I liked Nayara a lot. A beautiful property, with incredibly warm and friendly staff. I was very impressed by the size and styling of the casitas too. I also think it offered great value for money compared to other properties we stayed at in CR.

We were a family with teenage kids. These were the things worth knowing:

- Children can dine at almost all the restaurants, including those in the adults only 'Springs'. I actually thought Mis Amores was the best dining option (which is at Springs). Overall the food and ambiance was great, and the inclusive DB&B rates include 3 courses off the whole menu at any one of the restaurants. Excellent.
- The resort is shrouded in very dense vegetation. It's attractive, but we had very bad weather and the overall effect was a bit gloomy and almost oppressive. You can't see more than 30m in any direction at any point on the property. When there's blue sky, perhaps it feels different. However, it's not ideal in the rain.
- The resort is on a very steep hillside. You can get buggies everywhere, but that adds to the feeling of the place being quite 'dense'.
- Casitas are well separated. Nice, but it does mean that families will be quite far apart if they have separate rooms for adults and kids (as we did).
- The pools at Nayara gardens in very small, and centred around a bar. Didn't feel at all like a pool for families.

So Nayara was great, but La Fortuna wasn't a hit for me. Weather was a factor (we didn't even see the volcano at any point in our 48 hour stay), but it feels very much like a resort town without a huge amount of beauty at 'street level'. You have hotels, and you have 'attractions' and you go from one to the other. It's going to take 5 hours to get in and out from either San Jose or Liberia. That's most of a day travelling, because I wouldn't want to be driving the roads at night.

We stayed at this hotel for 3 nights and loved it. The room looking out onto the rain forest was fantastic. Spacious and comfortable big bed. Breakfast was delicious- so much choice - best we had in Costa Rica. We booked the Frog Watching tour one evening which was brilliant. We did the armadillo trail - didn’t see any armadillos but the plants were beautiful. Also didn’t see any sloths while we were there. My only gripe would be that the WiFi was awful- so so much worse than anywhere else we have stayed. But all in all an absolutely lovely hotel with the wow factor- would definitely recommend.

Nayara Springs is an intoxicating, beautiful dream you don't want to wake up from. This adorable resort is nestled in the heart of the rainforest. Your mouth will drop and you will instantly turn into the heart shaped eyes emoji the moment you arrive to check in.
You will be greeted by the nicest, most genuine staff. Not the staff that is like "This is my job and I have to be nice to you." But the staff that authentically welcomes you to their home, their country and truly values and encompasses what hospitality should be like. We were greeted by Manrique and trust me when I say you will want to put him in a little box and put him in your pocket to cheer you up on a rainy day. He is so incredibly kind. We stayed at Nayara for our honeymoon and Manrique upgraded our room to a Villa!! What a pleasant, unexpected surprise!They took us on a tour via golf cart of their manicured property and my soul leapt with admiration. The groundskeeper must be a wizard because I have no idea how he maintains the integrity of Nayara. Whomever he is, keep him!! Ha.
Our Villa was pristine! So clean and spacious. We had a plunge pool which is an all natural, warm mineral fed pool, no chlorine! The bed was so comfortable we could of slept in it all day if it wasn't for the Costa Rican alarm clock (howler monkeys) bellowing at 530am. We didn't mind, we thought it was quite magical.
The food at Nayara is delicious! They have many Costa Rican dishes as well as American style cuisines for sensitive tummies, so fear not. My husband ate lamb, chicken and filet, while I dined on as many seafood entree's as they would serve me. Very fresh.
Do not miss the morning breakfast buffet, this is not your average buffet!! The scenery is beautiful and the variety of food and fresh fruits will have you longing for it the next day.
The coffee....oh my gosh, the coffee. Incredible! We bought two packages and I know we will be purchasing more!
Our favorite dinner spot was Amor Loco. Delicious dinner with amazing ambiance and a live acoustic guitarist. Heaven.
Although Nayara is a 5 Star boutique hotel, it was pretty casual as far as attire goes. I wore long sundresses with flat sandals in the evening for most dinners. So, don't feel pressured to grab your heels. The property is quite hilly, if I were wearing heels there is no doubt I would of had to remove them to walk around barefoot instead.
You can easily call for a golf cart to shuttle you around. That's the easiest way getting to and from restaurants. The property is somewhat of a maze with narrow paths and lots of places to turn, we got lost trying to find our villa one day.
Trust me when I say you will want to stay longer than 2nights. That's all we had and I literally cried when we had to leave to go to an all inclusive resort along the coast.
You need a minimum of 4 nights here. You will want to enjoy your Villa, the food, the staff and the rainforest.

Staying at Nayara was a soul enriching experience. It's unlike anywhere I've ever seen. We were fortunate enough to meet the owners of Nayara during our stay and they are the sweetest, most down to earth couple who invest their time at their property, they invest in their staff, and are indredibly humble. One morning at breakfast they greeted every table, not as the owners, but as people who work for the hotel. They asked us, "How can we improve our hotel?" "How did you hear about us?" "Is there anything we can do to enhance your visit?" Fantastic ownership!! And it shows in your staff, they all love being there. We know, because we asked.
This is a property that's worth your time, your money, and all your special occasions!!! Do not hesitate to book your stay, we are already talking about when we can come back to this captivating resort!

Thank you Nayara Springs for hosting us on our fairytale
honeymoon. You have nourished our souls. We will see you again!

April Marsack