If you’re looking to splurge for your Costa Rica vacation, then you must check out the Peace Lodge, Costa Rica. This small lodge is only a one hour drive from San Jose, the capital city, yet ensconced in the pristine tropical rainforest, truly living up to its name.
The Peace Lodge’s intimate atmosphere and cozy rooms also make it a great place to stay for a Costa Rica honeymoon. It also has an on-site nature park called La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park with an animal sanctuary and 5 waterfalls, making it one of the best places to visit Costa Rica, especially for families.
Read our review of the Peace Lodge to see what we thought! This review was originally published in 2018.
Peace Lodge, Costa Rica Location
The Peace Lodge is in the small town of Vara Blanca in the Heredia Province. Peace Lodge is a 30 minute drive to Poas Volcano National Park.
From the San Jose International Airport, the Peace Lodge is 35 kilometers (22 miles) and is about a 1 hour drive.
How to Get to the Peace Lodge, Costa Rica
Driving
If you rent a car, a 4×4 is not required to get to the Peace Lodge. Although the route is on a fully paved road, it is quite steep and curvy so be extremely careful when driving if it’s raining. Also try not to ride your brakes too much, since the road is steep, you can burn your brakes if you’re riding them very hard.
Our tip: If you are a group of 3-4 with lots of luggage, we recommend an SUV. Even though you can get there in a sedan, a SUV has a stronger engine and also more space for luggage. Sedan car rentals in Costa Rica don’t have the strongest engine and might have trouble going up the hills if your car is very heavily loaded.
You can easily find the Peace Lodge on Waze and Google Maps to use as navigation.
Private Shuttles
If you decide not to rent a car, the next best option is to book a private shuttle. There are no public buses no shared shuttles that go directly to the lodge. The best option is a private shuttle.
A private shuttle from San Jose International Airport to Peace Lodge is around $104 USD for 1-8 people. The driver will wait for you directly at the airport exit terminal and take you to the lodge, with one stop included along the way. Contact us if you’d like to book your private shuttle to the Peace Lodge!
Uber
Another option is to call for an Uber from SJO Airport or San Jose. There are a ton of Ubers in San Jose that can take you to Peace Lodge. But depending on time of day, this may be very expensive due to surge pricing or drivers may reject it.
The Peace Lodge Property
First of all, the Peace Lodge is one of the most beautiful boutique hotels in Costa Rica, surrounded by nature and lush jungle. The Peace Lodge only has a handful of rooms, all with splendid views of the tropical rainforest.
One of the highlights of staying at the Peace Lodge in Costa Rica is that on the same property is the La Paz Waterfall Gardens. This nature park is home to 5 enchanting waterfalls, rainforest walking trails, a restaurant and an animal sanctuary. Guests staying at the Peace Lodge get free access to La Paz Waterfall Gardens anytime during their stay.
If you are not a guest of Peace Lodge and want to visit the waterfall garden park, no problem! La Paz Waterfall Gardens is open to the public. Get a discount off park tickets here!
Right below the rooms is the animal sanctuary and there is direct access from the rooms to the nature park.
Food
The Peace Lodge has 6 different restaurants. We tried all of them and they were all excellent. We especially loved the Big Trout cafe, I had a fantastic fish sandwich and salad. They even have a trout pond so you can fish for your trout if you want!
The breakfast buffet is equally as good with plenty of freshly cooked plantains, gallo pinto, pastries and fresh fruit.
The Rooms
All the rooms are extremely nice with a fireplace, outdoor Jacuzzi and balcony but there are a few differences between the standard and deluxe. The standard guest room is 60 meters squared (200 sq feet) and the deluxe is 74 meters squared (242 feet) so the bathroom is bigger with another Jacuzzi.
We absolutely loved the fireplace and hard wood floors. It made us feel like we were staying at a cabin during a winter vacation. It got cold at night (around 50s F or 10 C) when we were there (June) and rained every night so we curled up in front of the fireplace with a nice cup of tea.
And when we felt like we needed more relaxation, we jumped in the outdoor Jacuzzi!
This bathroom was so big that I was able to do yoga and Zumba in there. It had a fun jungle based decoration and the bathtub and waterfall with real tropical plants was a sweet touch.
All the balconies have hummingbird feeders so every morning we saw the pretty birds zoom around. It was so relaxing to have a hot cup of coffee while looking at the view too!
They also have two large villas: Monarch and Villa Lago which fit large groups or families as they have all the comforts of home.
La Paz Waterfall Gardens
The privately owned 70 acre (28 hectares) La Paz waterfall gardens park is open to the public and offers a wonderful introduction to Costa Rica. Their animal sanctuary provides an educational and fun experience for people to learn about conservation and native animals of Costa Rica.
All the animals in their property were given by the MINAE, which is the Costa Rica Ministry of Environment and Energy as they cannot be released back into the wild. Many of them have permanent injuries or they were kept as pets so they can’t survive in the wild on their own.
They have a nice aviary with toucans and other birds, Scarlet Macaws, monkeys, jaguars, snakes, and many other animals.
Get a discount off La Paz park tickets here!
The waterfalls
There are 5 waterfalls in the park: Templo, Magia Blanca, Encantada, Escondida and La Paz. The trails are all well built and very sturdy with hand rails. However, there are a lot of steps so we don’t recommend it for anyone with mobility issues that cannot walk up and down many steps. Unfortunately there is no handicap or universal access trail.
The trail goes through a lush rainforest with many different viewpoints.
When we stayed two nights at the Peace Lodge, we visited the park twice. The waterfalls were so beautiful we wanted to see them again! It is also very nice that hotel guests have access to the park whenever because most tour companies arrive around 10-11 AM. By then, it gets very crowded so it was amazing to have the waterfalls to ourselves.
Overall Thoughts
We loved our time at the Peace Lodge. It’s a high end boutique hotel for a reason and they exceeded all our expectations of a luxury hotel. The friendly staff, delicious food, spacious and cozy rooms and incredible views make it well worth the money to visit.
It’s not a cheap place to stay but for anyone looking for a luxury hotel for a honeymoon or with a family, this is an excellent choice. The location is amazing and is worth staying at least one or two nights. I have to say that having access to the gardens before opening and and after closing hours was awesome!
If you’re traveling onto La Fortuna, Peace Lodge has a sister property called The Springs Resort & Spa. This hotel is amazing with gorgeous views of Arenal Volcano from every corner. They also have their own hot springs and adventure club.
Huge thanks to the Peace Lodge for comping our stay. This review was an exchange and it is 100% honest with our thoughts and opinions.
Denise says
We are staying here for two nights as our last stop before flying out of San Jose. Our flight is after 2pm. Should we keep our reservation here for the last night or spend the night closer to the airport?
Sammi says
You can stay your last night but make sure you leave with plenty of time to arrive at the airport 3 hours early
Suzanne M says
Hi,
We would like to arrive SJO, spend the night, drive to La Paz (4X4 rental car?) early then to La Fortuna. Is driving to La Fortuna via San Ramon out of the way? Is there a better route?
Thank you!
Sammi says
From La Paz you can drive to La Fortuna via a different more direct route – please use a GPS or navigation device to guide you
Catherine Wickham says
Hello! I’ve been trying to get in touch with them directly to find out if you can still utilize the grounds on the day you check out? We are planning to stay there for the day and then head back to SJ that evening as we fly out the next AM. If we have to vacate the property as soon as we check out or pay the park fee, we’d want to change our plans. Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi Catherine, we don’t work with the part of the lodge so you will have to contact them directly – they have a toll free number I believe that you can call
Melissa says
We’ll be driving from SJO to Tabacon near La Fortuna. Should we make a detour to visit Waterfall Gardens or will that take away too much time? We’ll be leaving SJO at approximately 10 am. Thank you!
Sammi says
It could be possible but it depends… immigration and customs have been taking really long at SJO, and the park closes at 4 PM additionally, I’d give yourself at least a good minimum 3 hours at the park to enjoy it all. If you get out of the airport and get your car by noon, it’s about 1.5 hours to the park, and then it closes at 4 PM so I feel like you won’t really be able to enjoy it all if you have to hurry in 2 hours
Kelly says
Hi,
Is the road from SJO airport to Peace Lodge doable in the dark? We get in around 7:45pm. Trying to decide if we should get a hotel in San Jose and then head to Peace Lodge in the morning.
Thanks!
Sammi says
I would go the next morning, even though the road is paved, it is extremely narrow, curvy and without many street lights once you get up there, especially if you’re visiting for the remainder of rainy season.
George says
Hi
What is the best route to La PAz from Adobe car rental at SJO? Is this one place you can leave your luggage in the car?
Sammi says
Hi George, it is recommended to use a GPS to get to La Paz as it’s up in the small town of Vara Blanca outside the city and the GPS (or gps app like Waze) will help you navigate out of San Jose.
The La Paz gardens has a large parking lot and there is always a lot of movement through there since it’s a popular place, if you need to leave your luggage in your car make sure it is covered and not visible.
Jennifer H says
We will be taking a private transfer from SJO to Arenal in the afternoon of 11/20, adults and children. Would this be a good place to stop for a late lunch on the way?
Sammi says
You will need to check with your transfer company because the waterfall gardens is a different route than the normal one they take from San Jose to La Fortuna so there is probably an extra cost.
soujanya says
hi
I didn’t receive the 10% discount yet.I want to visit la paz gardens with meals included for 2 adults and 1kid. Could you plz email me.
thanks.
by the way your blog is awesome. Lots of info that’s looks very genuine.
Keep it up.Thx
Sammi says
Hi Soujanya, we just sent you an email!