Submitted By: Karen Catchpole
on: Tue, 05/14/2013 - 20:39
Think you know what a luxury hotel in Costa Rica looks like? Think again. This Central American country, crammed with five star eco lodges and stunning beach resorts, got a game-changing addition with the opening of Kura Design Villas in late 2012.
Four years ago owners and creators Martin Wells and Alejandra Umana, a young couple from Costa Rica, saw the property on a steep, jungle-covered hillside above the town of Uvita on Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast. Though they’d planned to open a humble surf shack on the beach they immediately saw a much, much grander project unfold along a stately ridge on the site.
It took three years of planning, designing and building but Martin and Alejandra pretty much created that initial vision. Martin is an architect who wanted a project in which he could...
Submitted By: Karen Catchpole
on: Thu, 05/09/2013 - 20:40
It’s best to think of Le Caméléon Boutique Hotel on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica as a blank canvas. When so many of its neighboring hotels have focused on the thatch-roof-hideaway vibe or the Crayola-colorful-Caribbean beach bungalow look Le Caméléon has gone in a totally different design direction: clean, stark, modern and hip. If there wasn’t sand between your toes you’d think you were in a chic, urban hotel.
All 23 rooms and suites are painstakingly white including the furniture, the television and the floor. When I walked into my room it was so bright I was tempted to keep my sunglasses on. All that white is punctuated with pillows, towels and paintings in one of six different color combinations.
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Submitted By: Karen Catchpole
on: Tue, 04/09/2013 - 21:48
Casco Viejo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the fastest changing neighborhoods in Central America, is experiencing a boom in meticulous and tightly-regulated architectural restoration and gentrification. Happily, many of the elegant buildings in this Panama City neighborhood have become wonderfully atmospheric hotels where feeling “at home” is more than just a sales pitch. Las Clementinas Chambers, Café & Bar is a standout among them.
Built in the 1930s as an apartment building by a woman named Doña Clementina Herrera (hence the hotel’s name), the building, like everything else in Casco Viejo, fell into ruin after this neighborhood was attacked by the US military as part of their search for Manuel Noriega and it ultimately succumbed to squatters and gangs.
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Submitted By: Karen Catchpole
on: Tue, 04/09/2013 - 21:05
If you wanted to create your own hotel you’d also want to have the skills possessed by Charlene and Sherrill Broudy. The former is a designer and artist. Her husband is an architect. Their creation is Xandari Resort & Spa in the Central Valley of Costa Rica, where all of their talents shine.
Charlene first visited Cost Rica back in 1982. By 1989 she was suggesting this Central American country as the location for the hotel the pair had been dreaming about. In 1996 Xandari was born on a 40 acre plot that had been a coffee farm in the foothills of the central valley at around 4,000 feet.
Xandari (the X is pronounced like a Z) is a word made up by the owners who define it, in part, as “a state of mind, a feeling, an inspiration, an enhanced appreciation for both our natural environment and the...
Submitted By: Karen Catchpole
on: Thu, 12/06/2012 - 14:33
Ten years ago Gina Cronin fled the weather in Cleveland, Ohio in search of someplace where she’d never be cold again. She found it on a former cattle ranch near the miniscule town of Caldera, less than half an hour from the birding and coffee mecca of Boquete, Panama. Since she was nowhere near ready to retire (and still isn’t) she essentially “bought herself a job” as an hotelier. Seven years ago she opened Rancho de Caldera and Madre Tierra restaurant with the goal of creating “a siesta for your soul.” She has succeeded.
Nine luxury suites have been built in three banks of three rooms each. Each bank includes a mega-room in the center with a truly full kitchen, a Murphy bed and an ample dining/living room. The two smaller suites that book end that larger room have kitchenettes including a...
Submitted By: Christina Valhouli
on: Tue, 12/04/2012 - 21:54
Close your eyes and imagine a picture perfect Miami beach hotel. You’re probably seeing a white washed space with pops of color and plenty of light, which is what most South Beach hotels look like- and also part of the reason that seeing The Setai for the first time can be a bit of a shock. It’s a dark hotel but rather than being gloomy, the hotel feels like a sexy, soothing respite from the sun.
Opened in 2005, the Setai stands out from the rest of the hotel pack in Miami for its sleek, Asian-inspired design. Although it is housed on the site of the former 1930s Art Deco Dempsey Vanderbilt Hotel, the design is pure Asian with subtle deco touches. It’s easy to see where the design inspiration came from. When it opened, the Setai was managed by GHM Hotels, which counted legendary hotelier Adrian...
Submitted By: Karen Catchpole
on: Tue, 11/27/2012 - 14:07
On January 8, 2009 a 6.2 earthquake struck near the town of Vara Blanca in central Costa Rica. The quake essentially leveled the place and severely damaged the Poas Volcano Lodge. Owner Michael Cannon was away from his lodge when the earthquake happened and by the time he made it back that evening his home, lodge and dairy farm lay in ruins. “The rubble was still creaking,” he remembers. He also remembers making a decision, along with his children who are shareholders in the hotel: did he want to walk away or did he want to rebuild? Not only did they choose to stay and re-build but they turned tragedy into an opportunity to completely re-invent the Poas Volcano Lodge.
After a two year top-to-bottom renovation, Poas Volcano Lodge is a 12 room retreat...
Submitted By: Karen Catchpole
on: Mon, 11/19/2012 - 16:37
It could be that Rodrigo Carazo, President of Costa Rica from 1978 to 1982, was thinking of his legacy when he decided to build a hotel using traditional architectural techniques and protect more than 2,000 hectares of cloud forest around it, but that hardly matters. What matters is that the President’s vision became a reality and that vision is now known as Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Hotel & Nature Reserve.
President Carazo and his wife, first lady Estrella Zeledon de Carazo, opened the property as a hotel in 1991. Jim, who was among the very first wave of expats in Costa Rica, bought it almost two decades ago and set about restoring it with the ambitious goals of keeping its authenticity while adding modern amenities and becoming sustainable.
The traditional design...
Submitted By: Christina Valhouli
on: Tue, 10/02/2012 - 11:38
No one travels to New Hampshire looking to stay at the latest and greatest contemporary hotel. Even if they did, I’m not entirely sure where they’d find it. People travel to New Hampshire largely to enjoy the natural beauty and the outdoors, in all seasons. And if you’re looking to soak up the scenery from an equally beautiful setting, consider the Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa in the heart of the White Mountains.
Located in Whitefield, about an hour away from Mt Washington, this massive Victorian hotel ticks every box for a charmingly old fashioned stay, but with plenty of modern amenities. Huge porch with rocking chairs? Check. Evening campfires to toast marshmallows and make smores? Check. Old fashioned board games in the parlor? Check.
A member of...
Submitted By: Christina Valhouli
on: Tue, 09/18/2012 - 12:31
Few foods are so closely tied to a destination as lobster is to Maine. I can’t think of too many other single ingredients that would inspire a specific journey (maybe the South for bbq? Southeast Asia for durian? Some interesting thoughts on it here). Recently we spent several days eating our way around Maine and sampling lobster in its myriad forms. My conclusion? Anything but lobster in its purest form is overrated. Lobster rolls? There is so little meat that it can barely justify the price, and while lobster stew is tasty, the massive amount of cream just makes the dish far too heavy and rich for my taste. Your best bet is to just go for the whole boiled lobster. You get the most amount of meat for your money, even if it is more...
