We love the word green when it’s used to describe the jungle around Anamaya. When it’s used to describe a hotel, we think it deserves a little more explanation.
Anamaya Resort is a yoga and wellness retreat in Montezuma, on the southern tip of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula. We’re surrounded by forest, ocean views, beautiful birds and the sounds of howler monkeys. Living among all that life has shaped the way we build, buy, cook, garden and care for the animals that share this hillside with us.
Our approach to sustainability is practical and personal. We cook with fresh, whole ingredients, choose eco-friendly materials and products wherever they’re a good fit, and hire locally whenever possible. Some of our most meaningful steps are very specific. One involved protecting monkeys from electrical equipment. Another involved sharing our list of preferred eco-friendly suppliers so that other hotels could use it too.
The story begins with a home.
Our approach, in brief
- We began as founder Geoff McCabe’s personal home, designed around the hillside, light and breezes.
- Our kitchen is completely gluten-free and dairy-free, built around fresh, whole ingredients.
- We select more environmentally considerate building and household products when possible.
- We hire locally whenever we can.
- We installed protective covers to help keep monkeys and other tree-dwelling animals safe from electrical equipment.
- We share information about sustainable suppliers and wildlife protection with others.
- Guests walk to the Montezuma waterfalls on our own private path, through the forest we protect.
Before Anamaya Was a Retreat, It Was Our Home
There’s a reason Anamaya doesn’t feel like a hotel someone designed from a standard plan. It wasn’t built to be a hotel in the first place.
Founder Geoff McCabe discovered Montezuma in 2004 and fell in love with a hillside overlooking the Pacific. He and his then-wife Karen dreamed of building a home inspired by travels through Asia, especially Bali. They first lived in a smaller house on the property, studying how the breeze moved and where the light fell throughout the seasons before designing their larger home.
The main building drew on several influences, from Balinese temples to the openness of an old barn. Geoff designed it personally, working with an experienced local builder, and they selected many furnishings and details to suit the space. Custom furniture made from reclaimed teak was part of the original design. The result wasn’t supposed to look like anything else. It was meant to feel beautiful, welcoming and deeply connected to its extraordinary location.
When friends began visiting, the house became a natural gathering place. There were dinners, music, performers, artists and long evenings around the table. Eventually the idea emerged: what if this place could welcome people for yoga, friendship, good food and a meaningful week away? The retreat business began in 2009 and grew from that home into Anamaya.
Geoff tells the story in his own words in History and Vision of Anamaya. For us, this origin matters just as much as the buildings themselves. It shaped the atmosphere we wanted to keep as the retreat grew: personal, imaginative, open-hearted and respectful of the place that made it possible.
Protecting Monkeys: One Small Change with a Big Meaning
Our most memorable wildlife-protection project began with something heartbreaking. A monkey was electrocuted on the property’s electrical transformer. Anyone who lives around Montezuma knows how often monkeys travel through the trees and how easily they can come into contact with exposed electrical equipment.
We didn’t want it to happen again. Anamaya arranged for protective transformer covers designed to reduce the risk to monkeys and other climbing animals, including kinkajous. Geoff also documented what we’d learned so that neighbors could understand the problem and approach the local electricity provider about installing similar protection.
It addressed a very real hazard at our own property and offered a useful example for others to follow. Geoff’s original account of protecting monkeys from electrocution includes the background and practical guidance he shared.
It’s a story we still care about because the wildlife isn’t an optional attraction to be added to a tour. It’s part of the neighborhood. Howler monkeys are almost guaranteed to be heard during a week’s stay, usually in the mornings and evenings. White-faced capuchins also move through the area. We share the surrounding trees with birds, reptiles, coatis and many other animals.
The daily reward for living with wildlife is wonderful, and the responsibility comes with it. We encourage guests to watch animals from a respectful distance, never feed them and let them move through their own habitat in peace. Our Montezuma monkey guide explains the local species and how best to enjoy encounters with them.
Building with More Care and Less Unnecessary Chemistry
Geoff’s interests in construction have always extended beyond architecture that merely looks beautiful. He cares about how materials feel to live with, how air moves through a space and how a building can work with its surroundings rather than against them.
At Anamaya, the rooms were designed with attention to natural airflow, comfortable interiors and materials chosen with an eye to off-gassing and irritants. Those choices matter in a tropical environment where heat, humidity and ventilation shape everyday comfort.
We make eco-friendlier material choices wherever they make sense, balancing cost, durability, availability and climate. A material that looks wonderful in a magazine may not hold up on a hillside exposed to tropical rain. A beautiful product also needs to last, be maintainable and do its job well.
That’s why we’d rather describe the choices we actually make than cover our accommodations in the label natural. The building’s character, ventilation and careful selection of materials all contribute to the experience.
The architecture is part of what guests enjoy most. You can see it in the relationship between the home, the landscape and the open-air yoga spaces. Visit our accommodations to see the different rooms and the places where those design ideas come together.
Food That Feels Good, with Ingredients Chosen Carefully
Food is one of the great pleasures of a week at Anamaya. Guests gather around the table, discover dishes they want to make at home and often find themselves talking about breakfast long after they’ve returned from Costa Rica.
Our kitchen is 100% gluten-free and dairy-free. That’s an important feature for guests who need to avoid those ingredients and for people who just enjoy exploring a fresh, creative style of cooking. We cook with local produce and other ingredients from the region wherever it suits the menu.
We love the idea of food being part of the landscape. Costa Rica offers a delicious variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs and other ingredients, and the kitchen makes the most of what’s in season. Fresh meals become one of the most enjoyable parts of the retreat because the atmosphere is relaxed, the table is shared and nobody feels like they’re attending a nutrition lecture.
A completely gluten-free and dairy-free kitchen also means the menu is designed from the start around those needs rather than treating them as afterthoughts. You can learn more in our gluten-free resort guide and the broader gluten-free Costa Rica travel guide.
Sharing Eco-Friendly Suppliers Instead of Keeping Them Secret
Small, everyday purchases add up. A hotel needs cleaning products, bathroom supplies and all sorts of practical items that guests may hardly notice. We choose eco-friendly alternatives where they work well and are reasonably available.
We’ve also shared information about those choices. Our guide to sustainable products for hotels includes examples of environmentally considerate bathroom and cleaning supplies. The purpose is straightforward: if another hotel can find a better product because we shared something useful, we’d rather that happen than keep the information to ourselves.
It’s easy to talk about sweeping global initiatives. But a small business makes choices every week about what to purchase, whom to buy from and how often something needs replacing. Better decisions in those ordinary moments are a meaningful part of progress.
Availability changes in Costa Rica, too. A product that works beautifully may be hard to get consistently; another may turn out to be less durable than expected. So we keep looking, testing and swapping in better options as we find them.
Local Employment and a Stronger Community
A retreat doesn’t exist separately from the town where it’s based. Our guests meet the people who cook, care for the rooms, welcome arrivals, coordinate transport, lead activities and keep everything running. Those personal connections become part of the experience just as surely as a view or a yoga class.
We make local hiring a priority whenever possible. The knowledge and relationships of people who live in the Montezuma and Cóbano area matter enormously, and we value being part of the local economy rather than operating as an isolated destination.
Local knowledge is especially valuable when the day involves weather, wildlife or visiting a natural place. People who know the roads, the seasons and the community can offer guidance that no generic travel itinerary can match. Supporting local guides and businesses also helps guests experience more of the region beyond the retreat.
That’s one reason we encourage visitors to explore the town, local beaches and nearby natural areas. Our Montezuma travel guide and nature day trips guide offer ideas for spending time in the area and getting to know it a little better.
Rancho Delicioso and Geoff’s Passion for Ecological Living
Geoff’s fascination with creating better places to live didn’t end when Anamaya opened. He also founded Rancho Delicioso, an eco-village near Montezuma whose history includes experiments and projects in green building, food growing, community and more conscious ways of living.
The connection between the two places is personal. Anamaya began as Geoff’s home and grew into a retreat where visitors experience Costa Rica’s natural beauty. Rancho Delicioso reflects his continuing interest in how people can live in closer relationship with the land and with one another. That curiosity has shaped many conversations and ideas over the years.
Not every Anamaya guest arrives passionate about ecological construction. Some just want to practice yoga, eat wonderful food and hear the ocean from their room. But guests who are curious about the story behind the retreat often enjoy knowing that its founder has spent years thinking, building and experimenting with these ideas in real life.
Our history of Anamaya gives a wonderful sense of that original creative spirit. The best parts of the story are the decisions people made, the places they built and the community that grew around them.
The Beauty We Get to Share Every Day
The greatest privilege of this location is that the natural world comes so close. From Anamaya’s hillside, the Pacific opens in one direction while the river gorge and surrounding forest create an entirely different landscape in another.
A great guanacaste tree stands on the property. Collared aracaris sometimes arrive in lively little groups, green parrots and parakeets visit trees they like, and birds of prey use the high branches as lookout points. A quiet guest may notice a motmot or hear chachalacas announcing the morning. Our birdwatching guide shares many of those encounters.
The Montezuma waterfalls are right next door, and our guests reach them on Anamaya’s own private path. In green season, when rain feeds the river, the falls become especially dramatic. In drier months, sunny weather and clear pools make for a different kind of day. Our wildlife field guide explains which animals you’re most likely to encounter in these changing habitats.
We love sharing that sense of place because it encourages people to care. When you’ve heard the monkeys each morning for a week, protecting them no longer sounds like someone else’s responsibility. When you’ve watched a bird return to the same tree, that tree begins to feel like a neighbor.
What Responsible Travel Looks Like for Our Guests
The easiest way to travel well is to pay attention to the place you’re visiting. Keep food away from monkeys and coatis. Give wild animals space. Ask locals about river and ocean conditions. Stay on natural trails and bring litter back with you. Choose guides and operators who treat people and wildlife well.
There’s another kind of responsibility too: leaving room to enjoy the place rather than racing through it. A week in Montezuma isn’t improved by filling every hour. Enjoy an early yoga class, have breakfast, watch the forest, explore the coast when you feel like it. A little curiosity and respect will take you a long way.
National Geographic included Anamaya in its Best of the World 2026 wellness experiences, recognizing the special relationship between the setting and the retreat experience, and Travel + Leisure named us among its Top 5 Can’t-Miss yoga retreats. We’re proud of that recognition because we love the place we’ve built, and we love being able to share it.
If you’re curious about staying with us, the eco lodge yoga retreat guide offers a full introduction, and our upcoming retreats show how you can make a week here your own.
