To get the most Pura Vida from your trip to Costa Rica try the relaxation that only a spa retreat can offer. This beautiful country is most rewarding if you are relaxed, healthy, content and tranquil. One both coasts and the interior cloud forests of Costa Rica have a range of resort that cater to helping guests attain harmony and balance of mind and body. So please enjoy this guest writer Andrew Kolasinski and his writings on luxury spa retreats in Costa Rica.
HACIENDA DEL SOL on the Guanacaste peninsula of Costa Rica’s Pacific coast is a beachfront full service retreat. You can rejuvenate with an herbal cleansing and detoxification treatment combined with message, meditation and yoga. Hacienda del Sol also offers exfoliating mud baths in local volcanic clay. The spa is the home of the Kootenay School of Rebalancing Massage where students learn to become healing practitioners. You can stay in one of the 14 beautiful thatched roof bungalows set in a private tropical jungle garden.
PURA VIDA WELLNESS CENTER in Alajuela in the highlands near the Poas Volcano National Park is only 30 minutes from the airport.
Pura Vida offers specialized retreats including sessions focusing on: purification and transformation, shamanistic intuition, refresh, relax, renew for women, peaceful warrior training, pure life cleansing, plus specialized Yoga and meditation retreats. This spa is set on 8 garden-like acres with magnificent views of the misty mountains. Accommodations vary from a charming canvas walled “Tentalow” to the luxurious three-story “Pagoda”.
THE LUNA LODGE is in the jungle of the Osa Peninsula on the Pacific side. This retreat emphasizes a holistic approach to achieving wellness of mind and body. Among the treatments offered are: deep tissue massage (Chinese Reflexology mixed with Tibetan massage), hot stone massage, sensual Tantric massage, Shiatzu and Acupressure, Reiki, coconut body scrubs and body wraps, chocolate therapy, Luna face and hair Session, Reflexology, gem therapy (crystal healing), Yoga, and just for fun Latin dance lessons. Accommodation is in eight luxurious jungle huts on the riverbank. The retreat offers eco and wilderness tours.
RAINDROP SPA is a unique Asian style compound that resembles a sacred temple. It is on the Pacific Coast near Manuel Antonio National Park. Raindrop Spa is set in the tropical forest surrounded by exotic flowers, tropical birds and monkeys. Spa treatments include: Vichy showers (body scrubs, chocolate massages), facial therapy (microdermoabrasion, cleanses, anti-aging lifts, hydration, anti-acne facials), body therapy (Siradhara fusion message and Chakras balancing), hand and feet therapy (manicures and pedicures). Aesthetic treatments include: thermotherapy (heated wraps to relax, reduce and exfoliate), electrotherapy (low frequency currents eliminate fat deposits), gesso-therapy (wraps to detoxify and tone muscles), firming body wraps to improve elasticity, and anti-cellulite therapy. In addition the Spa offers Yoga and Pilates, and hosts spa parties and weddings.
SHAMASATI Nature Retreat on Costa Rica’s Caribbean side is near the popular beach town of Puerto Viejo. The spa offers Yoga on the Caribbean for singles, couples and groups. In addition to Yoga sessions and training they offer a range of spa treatments: Swedish deep tissue massage, Shiatsu, Ayrveda Yoga massage, Reflexology, Reiki and therapeutic massage. You can also join their eco-tourism, bird watching and Indigenous cultural excursions.
Andrew Kolasinski is a Canada-based travel writer who travels frequently to Central and South America. He writes on behalf of South American Vacations, a specialist in Costa Rica travel packages.
