El Lugar: The Costa Rican rainforest retreat travellers can’t stop talking about

A rainforest retreat, chosen by travelers

There are places that ask you to arrive, and places that ask you to slow down.

El Lugar Costa Rica belongs to the second kind. Set within 1,200 acres of Costa Rican Rainforest in Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí, the property has been shaped with an unusual kind of patience. Long before it became a luxury hotel and nature reserve, the land had been cared for through more than 80 years of agricultural stewardship. That history is still felt today, in the way the property opens gently into the forest, in the quiet rhythm of the horses at El Encanto, and in the birdsong that begins before the sun has fully risen.

This year, El Lugar Costa Rica was recognized with the 2026 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Award, placing it among the top 10% of listings worldwide on Tripadvisor. The award is based on genuine guest reviews and ratings shared over a 12-month period, which makes it less about industry applause and more about what travelers carried home with them.

For El Lugar, the recognition feels especially meaningful because the property was never created as a conventional resort. It was shaped from a long-held vision to protect a remarkable piece of Costa Rica while inviting guests to experience it with comfort, care and wonder.

Located near Braulio Carrillo National Park and within the North Atlantic Biological Corridor, El Lugar sits in one of Costa Rica’s most abundant natural regions. Sarapiquí has long been loved by naturalists, birdwatchers and travelers drawn to a quieter side of the country, away from the more familiar beach routes. Here, the Rainforest is not something to admire from a distance. It is present in the mist, the river air, the movement of the trees and the call of birds overhead.

That connection to birdlife has become one of El Lugar’s defining qualities. The property’s reserve is now listed as a verified hotspot on eBird, and guides have personally spotted more than 140 bird species across the land. Great Green Macaws, Scarlet Macaws, Keel-billed Toucans, Green Ibis, Scarlet-rumped Tanagers and Bay Wrens are among the species seen here, with the return of the endangered Great Green Macaw carrying particular significance after extensive replanting efforts across the property.

For guests, birdwatching at El Lugar is not reserved only for experts. Morning tours usually begin between 6:00 AM and 8:00 AM, when the Rainforest is alive with movement and sound. Some guests arrive with binoculars, lists and the hope of spotting a rare lifer species. Others come with no birding knowledge at all and leave astonished by what they have seen. One route has been designed with accessibility in mind, allowing guests with physical limitations to experience the richness of the property by golf cart.

Then there is El Encanto, the agroecological farm and equestrian heart of El Lugar. For many travelers, this is the experience that stays with them long after they leave. Guests ride Costa Rican horses through open fields, Rainforest trails, river crossings and reforestation areas where more than 5,000 trees have been planted. It is not a staged trail ride built for a photograph. It feels closer to being welcomed into the life of the land itself.

There is a quiet beauty in moving through the property on horseback. The pace changes. The senses sharpen. The Rainforest reveals itself slowly, through birdsong, shifting light, the sound of hooves on soft earth and the occasional glimpse of wildlife moving through the trees. It is this kind of experience that has helped El Lugar become more than somewhere to stay.

Luxury here has a different tone. It is found in the private casitas, the handcrafted details, the thoughtful service and the sense of being held by nature without being removed from comfort. It is also found in the choices guests may never notice at first: helical pylons used to reduce disruption to the terrain, gravity-based water distribution, thermodynamic water heating and natural septic systems designed to support the land’s natural water cycle.

These details matter because they reveal the deeper character of El Lugar. The property was not built to dominate its surroundings. It was designed to sit within them.

That may be why the Tripadvisor recognition feels so fitting. Travelers are not simply responding to a beautiful hotel. They are responding to a place that has been protected, considered and opened with care.

In Sarapiquí, where rivers move through Rainforest and the morning air carries the sound of birds before breakfast, El Lugar offers a version of Costa Rica that feels both refined and raw. Guests are invited to wander, ride, listen, swim, rest and reconnect with the natural world at a pace that feels almost forgotten.

The award may place El Lugar among travelers’ favorites worldwide, but the deeper achievement is quieter. It is found in the way guests remember the property after they have left: not just as a destination, but as a place that gave them room to breathe.

Tucked within the Rainforest of Sarapiquí, El Lugar Costa Rica feels wonderfully removed, yet is only approximately two hours from Juan Santamaría International Airport, the main gateway to San José.

To learn more, visit https://ellugar.com