Everything you need to know about Naya

Check-in is at 3pm and check-out is at 11am.

Come earlier if you want to. Leave your luggage with us. The pool, the gardens and the common areas are yours while your room is made up. Most people who land at Liberia in the morning and drive the 2.5 hours over do exactly this.

In our quieter months there is usually more flexibility on both ends. A late check-out is sometimes possible for an extra charge, but we can't promise it in advance — it depends on who is arriving after you. Ask us on the day and we'll tell you honestly.

Yes. Store your luggage with us and carry on with your day — swim, have lunch, walk down to Playa Pelada. This works both before check-in and after check-out, so a late flight doesn't cost you your last day.

Every room at Naya has air conditioning, a ceiling fan, an en-suite bathroom and its own private veranda. Each is a stand-alone casita with its own entrance — you are not walking down a corridor past other rooms.

King Rooms also have a desk and a mini fridge.

• All rooms — air conditioning, ceiling fan, en-suite bathroom, private veranda
• King Rooms — everything above, plus a desk and a mini fridge

Yes. The King Rooms have a proper desk, and our open-air dining area works well for a laptop. Morning is the best time to sit out there — Nosara gets hot from about midday. See the WiFi question below for what the connection is actually like.

We have invested in making the WiFi good, which is not something every property in Nosara can say. In most of our rooms it is strong enough to run a live session on — a class, a call, a workshop.

If you are a retreat leader planning something that depends on the connection, tell us which room you'll be teaching from and we'll make sure it's one of the strong ones.

Yes. All the Costa Rican networks work well here, and international roaming works too.

The tap water at Naya, and in Nosara generally, is potable — it is safe to drink. It is simply not especially nice to drink.

So we keep filtered water on the bar, free, for you to fill your own bottle from. Bring a reusable bottle; it means you never buy a single-use plastic one while you're here.

Yes. For hotel guests, laundry is 7,000 colones (about $15) per load, paid in cash.

For retreat groups and anyone booking Naya exclusively, laundry is included in the price.

No — breakfast isn't included in the room price, and it works a little differently here than at a hotel with a restaurant.

Naya doesn't run an ongoing restaurant. So there's no buffet to wander into: if you'd like breakfast, you ask us the day before, and the kitchen prepares it for you.

What you get is a proper tico breakfast — gallo pinto, eggs, salad, fruit and coffee — for 5,000 colones, around $11 per person (rate updated September 2026).

Free coffee goes out on the bar every morning, whether you order breakfast or not.

And the alternative a lot of guests choose: the shared kitchen is properly equipped, so many people shop and make their own. See the kitchen question below.

Yes, and a lot of our guests do. The shared guest kitchen is properly equipped — not a token kettle and a microwave. Everything you need to store food and cook a real meal is here. Where to buy it is in the Nosara guide — the Tuesday market is the one worth planning your week around.

It is one of the things that makes a longer stay here feel like living somewhere rather than staying in a hotel.

One thing to know: when a retreat or a private event has taken the whole property, the kitchen is in use for that group and isn't available to individual guests. Our schedule shows when that applies.

Yes, there is parking at the property. Most guests come by rental car, so there's room for yours.

Outside, on your own private space, yes. Every room has its own veranda.

Not in the communal areas — not by the pool, not in the shared kitchen, not in the dining area. Those are shared, and someone else is always in them.

No, and no. Bring a hairdryer if you need one.

Honestly, you will probably not miss the iron. Nobody here is ironing anything.

Yes. Ask us and we will issue one.

Worth knowing if you are a retreat leader running this as a business, or expensing a work trip.

When you book a room on this website, you pay the first night to hold it. The rest is paid when you arrive.

You can cancel free of charge up to 3 days before you arrive, and we return the deposit to the card you paid with. Inside those 3 days the deposit is not refunded, and nothing further is charged.

To change your dates, write to us by email or WhatsApp. A change is only final once we have confirmed it back to you.

Groups, retreats and whole-property bookings work differently: 30% holds the dates, and we need 30 days' notice to cancel or change without a charge. One group booking takes the whole property off sale, so a late cancellation costs us the week.

The full policy, in its exact wording, is on our booking policy page. And if something has gone wrong with your trip, talk to us before you assume the answer — we would rather hear from you.

When you book a room through this website, you pay by card online at the time of booking.

At the property itself there is no card machine. For anything you add during your stay — breakfast, laundry, a transfer we arrange for you — you can pay in cash or by bank transfer. If you'd rather pay by card, just ask and we'll send you a payment link with the amount on it, which you can settle from your phone.

We hold both Costa Rican and American accounts, so a transfer is straightforward from either country.

On currency: we work in Costa Rican colones and US dollars. Paying cash? Colones always beat dollars. That holds everywhere in Nosara, not only at Naya. The money section of the Nosara guide explains why.

Most hotels that use the word mean they ask you to reuse your towel. Here is the actual list.

It starts with how the place was built. Every old-growth tree on the property was kept — the buildings were placed around them, not the other way round. That is why there is still a canopy overhead for the monkeys to move through. The infrastructure was built using rocks from the land itself.

Gray water from the property is recycled through the gardens, which is what keeps them green in a dry-forest climate.

The cleaning products are ecological and biodegradable — in fact they're homemade blends of water, vinegar, baking soda and castile soap. So is everything in your room. Shampoo, body wash, conditioner, hand soap — all biodegradable. That matters when the water leaves through a garden.

Waste is separated and recycled. Organic waste never goes into the rubbish — it goes back into the jungle floor, where the plants, insects and animals deal with it, as they have always done.

And filtered drinking water sits on the bar so guests refill their own bottles rather than buying single-use plastic.

Nosara sits in a dry tropical forest and the area is drought-prone, so we are careful with water, and we ask you to be too. This is not for show.

Two small things make a real difference: turn the air conditioning off when you leave the room, and unplug chargers you aren't using.

We also don't change sheets and towels every day as standard. We think washing bedding daily for a guest who has slept in it once is wasteful, even though most hotels do it. A full clean with fresh sheets and towels is available whenever you want it, at additional cost, just by asking. For retreats, groups and long stays it is included in the price.

The electricity is the good news, and it explains why we ask you for something different than most hotels do.

Costa Rica runs its grid almost entirely on renewable energy — 98.6% in 2025. The single biggest source, about three quarters of it, is hydro: water. So the power running the fan in your room is close to carbon-free before you do anything at all.

But follow that one step further and you arrive at the thing that actually matters here. A grid built on water is a grid that depends on rain — and Nosara sits in dry tropical forest, in a drought-prone corner of the country. The rare ecosystem that makes this place what it is, that keeps the mosquitoes down and the light the way it is, exists precisely because it is dry.

So here, water is the scarce resource, not carbon. That is why we recycle our gray water into the gardens. It is why everything that goes down a drain here is biodegradable. And it is why we don't wash your sheets every day unless you ask. And it is why turning the air conditioning off when you go out matters more than you'd think — in a country running on water, saving electricity is saving water.

Three things, and the first one is the one we repeat most.

• Nothing goes in the toilet except what your body produced. No toilet paper, no wipes, nothing. There's a bin beside every toilet for paper. See the question below. This matters.
• Turn the air conditioning off when you leave your room. Here that saves water, not only power — the question below explains why.
• Rinse the beach off at our outdoor shower before you come in. Pelada sand in the pool or the indoor showers causes real problems.

This is the single thing we find ourselves explaining most often, and it surprises almost every visitor from North America or Europe.

Septic systems across this part of the world are delicate. They are not connected to a municipal sewer that can swallow anything — they are self-contained, biological, and they break when paper and waste products go into them. A blocked system is not a minor inconvenience here; it is days of disruption, and unpleasant for everyone on the property.

So: paper goes in the bin beside the toilet, which is emptied daily. It feels wrong for about two days and then you stop noticing. You will find the same rule in restaurants, cafés and private homes across Costa Rica — it is not a Naya quirk.

The yoga shala was remade. The infrastructure has been steadily built and improved. But the honest answer is that almost none of it was one big project. It was hundreds of small details, added over years, on a shoestring budget. Together they changed the place completely. More beautiful, and more comfortable to be in.

It shows in the art that has been collected, and in the way the place is maintained by a staff who care about it.

In this environment — beach salt on one side, jungle humidity on the other — keeping a property beautiful is a preservation game. Things here do not stay nice by themselves.

Yes — children love it here, and the pool is usually the reason.

Worth knowing for parents: Playa Pelada at low tide has shallow tide pools that are wonderful for small children to float and play in, and it is a five-minute walk away.

We have a high chair. A crib we can almost always sort out, but ask us in advance rather than on arrival — it is not something we keep sitting in every room.

We want to be straight with you about this rather than have you discover it on arrival.

Naya is built into a hillside, and the property is not step-free. One path runs the full length of the property, top to bottom, and it is wide enough for a wheelchair. It is also steep. Steep enough that we would not call it safe to use on your own. Each room then has two steps up to its door.

So it is possible, but it is not independent. Our staff are happy to help — getting someone up and down that path, and in and out of a room, is not an imposition and we would rather you asked.

So: a guest with reduced mobility who can manage two steps with a hand will be fine here. A guest who needs full step-free independent access will find Naya hard work. We would rather say that now than have you book and regret it.

If this affects you, message us before booking and describe what you need. We will tell you honestly whether it will work.

Yes, pets are welcome at Naya.

For individual guests: you have kitchen access, and morning coffee is free. A cooked tico breakfast is 5,000 colones (about $11) a person, on request. Beyond that you shop and cook, or eat out. There is good food within walking distance in Pelada, and more a short drive away in Guiones.

For groups and retreats: we organize catering when you want it, so nobody in your group has to think about meals.

Our catering partner is Nectar Catering, here in Nosara. They work with each group on what everyone eats — vegan, vegetarian, Ayurvedic, gluten-free, whatever it is. Ingredients are local and organic wherever they can get them. On a retreat, food is either the best part of the day or the thing that goes wrong. This is how we make sure it is the first one.

Yes, all of it. Vegan, vegetarian, Ayurvedic, gluten-free, allergies — tell us and we handle it.

Take this seriously if you are a retreat leader. Food is the thing that quietly ruins a group's week elsewhere. Tell us the requirements when you book. They go into the plan we build with Nectar Catering here in Nosara, instead of being improvised on the day.

Naya hosts workshops and retreats built around yoga and wellness, in our open-air shala. We are the venue rather than the teacher — the practice is led by the leaders who bring their groups here.

Staying as an individual guest and want to practice? There are good studios a few minutes from here. The Nosara guide names the ones we would send a friend to.

Yes, and a wider range than most people expect. Ask us and we arrange it at the property.

What guests book most:

• Deep tissue massage
• Swedish massage
• Thai massage
• Sound healing
• Crystal energy healing sessions
• Facials
• Manicure and pedicure

Yoga is taught here rather than somewhere you have to drive to. We can arrange a class for your group, and we also offer private classes. Groups and privates are both structured around what you actually need — gentler sessions for anyone with limited mobility, or something built around a day of surfing.

If you want something that is not on that list, ask anyway. Between the practitioners we work with in Nosara, most things are possible.

Fair question, and the honest answer is not a marketing one.

What made this a Blue Zone is a simple, connected life. Physical work, time outside, people who know each other. Those are the same things that made our family build a life here. Naya exists because of that choice, not as a product positioned around it.

So the honest claim is small: we are not selling you longevity. We live this way, and a stay here lets you taste the pace of it for a week. What you do with that is yours.

Yes. Naya has hosted weddings before.

We have provided both the wedding venue and the central space for the celebration. Families and groups of friends also book the whole property for special occasions like these.

Booking the whole property means the place is yours: every room for your people, the gardens, the pool, the shala and the open-air dining area.

In the event of a wedding we are here to support you in all the ways we can — catering, event management, entertainment and the rest of it.

Tell us what you are imagining and we will tell you honestly what it takes here.

Yes, for amplified sound. Loud sound systems stop at 10pm — Naya sits in a quiet residential neighborhood.

In practice this works better than it sounds. Evening events here run 5pm to 10pm and then move into a chill-out, and that shape has worked well for the groups who have done it.

Without amplified sound there is no curfew at all. That is especially true in the shala, which faces the ocean — sound made there genuinely does not carry.

The single biggest factor we've seen, across many groups, is food. Groups want to settle in and feel looked after. Going out to eat is lovely once or twice. More than that and it turns into stress. Splitting the bill, someone with a dietary need going hungry, the group scattering. And in Nosara, eating out means cars every time — the restaurants are spread between Pelada and Guiones, on dirt roads, often in the dark.

The second biggest factor is preparation. When everyone knows what to expect, a retreat runs differently from the first hour.

That is why we don't just hand you a property. We help you hold the preparation:

• A packing and preparation list, tailored to the activities and experiences you have actually designed — not a generic one
• An arrival guide written for international travelers
• A WhatsApp group for your whole party, so everyone gets the same information and can ask questions — before and throughout the retreat

Included:

• The whole property, exclusively yours
• Staff on site 24 hours a day
• Full servicing of the rooms and grounds
• Laundry
• A packing list built around what your group is actually doing
• An arrival guide for your group
• A WhatsApp group for everyone, before and during the retreat

Quoted separately: catering, transport, activities, and anything else your group wants. We price these around what your retreat actually needs, and they go into your contract.

Tell us what you are planning and we will send you one clear quote.

Less than most people expect. Depending on what the group needs, we can take bookings very close to the date. If you're weighing up whether it's too late to ask — ask.

We'd point you at the shoulder months: April, May, June, July and August.

They are quieter than high season, the dry forest greens up after the first rains, and prices are lower. For a group that wants the place to feel like theirs, that combination is hard to beat.

Small, close-knit groups of any kind.

Naya is six stand-alone casitas around a pool, a kitchen and an open-air shala. That shape suits a group small enough to know each other by the second day. It does not suit a hundred-person conference, and we would not pretend otherwise.

Yes, and we'd rather you let us. Marguerite arranges transfers for guests and groups herself — you don't need to organize anything or vet a driver from abroad.

You'll be met by Geovanni, our driver, at the airport or wherever you need collecting.

It is the easier way to arrive. See the Nosara guide for why we often suggest skipping the airport car hire altogether.

No. Naya is open all year.

The quiet months are September, October, April, May, June and July.

Quiet is not the same as bad. Those months are sleepy, beautiful, and still full of local life — the people, plants and animals live here all year round, regardless of how many visitors are about. If your idea of a good trip involves fewer people, they are arguably the better months.

See the Nosara guide for what the weather actually does through the year.