Origins Lodge by Mantis Hotel

Costa Rica

Immersion in nature comes with open-air comfort, lagoon-fresh fish and views across Costa Rica‘s untamed mountainous terrain in this off-grid retreat.

Aland of verdant volcanoes and untamed rainforests, Costa Rica’s Upala mountains make for a lavish off-grid retreat, and Mantis Collection’s Origins Lodge captures the luxury of wild isolation. Six lodges sprawl across the 48ha estate, sporting living roofs, handcrafted canopy beds, warm wood furnishings and open-air bathrooms for immersion in nature, plus whimsical, pre-Columbian touches. Views of Lake Nicaragua are best admired from the plunge pool on your terrace – or the fire-heated Jacuzzi if you opt for the six-person Villa Vertigo, suspended over the hills.

Eco credentials prevail at restaurant El Salto, a French-Latin fusion menu overseen by Michelin-starred chef Jean-Luc L’Hourre – expect creative plates featuring fish from the lodge’s lagoons, home-reared quail and honey cultivated on site, with garden-to-glass digestifs to follow at Skyview bar. Those inspired by the menu can book cookery classes, take a Costa Rican chocolate-tasting excursion or try their hand at making sugarcane wine. And while horseback riding across the Tigra river, waterfall hikes and tapir encounters await active travellers, those seeking respite will find it in ayurvedic treatments, shell massages and yoga above the treetops.

Doubles from £991, including breakfast (2-night min). 00 506 4001 5356, originslodge.com

Words by Jas Matulewicz.

This review was taken from the 25th anniversary issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe today, click here.