Cubicle Dreamin':
Getting The Monkey Off Your Back at Rancho Pacifico in Costa Rica
Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1 Rancho Pacifico Road, Palmar, Costa Rica

7/26/2007 at 11:55 AM
Tags: Cubicle Dreamin'

Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out
of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could
beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving companies dime, of
course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway--at least now their
purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a
destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way.

In this episode, Hotel Maven barbarab fantasizes about a Costa Rican escape. Enjoy.

I know exactly how I would get to Rancho Pacifico. I would fly into San Jose, then hire a
driver to get to the coast. I'd ask him to take the old highway, through coffee country.
I'd marvel at the views. At the first sign of the mighty Pacific, I'd sigh at the prospect of
imminent sanctuary.

But not so imminent. There's a ways to go before we reach Rancho Pacifico, a small
luxury hotel set atop a jungle mountain just north of Osa Peninsula, one of the least
developed swatches of coastal Costa Rica. Apparently, the final leg of the journey, up
the aforementioned mountain on a primitive road, is arduous. Past guests report it's
worth every dip and swerve.

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Once there, I'd collapse into isolation. If the hotel were full, I would be one of 24 lucky
souls staying in three villas, three lodge suites, two spa suites and, this sounds
intriguing, one honeymoon tree-house. I might have booked a current special, the
alone-time getaway, 15% off the spa rate for single guests, for seven days; it runs
through November 15. From my room, most likely one of the two spa suites, I'd suss
out the views, ocean and jungle according the hotel's website. I'd listen for the howler
monkeys, relieved to have the monkey of everyday life off my back.

Ravenous, I'd scour Spa Tranquila's menu and order up a storm. Multiple massages,
jumgle scrubs, rainforest wraps, yoga sessions. Per SpaFinder:

  The Spa Tranquila Signature Ritual combines a purifying soak in a flower-filled tub, a
Coconut Body Glow with fresh coconut oil, hot stone massage, and a Fresh Papaya
Body Polish that involves more than two pounds of local, organic papaya.

Just reading that, my chakras feel better already.

I might not venture off the premises for days. Some guests report they never do. I'd
seek out Silvia Jimenez-Krause, the hotel's director, a retired M.D. and, love this,
former Miss Costa Rica. (Beauty pageants are one of those things that, totally uncool
at home, become perfectly charming in the context of foreign travel.) She and her
husband, Garrison Krause, a former NPR producer, opened Rancho Pacifico in late
2004.

Dr. Jimenez-Krause's is an Ear, Nose, Throat specialist, handy if you contract
swimmer's ear, to which I am prone, in one of the hotel's four pools. Three are private,
in the villas. Being an ENT is practical too, since Rancho Pacifico offers BOTOX® and
Restylane injections.

I'd appreciate the child-free policy: no children under 14, except July and August, when
the restriction drops to age 10. I've got one of my own, but sometimes you just need a
break.

Not one to stay put for too long, I'd eventually get itchy to explore the area. Here,
there's plenty to do, mainly day trips that involve taking a car down the mountain:
Fishing, swimming, hiking, donkey-riding, rafting. No, no dearth there.

The reviews on TripAdvisor for Rancho Pacifico are impressively uniform. Out of 30, all
but two are five stars. Guests rave about the food, the service, the design, the views.
One woman wrote she felt as though the resort was floating in the cloud forest.

Overall, the scale weighs heavily in favor of the positive reviews. A Forbes writeup
gave the resort a thumbs-up as well. Oh, there's a blurb from Sheryl Crowe on the
hotel's website. She writes, "My dreams were intense and fiery--not to be easily
forgotten." All the more to get there, A.S.A.P. Only the phone's ringing. Back to the
grind.