you can check in for a massage or facial, or couple’s treatments in a fourth double-cabin; mani- and pedicures are also available. A dedicated spa building away from the hotel’s main hub is in the works…
Packing tips
Outdoorsy threads for highlands hikes; yoga kit; clothes for messing about on the river; and enough swimwear to serve multiple dips each day.
Also
The hotel can arrange private dining in a number of romantic nooks around the reserve, as well as riverside picnics – a platform above the water where the two rivers (cold and thermal) converge is a favoured spot.
Children
There’s an adults-only feel to the serenity of Río Perdido: however, little Smiths aged 12 or older are welcome, and East Bungalows can take an extra bed, or opt for a Center Bungalow, which can accommodate two extra single beds.
Sustainability efforts
A hotel that has a wholly positive impact on its environment is a rare beast – but Río Perdido is just that: without this hotel, the biodiversity of its 600 acres, set among volcanic highlands and canyons, forested riverbanks and gorges, would not have been nurtured and improved (through a programme of assisted reforestation). Now, 10 years after opening, the acquisition of a further 900 acres west of its original boundary ensures a huge swathe of Costa Rican wilderness is protected from detrimental development. Its design, from the outset, has been about minimising the hotel’s impact: buildings set on stilts, lying below the canopy line; four kinds of sustainable power incorporated – wind, hydro, geothermal and solar; no cars on the reserve (it’s golf-buggy only past the parking lot); rigorous standards for using natural, biodegradable or recyclable products across the hotel; rainwater harvesting, and strict policies around conserving water and energy. Río Perdido’s community partnerships are equally robust: the majority of staff (90 per cent) are recruited locally; the hotel has a collaborative approach to conservation, working to stamp out poaching, to educate its neighboring communities about biodiversity, and to operate a locals-first supply chain, as well as championing Costa Rican traditions, culture and cuisine.
Don’t be fooled by the in-the-wilds setting, diners still dress for supper here – flowing dresses, crochet, embroidered tops, harem pants – you’re aiming for natural glamour rather than glitz.
Hotel restaurant
When you see the thatch-roofed design of the hotel’s circular restaurant – built to self-cool and offer breathtaking treetop vistas – you instantly forgive it for being the only part of Río Perdido to poke above the canopy… Wraparound views of the volcanic wilderness dominate – although seasonal Costa Rican cuisine vies for your attention, thanks to ingredients sourced straight from the farm and a team of chefs equipped with hearty portions of local know-how. Even simple, well-known plates such as nachos and pinto gallo are transformed with Río Perdido’s unique spicing and farm-fresh produce. At the Canyon Bar beside the furthest-away pool, a menu of snacks and light bites (in similar locally sourced, seasonal vein) is available daytime only. If you prefer to dine à deux, the hotel can arrange private dining at a variety of romantic spots – above the river or cliffside – or opt for a polished picnic of portable chef-prepared treats on the banks of the river.
Hotel bar
The restaurant blends seamlessly into lounge space in the main building, offering the same hypnotic views and a cocktail menu that warrants multiple forays to sample the resident mixologist’s unique concoctions (there may be wood-smoke-filled cloches deployed), as well as much-loved classics. For afternoon or pre-dinner drinks, Canyon Bar has a walk-up dry side, too, so you don’t need to be in swimming togs to order from the bar, but you will need to be there before 6pm when it shuts for the night.
Last orders
Breakfast is served 7am–10am; for lunch, it’s noon until 3pm; dinner hours are 6pm–9pm. Canyon Bar is open 11am–6pm.
Room service
You can order from the restaurant’s menu during the above kitchen hours.
Río Perdido is deep in Guanacaste Province: from Bagaces, you head north, with the Guanacaste volcanic mountain-range in your sights.
Planes
Liberia is the nearest international airport, an hour away by road; you’ll need to allow three-and-a-half hours for road transfers from San José. The hotel can arrange private air-conditioned transfers from Liberia from $165 one-way.
Automobiles
A car will get you through the gates at Río Perdido and a further two-kilometre drive to the parking lot: from here, the hotel is a car-free resort, although chauffeured golf carts are available for light ferrying duties.
Other
A few kilometres from the hotel, there’s a helipad – ideal for private charters from Liberia’s airport.
Worth getting out of bed for
Río Perdido’s 1,500-acre reserve is your outdoor playground with a choice of things to do that cover the spectrum from contemplative stillness to full-on adrenaline thrills. The setting for all water-based pursuits is the cool Río Blanco – the site of canyon adventures featuring ziplines, a rope bridge, ‘Tarzan’ swing and via ferrata; or try white-water tubing, which is a mixed-pace river course of meandering through canyon-flanked channels, interspersed with patches of white water and slides. A guided night walk introduces the reserve’s nocturnal fauna and a different take on its trees and vegetation, plus a spot of stargazing and the chance to end the tour with a daredevil zipline in the dark.
There are walking trails for all levels of energy – most across the Río Perdido in the east of the reserve: take an hour-long stroll to the carbonatadas (medicinal spring) to sample its purportedly healing waters, past the Yurro cascade; or hike through the canyons and up to the rock formations and dwarf forest up on the plateau. A guided morning hike (included with your stay) can introduce you to the hotel’s trails. Río Perdido is also home to mountain-biking (MTB) and running trails: the MTB is on manual cycles only and for experienced cyclists, with guided options including sunrise or sunset tours. Start off with the low-gradient Río Blanco Loop and progress to the Rocks Trail Adventure through tropical dry forest into the thermal canyons and up to the reserve’s rocky plateaux.
There are plenty of more serene pastimes on offer, too: yoga sessions on cliffside platforms (the first is included with your stay), guided meditation, and massage or facial therapies at the hotel’s spa. Dip in the calm of the hotel’s trio of pools, or head to the thermal river, which is pocketed with bathing spots where you can soak at your leisure (its temperature is around 37ºC, the same as your body): one of these pools is supplied with the raw material for volcanic-mud body-painting, whereby your body absorbs health-promoting minerals.
Local restaurants
Río Perdido is your sole dining option in this remote wilderness, offering Costa Rican cuisine at both the main restaurant as well as Canyon Bar (daytime only) that changes with the seasons; plus, the hotel can arrange private dining alfresco or a riverside picnic; room service is available whenever the kitchen is open.
In the jungle, time becomes a construct. Sure, days evolve from dawn to daytime, daytime to dusk, but no one’s watching the clock. It’s phones down, eyes up. Wildlife sightings are frequent: howler monkeys swing through the thick canopy, armadillos scurry from bush to bush, and sloths – unhurried as always in their approach – traverse the trees.
It’s among this soulful sleeve of Costa Rica’s Guanacaste Province that we find Rio Perdido Hotel & Thermal River, where Mr Smith and I are spending two nature-filled nights.
The hotel brims with life. It’s in one of the rarest ecosystems in the Americas, with lush jungle, volcanic canyons and river-hugging dwarf forest. We approach it without expectation or agenda, other than to immerse ourselves fully in our surrounds from first light through to last.
At dawn I wake first, and brew two cups of coffee while Mr Smith slowly stirs. We’re up early for a free yoga class, which takes place on a river bank, soundtracked by the stream. It’s a relaxing way to begin the day, albeit for the mosquitos which take to Mr Smith like, well, a mosquito to blood. I can’t help but chuckle as he multitasks – liberally spraying deterrent while also attempting ‘extended side angle’ into ‘warrior two’.
Next is breakfast in the lodge restaurant. It’s a calming space, thanks to the soft curves in the design, wraparound jungle views, chirping birds and gentle splashes from the mineral pools just below.
We chat to the barista, who happens to be a local. Unsurprising, actually, given that 90 per cent of the staff are from the neighbouring town. And social sustainability is nurtured beyond this: the kitchen operates a locals-first supply chain, guests can support artisans by purchasing from the boutique, and the team work to educate neighbouring communities on biodiversity.
After coffee and pancakes, we try our hand at zip-lining. It allows for a greater appreciation of the space and scale of our surroundings: we whizz through deep ravines, tackle Tarzan swings across waterfalls, and fly over the thick forest.
Our guides are fascinating. We learn that the lowlands were discovered by a group of Costa Rican explorers (now the owners). Once a meeting place for the ancient Chorotega – one of eight indigenous groups that inhabited the country many years ago – the land is cemented in local life.
The owners have been careful to respect this, promising that less than one per cent of the land will be built on. The rest has been lovingly reforested under a rigorous sustainable development plan, protecting the 1,500 acres from detrimental development.
Exhilarated, exhausted (and to be honest, very sweaty), we head to the hotel’s three geothermal mineral pools to relax. There’s a swim-up bar so we order local beers, shrimp ceviche and steak tacos from a menu that champions the region’s produce. On retiring to a sun-bed I’m lulled into an early afternoon nap – perhaps because of the calming sounds of wildlife and rushing water; perhaps because of a food coma. We’ll never know. But soon enough, Mr Smith gives me a nudge: this is a hotel – and a destination – made for the restless. It’s on to the next activity.
As the sun softens, we slacken the pace. A short walk through the reserve is Río Blanco and its three natural hot springs. One has a vat of volcanic mud to douse on your skin, with promises of healing properties.
We take our time exploring, and night settles in. Soon enough, the only light is from the stars, so we make our way back to our canopy-hugged cabin. We’re in a cosseting central bungalow: outfitted with dark hues, brushed copper accents, a spacious terrace and a bathroom partly open to the sky. There are black-out drapes, but the thick woodland affords us complete privacy anyway.
Everything in the cabin has been thoughtfully curated, especially given the hotel’s elite-level credentials in sustainable tourism, including five stars from the Ecologic Blue Flag programme and a carbon-neutral certification. It shows. We sleep well, eat well and feel well thanks to the choices in bedding, lighting, produce and bath products.
Nature really is the muse here – the focal point of activities, rooms, restaurants and conversations. It’s impossible to not be present, to not live and breathe your surroundings. There’s little barrier between the inside and out: structures are either entirely open-air or have floor-to-ceiling windows and oversized balconies. So much so, that it’s almost with an earthy apology that come nighttime you sink into a bed that’s, well, indoors.
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