On my last trip to Costa Rica, I had the pleasure of staying at Guayabo Lodge. One of the best eco-lodges/bed and breakfast hotels in Costa Rica, Guayabo Lodge is located near the small village of Santa Cruz about ½ hour from the city of Turrialba and 90 minutes from San José. Surrounded by pastures of a dairy farm, the lodge is perched on the slopes of the Turrialba Volcano about 1500 meters above sea level. Nearby is Guayabo National Monument, Costa Rica’s most important archaeological site.

With 25 guestrooms, Guayabo Lodge is the largest hotel in the Turrialba area. From the outside, the lodge looks a lot smaller than that. All the rooms are simply but tastefully decorated with paintings or watercolor prints from Costa Rica. With views of either the surrounding countryside, pasturelands or of Turrialba Volcano, most of the rooms are relatively large and airy - no two rooms are exactly alike.

The owners, Don Pedro Ferreira and his wife Rossana, are distinguished academicians and educators. They come from totally different backgrounds - Don Pedro, a native of Uruguay, has a PHD in Statistics, while Rossana is Dutch and is a Cultural Anthropologist, having received her doctorate in her native Holland. They met by chance in the late 1980’s while both were professors at nearby CATIE, the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center located in nearby Turrialba. During their many years at CATIE, they developed a strong environmental ethos and an appreciation of natural history. After leaving CATIE, they seamlessly have made the transition from educators to small hoteliers. Their environmental ethos is reflected in their hotel management style - they’ve installed solar panels as an alternative energy source, compost waste food, recycle whenever possible and are active in promoting conservation and environmentally friendly practices in the community.

Rosanna has quite a passion for cooking, as evidenced in the tasty haute cuisine meals that are prepared by her staff. She also has quite an aptitude for home décor and design – sprinkled throughout the lodge are the many paintings, arts and crafts that Don Pedro has collected during his many years of travel throughout the Americas and Caribbean. The ambiance at the lodge is indeed quite cheery and tropical. When I was there, they were in the process of expanding the outdoor gardens. In addition, Rossana has plans to enlarge the kitchen to accommodate her hotel guests and visitors as well as opening up a cooking school onsite. What about Don Pedro? I found him to be an especially amiable host, and I enjoyed hearing his many travel stories.