A hotel and private nature reserve in Costa Rica’s northern lowlands has received a 2026 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Award, placing it among the top 10% of listings on the global travel platform. El Lugar Costa Rica in Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí in Heredia province, earned the recognition based on the quality and quantity of ratings and reviews posted by travelers during a 12-month evaluation period.
Unlike awards decided by a judging panel, Travelers’ Choice winners are chosen using feedback submitted by Tripadvisor users. Eligible businesses must have been listed on the platform for at least one year, receive a minimum number of reviews and maintain the required rating.
The award should not be confused with Tripadvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best designation, which is reserved for the top 1% of listings. The regular Travelers’ Choice award recognizes places, restaurants and attractions that consistently receive strong reviews and places winners in the platform’s top 10%.
El Lugar combines a small luxury hotel with a private rainforest reserve covering about 486 hectares (1,200 acres). The property is within the North Atlantic Biological Corridor and alongside Braulio Carrillo National Park, one of Costa Rica’s largest protected areas. The hotel is approximately two hours northeast of Juan Santamaría International Airport, giving travelers access to the Sarapiquí region without requiring a domestic flight or a full day on the road.
Anyone staying there can explore private nature trails, take guided birdwatching trips, ride horses through forest and reforestation areas, swim in rivers and visit El Encanto, the property’s agroecological farm. Spa services and private casitas are also available. More than 130 bird species have been recorded on the property, according to the hotel. Recent sightings have included great green macaws, scarlet macaws and keel-billed toucans, while the reserve has also been registered as a birdwatching hotspot on eBird.
Hotel Manager Indalecio López said the award reflects both the work of the staff and the connection visitors develop with the property. “This award means so much to our team because it reflects what guests feel when they arrive here,” López said. He said the land was being protected long before the hotel opened and that conservation remains central to how the property operates.
El Lugar says its buildings were constructed using systems intended to reduce disruption to the surrounding terrain. These include raised foundations, gravity-based water distribution, thermodynamic water heating and natural septic systems designed to protect water movement through the property.
The hotel’s Tripadvisor listing ranked it first among hotels in Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí when the award was announced. Its rating has remained between 4.8 and 4.9 out of five as new reviews have been added. The recognition also brings attention to Sarapiquí, a ara known for rainforest reserves, birdwatching, river activities and scientific research but often overlooked by visitors traveling between San José, the Caribbean coast and northern Costa Rica.
For independently operated nature lodges like this one, Tripadvisor reviews can carry a lot of weight. The Travelers’ Choice badge gives future guests a measure based largely on the experiences of previous visitors rather than advertising campaigns or evaluations commissioned by the tourism industry
