Talamanca Nature Reserve

I stayed here after almost three weeks travelling around Costa Rica with an organised tour. I have stayed in some great places but they saved the best until last. This place was amazing. The staff take customer service to a whole new level. The rooms are huge and completely spotless. The food is fantastic and very reasonably priced. The scenery is to die for. A really wonderful place. If you ever visit Costa Rica this has to be top of your list of places to stay.

We visited just the restaurant for lunch, and it was superby. It was very quiet (we were the only ones there at the time). We sat outside in the lovely gardens, watched the birds, and had a great meal which was served quickly. It is a bit of a drive to get there, but the peacefulness of the surroundings is worth the effort. I recommend the chocolate pie for desert.

Our experience during our visit to Talamanca was over the top. We had Valentine’s Day dinner, which was the red tuna, and for dessert a passion, fruit cheesecake the whole meal was to die, for.we also hiked reserve very peaceful. The gardens in front of the restaurant are great for bird!!

We loved Talamanca Nature Reserve! The property is fantastic and well cared for. The trails well maintained and the signs make it easy to find your way to the river, to the various waterfalls, to the gazebo, to the ancient forest and more. The riverside cabins were very clean and comfortable and we woke up to bird song every morning. The food is delicious and healthy. Plenty of great drinks, from margaritas and wine and beer to smoothies and lemonade. We hired Carlos to take us bird watching and saw many bird species right along the trails of the property. The best of our experience was the staff! Kenneth, Moises, Matteo, Nazareth, Anna, and all who work there are warm, knowledgeable, professional, accommodating, helpful, welcoming. We will return. My husband and friends and I highly recommend staying at this nature reserve and experiencing the cloud forest of Costa Rica! Plus the cute little town is walking distance and there is the Secret Garden you could also walk to. See all 10 photos below, all taken from the Talamanca Nature Reserve!

This was one of the best hotels I have ever stopped in. The wildlife around it and the beautiful setting were outstanding. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff who were friendly, courteous and extremely efficient. If you are looking for ultímate luxury, this may not be the hotel for you but if you are looking to stay in comfort in a uniquely magical environmentally, do not miss this experience. The food was all freshly prepared on site and the excellent meals were all sourced locally.

There are not enough superlatives to describe this completely unexpected gem. A former cattle farm transformed over 30 years into an enchanting botanical paradise, with a remarkable aesthetic sensibility linking all the structures and spaces across the property that stretches some 4,000 acres from its gated entrance. Every feature—whether a stone statue, a railing, a walkway, a light— reflects thoughtfully integrated design and artistry. Extensive work has gone into creating naturalistic gardens remarkable for their hardscaping, plant choices and water features, all connected by a network of walking paths. Several of the gardens have distinct themes that give them their own personality, such as the fig garden— notable for its gigantic ancient central fig tree. The trails vary from not-too-steep to very steep but in the charming way that is typical of the signage, we were sometimes offered an alternative route, marked “Easy Way Up.” Regardless, we were never far from the sound of waterfalls; there are so many streams that descend from the peaks surrounding the reserve, and these helped us maintain our orientation, in addition to the paper map provided at our arrival. We did check out the “Old Swimming Hole” and yes- it was cold! Our accommodations were a spacious river cabin where the comforting sound of cascading water was accented by birds in the morning. At night the birdsongs were replaced by chirping crickets, and we could see so many stars and the Milky Way even in the presence of a crescent moon. The last 500 meters to the entrance is unpaved road but navigable— and altogether it is not too difficult a drive from San Isidro. (Compared to many of the unimproved roads in CR, it’s a cakewalk.) The restaurant serves excellent food though a bit pricey. The imaginative & pleasing interior design and personal attention we received from the staff made our meals there worthwhile. Prices are in USD. English is as commonly spoken as Spanish. The website woefully under-represents the overall charm and uniqueness of this place. If you have interest in gardens and nature, need a restful retreat, want an unusual place to train for high altitude trekking, or just love to find yourself in a secret paradise away from crowds and commerce, this place is for you. In fact, you may feel like the whole place is reserved just for your enjoyment; that’s how it felt to us.