After a little hiatus for Spring Break we’re back! We are also feeling more refreshed than ever since we spent the last 5 days of Spring Break at the luxurious, ultra-pampering Hacienda Alta Gracia. Hacienda Alta Gracia is an Auberge Resort in the foothills of the Talamanca Mountains in the southern part of San Jose province in Costa Rica. This was our first time in Costa Rica and we were blown away by the country’s natural beauty, the hospitality of the locals, the freshness of the food and especially by the attention to detail at the Hacienda Alta Gracia.

Pre-Arrival Experience

Our Costa Rican escape started well before we ever boarded a plane. Shortly after we booked our stay we were contacted by our “Itinerary Designer” Melissa who helped us design a program for our 5-day stay. We decided to do the full WELL immersion experience, which was a lot of pampering and treatments at the resort's stunning spa (more on THE WELL in a bit). While we loved the experience, it’s certainly not necessary to purchase the immersion in order to have an incredible experience at Hacienda Alta Gracia and in fact, doing so may not leave you enough time to partake in some of the amazing adventure experiences that are also available. For our next trip (and yes, there will definitely be a next time!) we plan to have a bit more balance between time at THE WELL and local hikes and excursions.

The Hacienda Alta Gracia team goes to great lengths to ensure you have the best experience while you are there, so definitely take the time to plan things through with the itinerary designer and take advantage of the complimentary wellness consult also available. One tip on that–ask for Lauren (@bluehandhealer) as your wellness consultant. She is also one of the yoga, breath work and barre instructors and is incredibly knowledgeable.

Arrival

From the moment we flew into San Jose airport, the care and pampering of Hacienda Alta Gracia began. We stepped off the plane and were greeted by a friendly local who whisked us off to a private waiting room. We didn’t need to clear customs at the main airport–everything was done seamlessly while we waited for the charter flight which would take us directly to the resort. Although we only had carry-on bags, if we had checked bags, they would have collected those as well, making this one of the easiest airport transitions you can imagine. After a short wait in the private waiting room where we were joined by a couple other guests, our guide came to get us and walked us to a colorful Kodiak which would fly us the 30 minutes to the resort.

After a short, scenic flight we touched down at the resort’s own runway and our “Compa”, a personal concierge assigned to us for our entire stay, was waiting to greet us with necklaces and a warm smile. We hopped into the back of an open air Jeep and were on our way to the heart of Alta Gracia.

Casitas

Hacienda Alta Gracia has 50 casitas across its 150 lush acres. 42 of them are single bedrooms, while 8 have 2 bedrooms. We had a gorgeous one bedroom casita with stunning views of the San Isidro Valley. The immaculately appointed casita was large with a generous bedroom, living room and two bathrooms. The outdoor patio though, was our favorite part, with a swing bed, perfect for morning meditation (me) and afternoon reading (Jenna), a perfect little breakfast table and a stone hot tub which our Compa set to our requested temperature. Although there is so much to see and do at Hacienda Alta Gracia, you could also be perfectly happy in your casita, ordering the included room service to your heart’s content.

The Resort

The resort is picturesque and includes THE WELL which is where we went for treatments and to use the gym, as well as 2 pools (one for adults only), 4 restaurants and the Mercado, a little coffee shop which I looked forward to visiting each morning to get my amazing Costa Rican coffee. There are also horse stables, a butterfly sanctuary, an herb garden, hiking trails, a coffee farm, gift shop with local wares and more. Although we worked out daily, a lot of our exercise came just from strolling the grounds. Of course, if you don’t want to walk or get caught in some rainfall, there are plenty of golf carts to whisk you around.

THE WELL

At Hacienda Alta Gracia you will find one of the 5 outposts of THE WELL, an integrative wellness space that was started in 2019 in New York City. While New York might be the original location of THE WELL, the Costa Rican location might be the grandest. Walking into THE WELL you immediately see the Casa de Agua, or “water house”--a stunning pool room filled with natural light and greenery. Inside the Casa de Agua guests can cover themselves with customized natural clay treatments and relax on heated marble slabs while the clay dries. In addition to the Casa de Agua, THE WELL boasts beautiful treatment rooms, male and female saunas and steam rooms as well as a “Recovery Room” where guests can experiment with self-guided therapies like Lymph Boots and Celluma light therapy. Healthy snacks and herbal teas are also available and part of the all-inclusive package.

As we did “THE WELL immersion”, we had the opportunity to try quite a few of the treatments including Maderoterapia, a lymphatic drainage massage using wooden tools, Crainiosacral Therapy which is supposed to relieve energy blockages, and a super luxurious facial. Our favorite treatments, however, were the River Bath and Hierbas Y Flores.

The River Bath was a magical experience, and if you are going to do one treatment at THE WELL this should be it. Our guide took us in a golf cart down a trail to a beautiful river surrounded by rainforest. We were greeted by two attendants. The first was a practitioner that worked with auras and performed an aura cleansing for both of us–a unique experience in and of itself. After that we were given coffee scrubs which we rubbed into our bodies before immersing ourselves in the cool river water. From there we walked up natural stone steps to a hot tub which was heated by a wood-fired cauldron. We alternated between cold plunging in the river followed by heat therapy in the hot tub several times. Half way through our treatment we were served the most amazing hot cacao with almond milk.

The other treatment that stands out for both of us was the Hierbas y Flores. For this 90 minute treatment we were completely covered in a natural clay and then coated in herbs and flowers. After a thorough rinse I received one of the best deep tissue massages of my life.

Programming

In addition to the treatments at THE WELL, there are a lot of activities included in the Hacienda Alt Gracia’s all-inclusive package. These activities include yoga, breathwork, meditation, interval training, pilates, barre, coffee tastings, honey making classes and more. Other activities require an additional fee, but are well worth it, including hikes to stunning waterfalls, horseback riding and mixology classes. You can choose to make your stay at the Hacienda Alta Gracia as active or relaxing as you want. There are also a number of kids activities if you choose to take little ones with you (we hear the farm visit was incredible).

Food

All the food, except for one optional weekly dinner in the Herb Garden (El Cutivo) is included with your stay. The food was fresh and healthy and unlike any “all-inclusive” we had ever experienced. The dining team is extremely accommodating and many of the regular menu items are gluten and dairy free with lots of options for vegetarians, vegans, and pescatarians. Alcoholic beverages are available for an additional cost. One night a week there is dinner at the horse stables where guests all sit family style and get to know each other and are also treated to a traditional Costa Rican Horse show.

Overall our stay at the Hacienda Alta Gracia was exceptional and exceeded our expectations. We know we’ll be back and hope to explore even more of Costa Rica next time!

Wellness Meets Luxury at Hacienda Alta Gracia