We just got back from an amazing anniversary trip to Costa Rica, and this post is going to give you a bit of an overview of the resort and what we did there. In the weeks to come, I’ll be posting individual articles providing more detail about the important stuff: excursions and activities, the pools, and the restaurants. I booked Nayara Gardens on a stay 7, pay 5 deal, and it’s a great deal! Everyone was so surprised that we were staying there for a full week, but that was the deal! We also received a complimentary dinner (food only) on our last night at Nayara for staying so long, which was a really nice gift.

Nayara Gardens is the original of three separate resorts at the base of the Arenal Volcano towards the northern border of Costa Rica, which is where we stayed. The other resorts are Nayara Springs, which is adults only, and the newest and snazziest (and most expensive) resort is Nayara Tented Camp. The resorts consistently win in their category for best resorts in Central America in publications like Conde Nast and Travel & Leisure. All three resorts are separate, however if you are staying at one, you can use the facilities at the other two resorts no problem. They are all connected with winding, hilly, and lush pathways, and the resorts also have a ton of golf carts that you can call to drive you around. Nayara Gardens and Springs are easy to go back and forth between, but I recommend a cart to get up to the Tented Camp since it’s a pretty steep climb to get up there, and its farthest removed from the other two resorts.

Nayara Gardens has the most rooms of the three resorts at 50 individual casitas. About half of those have an infinity plunge pool fed by the thermal springs called Rainforest Pool Villas, which is where we stayed. The Springs and Tented Camp have about 35 rooms each, all of which have a personal and private plunge pool.

You will also find the most restaurants at Nayara Gardens: Las Terrazas (where you have your amazing complimentary breakfast), Nostalgia Wine Bar, and Asia Luna. Even though there are over 100 rooms total at the three resorts, it never feels crowded, and your individual room is very private. Only a few of the restaurants were fully packed for dinner, but the smaller restaurants only had about 10 or so tables, so it never felt super busy.

There is only one pool at Nayara Gardens, and it is the oldest pool, which obviously is in need of some TLC. I will get into the pools in a different post, but suffice to say, we spent most of our time at the adults-only Nayara Springs pool, which had the best service and atmosphere overall. The Tented Camp pool has the best views.

We ate at most of the restaurants on all three properties, and never had a bad meal. We also booked massages at the Nayara Gardens spa, which were amazing. We spent some time walking along the paths slowly with our binoculars in hand, as there are a lot of birds and animals around to spot. We saw a few different sloths, and a ton of different birds around the property, including toucans, a broad billed motmot, crested guans and a bunch of different tanagers, just to name a few. I can’t stress enough how lush the flora on the property is. You are in a rainforest, and it is so super green and fertile here, the grounds are just stunning.

The resorts offer a TON of activities and excursions, and it is super hard to narrow down what to do. There are activities for uber adventurers like zip-lining and canyoning, water activities on the rivers and lakes, and plenty of hikes. There are also many different tasting-type classes like coffee, chocolate and rum. You will not be bored here, but we still had plenty of time for relaxing.

Like I mentioned earlier, these resorts are always consistently winning best resort awards, and for good reason. The rooms are spacious, beautiful and private, the resorts themselves are expansive, lush, and fancy, and you definitely feel like you are in a very special place when you are here. In the coming weeks, I’ll be posting a ton more details about all three resorts, so watch this space!