A Five-Star Rainforest Lodge Experience

The Peace Lodge is an 18-room, Five-Star, Boutique Hotel located on the grounds of the World Famous La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park. The mountain views from the guest room balconies of the Poás Volcano and La Paz River Valley are breathtaking. At 5,200 feet above sea level the temperature is cool and refreshing and the air is crisp and clean from the surrounding cloud and rainforest. As a Lodge Guest you will receive unlimited access to the hiking trails, waterfalls, trout lake, and animal sanctuary exhibits of La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park. You and our other guests will have the entire park to yourselves before 8 am and after 5 pm which are the optimal hours for observing the animals. The property resides at a very special altitude where cloud and rainforest coexist and is nestled between two national parks providing animals with a biological corridor. While staying with us, please try to schedule some time for relaxation in our cozy Ventanas Verdes Spa, or you can enjoy an “In-Room ” massage in front of the grand river stone fireplace in your room.

Located less than one hour from the San José (Juan Santamaria) Airport, the Peace Lodge is the perfect place to begin or end your vacation. You do not need to spend your first or last day in a city hotel. Please come spend them in the rain and cloud forest with us and still be close to the airport. We are also 20 minutes from the Poás Volcano, another “Must See” attraction in Costa Rica.

Welcome to the Peace lodge, the ultimate awakening of your senses! We pride ourselves on offering our guests the most unique, mountain-lodge experience in Costa Rica, combining the beauty of nature and the comfort of Five-Star service and facilities.

The ultra-upscale accommodations are uniquely themed to complement the inherent beauty of their rain and cloud forest setting and the detailed architecture exudes a natural elegance and sophistication with every room boasting a Jacuzzi tub, an impressive river stone fireplace along with a shower that transforms into a waterfall with the turn of a knob. Picture perfect views of the La Paz River Valley and the towering Poás Volcano complete the experience.

Our Award-Winning Lodge introduces guests to a symphony of traditional Costa Rican experiences celebrating the natural wonders of the cloud forest and the splendid creatures that inhabit this magical environment.

Complimentary internet access is available to all our guests in the Rooms, Restaurants, Reception and almost the entire Park.

The Peace Lodge was featured on the Travel Channel’s “Honeymoon Hotspots International” program as one of the eight most romantic honeymoon destinations in the world outside of the United States. The Lodge has also been honored by Conde Nast Traveler Magazine as the 4th Best Resort in all of Central and South America and rated the #1 hotel in its region by Tripadvisor repeatedly over the years.

La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park was the only privately owned park to be nominated by the readers of La Nacion Newspaper (the largest newspaper in Costa Rica) to be one of the “Seven Natural Wonders of Costa Rica”. The Park has also been featured on the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and over twenty International travel and nature programs. You will also see the Peace Lodge and its sister property The Springs Resort & Spa featured as the Costa Rican Dream vacations on The Wheel of Fortune.

All guests are welcome to enjoy the park before it opens and after it closes, the optimal bird watching and wildlife viewing times. We are a great option as a bird watching hotel in the greater San José area because the rain forest literally surrounds the Lodge, and we have many “hard to see” species visit the property every day. Guided walking tours are available, but we suggest booking these at the same time you reserve your room.

We recommend a three-night stay for guests looking to make the most of their nature lodge experience. Please keep in mind, as beautiful as we think our rain forest resort is, we recommend no more than a four-night stay so that you may explore other areas of Costa Rica. Guests arriving directly from the airport will awake to the sound of the rainforest and waterfalls rather than the city noise of San José. The drive from the airport is approximately one hour and very scenic. We strongly believe we are the best option if you want a luxury hotel near the San José airport.

La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park is a privately owned and managed ecological attraction that opened in the fall of 2000. The construction of the Hiking Trails, Butterfly Observatory and Reception began in July of 1998 and was mostly complete by the fall of 2000. Since opening we have continually added new and interesting exhibits to enhance the quality of your visit. Please Enjoy.

Our Mission Statement is to preserve and protect the natural environment of the area for the education, entertainment, and enjoyment of all ages of people. Our strategy combines environmentally conscious design with maximum educational impact to the visitor.

The Park comprises 70 acres (28 hectares) of land including approximately 40 acres of cloud and rainforest and 30 acres (12 hectares) of pastureland cut by a previous owner. The forest area is currently protected under Private Animal Sanctuary Status and we are in the process of reforesting the unoccupied pastureland. We are also an active member of the Costa Rican Network of Private Nature Reserves, the Green Stamp Program, the Blue Flag Program and the Environmental Services Payment Program.

The 2.2 miles (3.5 kilometers) of hiking trails and viewing platforms constructed from 1998-2000 were designed and built without cutting one tree or vine system. The materials for the trails and platforms were carried down on foot in order to avoid the use of heavy equipment in the forest. The credit for this tremendous accomplishment goes to Mr. Bernardo Picado who designed trails for the National Park System of Costa Rica prior to joining our team.

We added the Colibries Restaurant and the Serpentarium in 2004 and the Ranarium and Trout Lake in 2005. Our new enclosed Butterfly Observatory opened in August of 2006 along with the conversion of our existing Butterfly Observatory to an Aviary in the same year.

Construction on the Peace Lodge began in 2003 and various phases were completed over the next two years. In 2005 we had 17 units open. Less than a year after opening the Peace Lodge was featured on the Travel Channel show Trista and Ryan’s Honeymoon Hotspots International. There were only eight resorts outside the U.S. chosen for this honor.

In our effort to support the local economy, we employ 95% of our 120+ employees from the surrounding towns within a 12 mile radius (20 kilometers). These small communities previously existed almost exclusively on ranching and agriculture.