With the demand for wellness tourism accelerating, The Retreat Costa Rica, an acclaimed luxury wellness boutique resort and spa, has embarked on an ambitious $3 million expansion, adding 26,500 square feet encompassing a clubhouse, three restaurants, and 10 luxury lofts—all poised for completion late April 2025.
“With increasing numbers of people looking to detox from our frenetic digitally oriented society, the demand for our wellness services is growing quickly, with guests increasingly looking for more holistic and luxurious experiences,” says founder Diana Stobo.
Aimed at elevating the guest experience by redefining wellness, The Retreat’s new facilities will be built to embrace the region’s verdant topography—with an interplay between the indoors and out—incorporating sustainable elements, natural yet elegant decor, and locally sourced materials for cultural context, resulting in a restorative yet luxurious experience.
A celebrity chef, best-selling author, and artist, Stobo masterminded the design for the new spaces, deriving inspiration from the Sanskrit word Santosha meaning “contentment” or “acceptance.” Select highlights include:
Santosha Clubhouse
A communal area to relax and unwind, the resort’s new 16,500-square-foot clubhouse will feature rich decor with ancient Indigenous relics, vintage pottery, and verdant plants, all accentuated by warm oak flooring and rustic wood furnishings for an old-world feel. An enormous Guanacaste tree stretches its canopy over the entire space, creating a lush and inviting ambiance. Oversized natural wicker light fixtures and textured stone walls lend a rustic motif while an 11-by-13-foot handcrafted mandala wallcovering punctuates the southern wall.
The space will house a single-lane lap pool with a striking mosaic design down the center lane and a state-of-the-art gym and yoga shala, each with 1,600 square feet of open space and soaring 16-foot ceilings, accommodating up to 50 people for group classes. With serene tones and natural elements, the shala is lined with white fabric, globe lights, meditation niches, rock wall trims, and backlit mirrors. A nearby gym will have eight cardio machines facing southern mountain vistas as well as a rowing machine, elliptical, stationary bikes, a whole-body weight machine, and free weights.
The Santosha Lofts
Each spanning 945 square feet, the expansive new Santosha Lofts are designed to face the expansive western views, embracing feng shui principles to optimize the wellness experience. Capturing the resort’s nurturing and gentle environment, these airy spaces have a simple and peaceful design motif with a soft cream, warm taupe, and bold white palette designed to calm the mind and relax the body. Natural elements such as wicker light fixtures, natural teak wood furnishings, and handcrafted stone wall accents further the resort’s theme of “quiet luxury in nature.” An abundance of muted, recessed lighting continues a mood of relaxation, restoration, and luxury.
Each loft has a large bathroom with an old-world door hand carved by local artisans; ample recessed lighting in the showers, open closets, and under the counters; and an over-the-tub chandelier. The open closet, glass shower, and oversized window overlooking the Nicoya Peninsula and Pacific Ocean manifest the indoor-outdoor feel, evoking harmony with nature.
Stobo’s signature artwork accents the rooms while local craftsmen have created decorative root carvings and old-world pillars to showcase a 12-inch selenite crystal in each room, installed to promote peace and calm and ignite mental clarity.
Dining for all Tastes
Atop the clubhouse will be three new distinct dining experiences: Mystique, La Diosa, and Richard’s Kitchen. With sweeping views, Mystique, the resort’s signature restaurant, spans 1,000 square feet and seats 42 with booths and two- and four-top round marble tables. Large trees and plants hang overhead while a massive iron fireplace creates a warm and welcoming feel. Helmed by two-star Michelin chef Richard Neat, the restaurant will feature a French-inspired tasting and wine pairing menu, including an array of Neat’s trail-blazing signature dishes.
Seating 36 and offering signature small plates and artisanal cocktails, La Diosa is a 1,250-square-foot relaxed lounge terrace replete with a plush sitting area of couches, lounge chairs, and coffee tables situated to take in the surrounding jungle. Wooden floors, soft rattan lighting, and tabletop fire pits create a cozy, inviting space surrounded by trees and plants, allowing guests to relax in nature while enjoying casual dining. The smaller Richard’s Kitchen seats 32 and provides a 700-square-foot poolside open kitchen to grab a morning cappuccino, an after-workout juice or a smoothie a la carte.
Other resort highlights include a farm-to-table organic restaurant, an organic coffee plantation, two saltwater pools, a yoga studio, a meditation deck, organic gardens, river swings, jungle and river paths, and sweeping views of the Gulf of Nicoya.
