Luxury Gaia Hotel Holds Official Inauguration

Gaia Hotel and Reserve, a luxury hotel in Manuel Antonio, on the central Pacific coast (TT, June 9), held its official inauguration recently, unveiling a new $3 million complex at the top of the hotel’s hilly property.

After guests arrive at the gate, they are ferried in electric carts up the steep driveway to the complex, which includes the reception area, a restaurant and bar, a full-service spa, a gymnasium, a conference room, a business center and a presidential-type suite.

Nearly every element in the hilltop addition has large windows that overlook the green rain-forest canopies of ManuelAntonioNational Park and the hotel’s private reserve.

The completed complex adds a long list of services to the hotel’s offerings. Guests can find gourmet food at the restaurant and work it off in the yoga room, the weight room or the cardio room at the gym. Or, they can choose to relax in the spa, which offers massages, sauna and steam treatments and facials, and includes a beauty parlor.

The conference room can hold about 45 people, and the business center has three Internet-connected computers patrons can use for free.

The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) has awarded Gaia Hotel five stars, the highest rating given by the institute.