The romance at Nayara Springs starts with what is missing. There are no kids, no crowds and no reason to leave your villa unless you want to, because each of the 35 villas comes with its own plunge pool filled by warm mineral water that rises from beneath the slopes of Arenal Volcano. You reach the property by walking across a long footbridge strung above the rainforest canopy. That short crossing works like a decompression chamber: by the time you reach the other side, the outside world has gone quiet.
This is the kid-free member of the Nayara family outside La Fortuna, a Relais & Châteaux property with a Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star rating and a place in Travel + Leisure's 2024 list of the world's 100 best hotels. Breakfast arrives at your villa, toucans visit in the morning and the spa treatment rooms hang over the jungle. If your idea of a honeymoon is maximum privacy with a side of adventure, this is one of Central America's most convincing answers.
Highlights at a glance
- Strictly kid-free, connected to sister resorts by a canopy footbridge
- 35 villas, each with a private mineral-spring plunge pool and outdoor shower
- In-villa breakfast and a personal host included
- Open-air spa pavilions suspended over the rainforest
- Relais & Châteaux member with a Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star rating
- Named to Travel + Leisure's 2024 list of the world's top 100 hotels
Across the Bridge
Nayara Springs sits on a lush hillside a few miles west of La Fortuna, sharing a ridge with its family-friendly sister Nayara Gardens and the safari-style Nayara Tented Camp just above. The footbridge connecting Springs to the rest of the Nayara world is the key to its character. On one side, families splash in pools; on the other, it is only couples, birdsong and the hiss of warm water.
The gardens are dense and deliberately overgrown, so villas feel tucked into the forest rather than lined up along a path. On clear days, Arenal's cone rises over the treetops. La Fortuna Waterfall is a short drive away. The entrance to the national park, with its lava-field trails, is not much farther.
Villas Made for Two
Each villa runs to roughly 1,500 square feet and is designed around a private garden that holds your plunge pool, an outdoor shower and a wooden terrace with a daybed and hammock. Inside, expect a four-poster bed with crisp cotton linens, carved wood furnishings, an oversized bathroom with dual rain showers and both indoor and outdoor sitting areas.
The octagonal Rainforest Villas are a particular favorite with honeymooners, with a cozy, enveloping layout and dense greenery all around. A generous list of extras is included: in-room breakfast each morning, a personal host who handles reservations and requests, a stocked minibar with snacks and soft drinks, daily yoga and laundry. It all adds up to a stay where you rarely need to reach for a wallet.
Where to Eat and Drink
Springs has a small but well-chosen lineup of its own. You can also cross the bridge to dine across the Nayara resorts.
- Amor Loco serves a light lunch and a Latin American–inspired dinner, with live music and a buzzy bar in the evenings. It is the natural pick for a celebration night.
- Mis Amores is an alfresco Mediterranean spot with a wood-fired oven, a fire pit and volcano views; think pizza, pasta and flame-grilled dishes.
- Nostalgia is a wine bar with a partly self-pour system, handy for tasting your way through a few bottles before dinner.
- The pool bar, reachable on foot or by swimming, handles juices, smoothies, fish tacos and cocktails.
Breakfast in your villa, served beside the plunge pool, is the ritual most couples remember.
Why guests fall for it
Spa Pavilions Over the Jungle
The spa is one of the property's quiet stars. Treatment rooms are open-air pavilions cantilevered over the rainforest, each with its own small pool, so a couples massage comes with a soundtrack of cicadas and rustling leaves. The most requested treatment is the volcanic mud massage, which uses mineral-rich clay from the region; chocolate-clay wraps are another local signature.
There is also a steam room and sauna, plus a well-equipped gym with volcano views for anyone who wants to work off the pizza. Complimentary yoga is offered every morning in a pavilion surrounded by greenery. Early risers can join guided bird-watching walks to look for toucans, motmots and parrots in the treetops.
Beyond the Villa
Arenal is Costa Rica's adventure capital and the resort's concierge team can arrange nearly everything. Popular outings include hiking the national park's old lava fields, swimming beneath La Fortuna Waterfall, crossing the Arenal hanging bridges and zip-lining above the canopy.
For something slower, birders can spend a morning at the Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge, a wetland famous for waterbirds and caimans. Anglers can cast for guapote, or rainbow bass, on Lake Arenal, the country's largest lake. A sunset drive along the lakeshore is lovely too. And when you return, there is your warm pool waiting, which may be the best argument for an active day.
What Guests Rave About
Reviewers return again and again to the same pleasures. Privacy tops the list: couples love that the villas feel completely secluded, with the plunge pool and outdoor shower hidden by greenery. The rooms and beds earn consistent praise for comfort. The in-villa breakfast is described as a daily highlight.
Service is another recurring theme. With a staff-to-guest ratio often cited at about three to one, guests describe a team that remembers names and preferences and handles plans before you think to ask. The pools, the food at Amor Loco and Mis Amores and the overall atmosphere, relaxed but polished, all come in for warm praise. Many honeymooners say they planned day trips and then happily canceled them to stay put.
Good to Know
Nayara Springs is strictly kid-free, so it is ideal for honeymooners who want a calm, grown-up atmosphere throughout. Rates sit in the luxury range and vary considerably by season, but the generous inclusions, from breakfast to minibar snacks, add real value.
Plan for rain. Arenal is a rainforest. Even the drier months from about December through April see showers, while the May-to-November green season brings regular afternoon downpours. Early mornings usually offer the clearest volcano views. If you're pregnant or hoping to be soon, check CDC travel health notices for Costa Rica, since mosquito-borne illnesses occur here.
The resort is about three hours by road from either international airport. Liberia (LIR) is often slightly quicker and pairs neatly with a beach stay in Guanacaste afterward.
Insider tips
- Ask about the octagonal Rainforest Villas, which many couples find especially cozy and private.
- Book Amor Loco for a night with live music and save Mis Amores for a pizza dinner by the fire pit.
- Go to morning yoga or a sunrise bird walk; the best volcano views and toucan sightings happen early.
- If you fly into Liberia, add a few beach nights in Guanacaste on the way home.
