Gaia Hotel and Nature Reserve - Manuel Antonio

Best service and experience- the staff are amazing. Our Personal concierge, Deiver was THE BEST!!! Food was delicious. Spa was great - went twice! Room was spacious, clean, and comfortable. The large private terrace on The roof was stunning - we saw Macaw's daily. I even saw this toucan sitting on our terrace 5 ft in front of me. I highly recommend this beautiful hotel. It is on a reserve and above the trees- the views are incredible and sunsets at dinner are stunning. Walter drove us daily all over- great security team as well.

I cannot recommend Gaia Hotel enough! During our stay the service has been impeccable and the hotel itself is immaculate. We were pleasantly surprised at how delicious the cocktails and sushi are here. We couldn’t resist getting a caipirinha and a spicy tuna roll every evening while watching the sun go down at the beautiful roof top lounge. We’d like to especially thank our favourite waiters Daniel and Jackniel for amazing cocktails and for being so warm and welcoming!!! Pura Vida 🫶🏼 The staff put in so much effort to make your stay special. They offer a free shuttle to the national park and public beach everyday on the hour. The most special thing is that the hotel is a Macaw Rescue Centre and you can often see Macaws flying past as you eat breakfast. You can also book a free hour tour to learn about the Macaw rescue programme. Definitely stay here if you’re visiting Manuel Antonio!

My first stay at the Gaia Hotel and Reserve in Quepos was truly exceptional and unforgettable. From the very first moment, everything felt special, calm, and perfectly connected to nature. The location is stunning. Surrounded by lush rainforest, the views are simply breathtaking and create a sense of peace that is hard to describe. Waking up to this scenery was a highlight in itself. From my room, I was lucky enough to see toucans and many other beautiful birds, which made the experience feel almost magical. The hotel offers excellent breakfast options, with a great variety and very high quality. It is the perfect way to start the day while enjoying the views and the unique atmosphere of the reserve. What really made this stay stand out were the people. The entire team was friendly, welcoming, and professional. A very special thank you goes to Jose Oscar, who was always approachable, incredibly kind, and supportive throughout my stay and even beyond. His attitude and care truly made a difference and made me feel genuinely looked after. Gaia Hotel and Reserve is a place where nature, comfort, and outstanding hospitality come together beautifully. I loved my time there and would absolutely come back without hesitation.

We had a wonderful time here!. We received exceptional service from Deiver and all of the staff at this resort. We ate out once outside the resort and decided not to do it again as the food at The Luna was exceptional and we had something different every night of our 7 night stay. Everybody there is friendly and helpful. We would definitely stay here if we ever go back to Manuel Antonio. The location is nice but you can't walk anywhere. The shuttle service was flexible and dropped us off and picked us up at different locations. The rooms were very clean and comfortable. The water pressure of the shower was fantastic! Because it's an adult only facility, it was very quiet and relaxing.

A Perfect End to Our Honeymoon! We stayed here for a few days during the summer of 2025 for our honeymoon, and from the moment we stepped onto the property, we were in love. We were greeted right away, taken to the office, and welcomed at the reception desk with genuine warmth and attention to detail. The service truly felt five-star. One of the first things that impressed us was that they offered different scented products for showering — such a thoughtful, unique touch! Our room was beautifully located right by the pool. The pool itself was stunning, with a waterfall flowing from the upper pool into the lower one, and bar service available for anyone who wanted it. They even kept a tub of sunscreen by the pool, which was incredibly convenient. The restaurant had gorgeous views, and breakfast was impeccable every single morning. They even packed us breakfast to go on our last morning! They had a different selection of food for this but the offering of this meal to go was incredible for a long drive to the airport at 6am and the food was delicious, of course. Delicious food, lovely service — and my cortado was always perfect! The only small downside was that the lights in the evening attracted quite a few bugs, which made dinner outside a little uncomfortable when we had dinner at the on site restaurant but it didn’t take away from how great everything else was - this is expected in the rainforest! We switched over to this hotel after a very disappointing experience at Shana by the Beach, and we could not be happier that we made the switch. This hotel made sure we ended our honeymoon on a beautiful note. Even though it isn’t right on the beach or have a beach view, they offer a free shuttle every hour, plus $10 chair and umbrella rentals that you don’t have to carry! Daily cleaning was another plus — not necessary, but very appreciated, especially after coming from a hotel that didn’t maintain their rooms well. Our room was always spotless. The nature views were amazing, the nature surrounding the hotel was incredible, and the hike we took on the nature reserve - even though it turned muddy with the rain, is something I’ll never forget. We saw another sloth but this time much closer (we got lucky!). We loved waking up in the mornings and watching the macaws and toucans from our balcony. Honestly, I cannot rave enough about this hotel. The service, the surroundings, the pool, the staff — everything was wonderful. We would absolutely stay here again, and we recommend it to anyone visiting Costa Rica. It was the perfect ending to our honeymoon. Huge thank you to our concierge, Daniela and the rest of the Gaia staff who made the ending of our honeymoon memorable!

My spouse and I stayed here two years ago and I’m finally getting around to writing the review I promised them. The place left such an impression I can write this review from memory. If you’re going to Manuel Antonio, stay here. It is a one-of-a-kind resort and will not disappoint. The grounds are extremely hilly so the staff will transport you around on golf carts. First day we saw a sloth moving from tree to tree right from the golf cart. We also saw scarlet macaws, monkeys, and iguanas within the resort grounds. Probably the most intimate interaction we had with wildlife in Costa Rica was at this resort. The view from the restaurant is breathtaking, and the staff was fabulous. I really enjoyed the breakfast, especially the croissant French toast. We had some great dinners there too, their restaurant is one of the best in town. We did some spa treatments, we thought they were good not great but was a relaxing experience. They offer free wildlife tours on the grounds as well as transport to the beach in town. Our stay was wonderful, would definitely stay here again if given the opportunity.

We just wrapped up our stay in this hotel. Pros: We really liked La Luna for breakfast. Coming from a hotel in La Fortuna where the breakfast was average at best, the breakfast options here were fantastic. We loved the juice, bread, and wide array of meal choices we could choose from. La Luna also has a great view, so we had a couple of chances to see macaws while eating. We even got a chance to meet the owner during breakfast. I thought it was nice that he stopped by to say hi to all of the guests that were eating that day. The service at the hotel is great—you are assigned your own personal concierge, and each day, our contact (Johansy) would ask us how our day went and if we needed help with anything. We found this very useful, as she helped us plan a few things and gave us recommendations for things we could do in the area. We also really enjoyed that they provided transportation to the beach, and that we never had to wait more than 5 minutes for transportation (even with the golf cart transportation up and down the hill). The communication between the staff regarding transportation was always top notch. We really enjoyed the macaw tour with Clarence. You can tell he is really knowledgeable about not just the birds, but nature in general. Lastly, shout out to Alessio, Danny, and the rest of the restaurant staff for always being on top of things. Areas for improvement: The rooms are a bit dated, it would be nice if they could be renovated a bit. Things that come to mind are the bathrooms: the sinks are really small so there isn’t a lot of storage space. Wall mounted makeup mirrors would also be nice. Additionally, our room had a distinct sewage-like smell emanating from the closet. We had someone come check it out the first night, and they sent housekeeping over the next day. Whatever housekeeping used DID mask the smell, but it kept on coming back every other day, which was strange. We checked out our friends’ room since they also stayed on the property and their room did not smell like ours, so unsure what was causing the sewage-like smell in our room Overall, great resort with friendly and organized staff!

Gaia was a fabulous little luxury hotel we could have picked. The suites are spacious and clean. You are immersed in a private jungle paradise with a beautiful view of the sunset and ocean at night. We ate at la Luna and the sky lounge each night and had some of the best sushi and meals. The pool was also phenomenal, though a little small, and be aware of the iguanas. Our concierge, Ada, was incredibly helpful. Be aware that you will need to take golf cards from parking to the hotel and it’s a steep climb. The shuttle runs once an hour and was incredible reliable. All the staff were kind and friendly.