Yoga and surfing are at the fore this boutique eco-hotel, designed by Studio Saxe in the Costa Rican jungle.
Hotel Nalu Nosara is a cluster of individual pavilions beside the town of Nosara. This burgeoning surf spot sits on the northern coast of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula.
‘Our project at Nalu represents the power of simple, low-key, modern tropical architecture,’ says practice principal Benjamin Garcia Saxe.
Each of the three villas – which range from two to three bedrooms, and cost from $255 per night upwards – is capped by a cantilevered, recycled teak roof that also provides shade from the sun. Floor-to-ceiling glass doors open the ‘hotel rooms’ to the outdoors, while the slatted roof draws dappled light into the spaces below.
Villa Jardín, Villa Sombra and Villa Sol, as the hotel accommodations are known, are dotted across Hotel Nalu Nosara’s grounds to make the most of the site’s wind and solar patterns, and jungle and ocean views. Each holiday dwelling also has its own salt-water swimming pool and outdoor shower, and is minutes from the beach.
Hotel Nalu Nosara’s yoga studio is a purpose-built pavilion that’s open to vegetation on all sides. The simple structure features a wooden floor and ceiling, and an exposed black structural frame which can be hung with punching bags when the studio is being used as a gym.
Architect Benjamin Garcia Saxe also designed Costa Rica holiday home Ocean Villa, in Santa Teresa, which combines jungle living with beach views.