Hotel Costa Verde in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica, has been on our list of “cool places to visit” for a long time. The hotel caught our attention back in 2014 when, in preparation for our first visit to Costa Rica together, we came across a photo of its 727 Fuselage Home, a refurbished Airplane hotel room that sat perched up amidst the jungle canopy setting.
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It was definitely the most unique accommodation we have ever seen, and one that quickly sparked our curiosity.
It took us 2 years to finally make our way to Hotel Costa Verde, but when we did, we quickly realized that the 727 Fuselage Home was just a small part of what makes this hotel a destination worth visiting in Costa Rica.
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Hotel Costa Verde near Manuel Antonio National Park
Costa Verde dates back to the 1990s when the town of Manuel Antonio was just starting to pop up on travellers’ radars. Today, 25 years later, it’s a real institution in town. The hotel grounds span more than 20-acres, running the length of 1km along the main road to Manuel Antonio National Park.
Hotel Costa Verde, located very near Manuel Antonio National Park, seems to blend perfectly in with the surroundings, making it feel like you really are staying in the jungle. Hotel Costa Verde offers 75 different rooms in different buildings. These are divided into six different sections, each one separated from the other by thick vegetation.
Accommodations at Costa Verde
Each room is unique in its own way, and that’s one of the things that we love most about Hotel Costa Verde. You could literally visit every year and never stay in the same type of room twice.
Rooms at Costa Verde
These are standard hotel rooms built on jungle ridges and bluffs. From the balcony, guests get a great jungle or ocean view. The spacious rooms come with air-conditioning, cable TV, wifi, and a kitchenette. It’s a great option for families or groups of up to 4 people.
Bungalows
Guests can choose between 5 bungalows or a casita for a bit more privacy. Located 350m from the front desk, the bungalows have easy access to the property amenities and family pools. The air-conditioned bungalows have two bedrooms with bathrooms, large balconies, a living space, and a kitchenette. These homes enjoy the same daily services as the hotel rooms, making it very convenient for families.
Costa Verde II
Designed as an adults-only space, these newly renovated accommodations consist of 14 studios and studio-plus apartments and 1 impressive penthouse unit. The air-conditioned apartments come with expansive windows perfect for soaking up the view, a kitchenette, and a living room set with a flat-screen TV. There’s also a special cliff-side pool in the area that gets a bird’s-eye view of the Pacific Ocean and Manuel Antonio National Park.
Casa Verdeville
These 4 apartments are one of the newest accommodations in the property, with two apartments on each floor. Upstairs, the studio apartments enjoy breezy ocean and jungle views, while the downstairs units have partial ocean views and a sitting area for relaxing and exotic wildlife spotting. Both are furnished similarly with 2 queen beds, spacious balconies, and outdoor kitchenettes and living areas.
Casa Quinta
The casa is a 3-bedroom home ideal for bigger groups and families who want their own shared space. The master bedroom has 2 queen-sized beds, two smaller bedrooms also furnished with queen-sized beds, and a smaller children’s room with two single bunk beds. Each room has its own private bathroom. The house also has a kitchen with a microwave, three flat-screen cable TVs, air conditioning, and a large terrace area.
727 Fuselage Home
This one-of-a-kind refurbished vintage 1965 Boeing is the most exclusive hotel suite in Costa Rica. This once-functioning plane has now transformed into a 2-bedroom suite that emerges from the jungle canopy. The suite has two air-conditioned bedrooms with private baths, a flat-screen cable TV, a kitchenette, a dining area foyer, an ocean-view terrace, and a 360-degree garden view.
Cockpit Cottage
The cockpit offers a more intimate and romantic vibe. It’s accessible via a hanging suspension bridge that cuts through the lush jungle, delivering first-class tropical luxury. Couples will love this cottage, which has a king-sized bed, a private bathroom, TV, air conditioning, and a 2-person deep soak tub with sweeping views of the Pacific.
Cockpit Cabana
The third fuselage bungalow is 50% larger than the cockpit cottage. Designed for “triple duty,” the cabana was built with honeymooners, families, and groups of friends in mind. There are two queen beds, a spacious bathroom, a roomy kitchenette, a large balcony, and a private soak tub with beach views.
Sky Loft
The new SkyLoft offers amazing beach views from the balcony and terrace of a refurbished 1982 McDonald Douglas MD-82 airframe. This 2-bedroom fuselage is great for bigger groups as it has 4 queen-sized beds. On the terrace, there’s a dinner table for 8, a wet bar, and a living room with stunning views of the Pacific Ocean. Check out the luxury soak tub in the private balcony hanging off the master bedroom!
During our initial visit back in 2016, we stayed in the Costa Verde II building, designed for couples and families with children 17 years or older. Our studio apartment had 2 double beds, a sitting area, a dining table, a kitchenette, and a spacious balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the adult-only pool area.
In our subsequent visits, we’ve had the pleasure of enjoying the Cockpit Cottage and the 727 Fuselage Home during our friends’ wedding held at Costa Verde.
The Grounds at Costa Verde
Walking around the hotel grounds, we loved being immersed in the jungle. There were thousands of varieties of trees and plants, some labelled as if in a national park or conservation, and all meticulously cared for by gardening staff.
We spotted white-faced capuchin monkeys jumping from tree to tree, a whole family of them feeling completely at ease in their surroundings.
When exploring the property and amenities, we discovered 3 swimming pools in different parts of the hotel grounds. The adult-only pool overlooking the coast was definitely our favourite, although we also enjoyed the quieter setting of the smaller pools with sun loungers scattered around the property. Needless to say, a pool is always close by, regardless of where your room is located.
But it wasn’t just the unique hotel layout and close proximity to Manuel Antonio National Park that impressed us about this unique destination.
Sustainability At Costa Verde
For us, the beauty of Costa Verde is all in the details and the elaborate process that goes into the continuous design and preservation of this special area. We loved the focus on recycling throughout the premises, the fact that rainwater is used for laundry services and that solar energy is used to heat up the water.
Hotel Costa Verde prides itself in going well beyond the efforts of the typical eco-resorts that are abundant across Costa Rica. And we love that!
From the traditional wooden bed frames and dining tables to the quintessential Costa Rican rocking chairs, all furniture at Costa Verde is made in their own wood shop (which you can visit during your stay there) using the naturally downed trees from the region.
All throughout the grounds, thousands of recycled bottles are used as lighting fixtures to add a unique design element to the already unique hotel rooms and restaurants on site.
Restaurants At Costa Verde
Costa Verde occupies a huge section of the main road to Manuel Antonio. The hotel grounds include all the rooms along with four restaurants and a café scattered around the property, offering visitors plenty of dining options during their stay.
Each Costa Verde restaurant is unique in its own way, offering guests both local and international cuisine. Some restaurants are within walking distance, while others are a bit farther away. The good news is that most of the restaurants have free parking as well as wheelchair-accessible parking available.
Anaconda Restaurant
Anaconda Restaurant is located on-site and serves up breakfast and lunch. Their specialities include fresh fruit and seafood dishes. They also serve international cuisine, but we recommend starting your day with the Gallo Pinto, the traditional Costa Rican breakfast, at least once!
El Wagon Restaurant
El Wagon is located a short walk up the street and is a great spot for lunch or dinner. El Wagon is famous for its wood-fired pizza, which was voted the #1 Best Pizza in Manuel Antonio–definitely a must-try. They also serve hamburgers, hot dogs, wraps, and more.
La Cantina
La Cantina is across the street from the hotel’s main entrance. La Cantina BBQ is one of the best in Manuel Antonio, with signature dishes cooked over wood fire. Pair the Premium Baby Back Pork Ribs, Imported Beef Tenderloin, or Rib-Eye Steak with their famous cocktails.
El Avión
El Avion is located up the road from Costa Verde but is still very much part of the Costa Verde family. This famous airplane restaurant and bar in Costa Rica serves great local dishes and offers beautiful views of the coastline from 150 metres above the Manuel Antonio beach.
El Baguette
El Baguette is a café and panaderia up the street from the hotel. It’s a quaint spot that serves delicious locally sourced coffee and freshly baked bread and pastries. Their pastries, quiches, empanadas and quick bites are available every day from 6am to 4pm.
A Personal Connection
We had the pleasure of meeting the founder of Hotel Costa Verde, Allan Templeton, during our stay at Costa Verde. An American by birth, world traveller by heart, and a die-hard Costa Rican by life experience, Allan shared incredible stories about his life in Costa Rica, his travels around the world, and tales of how Costa Verde came to be and how it continues to grow and evolve to this date.
Hearing firsthand the story of the inception of the 727 Fuselage Home and the El Avion Restaurant allowed us to see Costa Verde in a whole new light, to feel its unique story radiating through every corner of the property, and its old Costa Rican charm rooted in the soil.
Over the years, Allan’s hospitality and the beautiful location of the Costa Verde have seen us come back to this unique hotel over and over again.
A Beautiful Wedding Destination
Costa Verde is not just a popular tourist destination (some visitors have been coming to Costa Verde for 10-15 years) but also a booming destination wedding location.
Parts of the hotel have been built specifically to provide a unique environment for weddings. At Costa Verde, wedding ceremonies are typically held at the Wedding Helipad in front of Costa Verde II, along the beach, or on the Grassy Knoll. As for the reception, the on-site choices include the Wedding Pavilion, the El Avión Restaurant, La Cantina, or the new SkyLoft. The hotel staff are incredibly accommodating as well, and guests are welcome to make wedding inquiries.
In June 2017, we had the pleasure of attending a beautiful wedding of our dear friends, Chris and Shalini, at Costa Verde and were blown away by the magical setting this unique hotel provided for their special day. They opted for a travel-themed wedding, so having the hotel at an airplane hotel was incredibly suitable!
Check out the video we shot on their special day!
If you are thinking about planning your own Costa Rican wedding at Costa Verde or another venue, check out our post on planning a wedding in Costa Rica for first-hand tips and advice.
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Disclaimer: Big thanks to Allan and his team for hosting us at the Costa Verde II during our time in Manuel Antonio. As always, the opinions provided in this article are our own, no matter who is footing the bill.
