Hacienda AltaGracia is the Costa Rican wellness resort everyone is talking about. Never-ending choices of activities and treatments to nourish mind and body in a tropical, fairy-tale setting. THE WELL, Hacienda AltaGracia’s spa, is a sanctuary within a sanctuary. Good luck choosing between wellness experiences, off-property excursions, where to eat, what to eat, or where to lounge.
There are more than enough choices at Hacienda AltaGracia, an Auberge Resort. There just isn’t enough time.
Our twin-engine Cessna glides over the mountainous interior of Costa Rica. It’s 6am. The sun is skimming the tree tops, and a misty translucent glow is rising above them. Clouds are weaving in and out of view. The deafening roar of the engines makes conversation impossible, so my friend and I sit back and soak up the verdant landscape. Thirty minutes later, our plane dips over the Talamanca Mountains toward our destination—a grassy airstrip at the base of Costa Rica’s newest wellness resort, Hacienda AltaGracia.
Wellness is always trending at Hacienda AltaGracia
Wellness was once a word synonymous with woo-woo. Is it still? These days, I dare you to find a resort that doesn’t have ‘wellness’ listed in its menu bar. Not just for Los Angelenos anymore, wellness is for everyone. Why shouldn’t it be? Taking care of ourselves from the inside out feels good. There are far worse things trending these days. I have teenagers, bad trends appear in my house daily.
Lisa and I are heading to the mother of all wellness resorts—THE WELL in Costa Rica at Hacienda AltaGracia.
THE WELL, Costa Rica
We’ve come to Hacienda AltaGracia exclusively for THE WELL, one of the most recently opened spas to take on wellness and well-being. In addition to this Costa Rica location, THE WELL has multiple locations in Auberge Resorts around the world, including a stand-alone spa in New York City.
THE WELL is known for combining Eastern and Western healing practices, meditation, body treatments, and holistic treatments. It’s quickly becoming one of the world’s most sought-after wellness experiences. Hacienda AltaGracia opened in November 2021 and is leading the wellness way in Costa Rica.
Perched at the highest point of Hacienda AltaGracia’s 180 lush, tropical acres, THE WELL encompasses over 20,000 square feet of naturally lit space. It’s jaw-dropping. I made a point to watch guests enter it for the first time and count gasps. Everyone gasped. Some gasped twice. It’s that impressive.
THE WELL overlooks the Talamanca mountains, a range that contains both Costa Rica and Panama’s highest peaks. Architecturally, the setting not only exudes calm and serenity but intentionally seeks to bring the outdoors in.
Three oversized windowed walls surround an oversized tranquility pool that always mirrors the sky. Two symmetrical square hot tubs flank the pool. This double-tub feature erases the awkwardness of having to make polite hot tub chit-chat with a stranger. I’m a self-proclaimed chit-chatter. But I have two firm exceptions: airplanes and hot tubs.
What exactly does one do at THE WELL?
At the risk of exceeding my self-imposed 2500-word limit, allow me to list some of the many treatments available at THE WELL, Costa Rica. I didn’t have time to partake in all of these treatments, mind you. Even if I did, I wouldn’t have enough money left to cover my cable bill. (That said, many services and treatments are included in the room rate. Yes, that’s 100% true!)
WELL, WELL, WELL
• Join a visiting master for a guided meditation or a breathing session. Book a one-on-one session later to deep dive into your past life or refine your breathing technique.
• Try botanical yoga.
• Connect with your senses by taking a forest and crystal bath (that’s not a typo). Hacienda AltaGracia has a 700-pound crystal quartz on the property where guests can partake in an integrative energy healing session.
• Find a spot on a warm marble slab and take an ethereal lunar gong bath. Later, head back to the spa for a sunset swim or aromatherapy steam.
• Opt for traditional spa treatments: Swedish massage, hot-stone therapy, or cranial massage, for example.
• Push outside of your comfort zone with less-common treatments: Maderoterapia or Wood Therapy is a traditional Central American practice. Or Hierbas y Flores, a nature-infused experience that incorporates native flowers and massage.
This list is by no means complete. Nor, do you have to sign up for any treatments in order to enjoy THE WELL. I spent time there with a book on a lounge chair trying to read. Unfortunately, I was constantly distracted by the surroundings and found myself over-posting on Instagram. This did defeat the concept of relaxation a wee bit. Anything for my followers!
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THE WELL has more choices than my cleansed mind can compute. Would I like a light, medium, or heavy cotton waffle robe from The Robe Bar? Would I like my custom clay body mask mixed with parsley, sage, rosemary, or thyme? Choice—the wellness luxury that just might ruin my wellness experience. Once I accept that there are only good choices, I calm down.
Beyond THE WELL at Hacienda AltaGracia
Wellness is not limited to treatments at Hacienda AltaGracia. Wellness is slow-cooked oat and quinoa porridge with local honeycomb, berries, and cocoa nibs while watching a charm of hummingbirds. It’s self-guided yoga on our expansive villa deck, listening to frogs croak. Wellness is my morning green juice from Mercado and my evening cocktail at the bar.
Since this is Lisa’s second visit to Hacienda AltaGracia, she takes over the trip’s itinerary. As much as I love to plan, having someone whose travel sensibilities I trust to do it for me is a welcome change. (For the record, I trust my husband’s travel spidey-sense too—in case he reads this and feels slighted.)
A Bath upon Arrival
After landing, we head directly to Mercado—the most non-lobby resort lobby I’ve yet to see. Mercado is part of a highly curated boutique and part of the Friends-style Central Perk. The café has homemade pastries, specialty coffee, juices, quiche, and other baked goods available all day at no cost. Lisa discovers her love of sparkling espresso while I devour cookies like a greedy toddler.
We are gently whisked from Mercado to one of the property’s signature treatments: The River Bath, an immersive outdoor nature-filled experience. An overgrown flower-filled path leads to a warm stone-edged plunge pool beside a cool stone-edged river. Over two hours, we toggle back and forth between the two, looking to cleanse our auras as the treatment advertises. Butterflies surround us. We slot into their habitat with ease.
Wellness, as a travel trend, isn’t limited to people who are fully invested in mindfulness and meditation. It’s good old-fashioned well-being. Resorts like Hacienda AltaGracia appeal to everyone from yogi masters to once-a-year meditators. How you spend time at this tropical Costa Rica wellness resort is your choice. And choices abound.
Over four days, Lisa and I find that critical balance of physical activity, mindfulness, and relaxation. Oh, and eating. That activity is not quite as balanced as the others. At Hacienda AltaGracia, all food is included in the room rate, so we choose to consume everything the menus offer. Cold-marinated Pacific prawns or prawn-filled blue corn tortillas? Both, please. And throw in an order of tuna tiradito, pan-fried line fish, and beef empanadas, if you don’t mind. They don’t mind.
Difficult choices at Hacienda AltaGracia
There are multiple places to dine and drink throughout the property. Grano is the main restaurant with both indoor and outdoor options that are equally inviting. El Cultivo, just beside Grano, is Hacienda AltaGracia’s organic garden. Lunch is served at Las Brisas, one of two open-air poolside restaurants. The food is healthy, but not the tasteless calorie-limited kind of healthy generally associated with spa trips.
I can anticipate the next question. Yes, they serve alcohol at Hacienda AltaGracia! I say this for those who hear the words ‘wellness resort’ and assume they’ll have to smuggle in alcohol.
Wait, you’ve never done that? Me neither.
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For horse lovers only
I’ve never been a horse person. But Hacienda AltaGracia has quite a set-up for those who are. If you don’t like horses, skip ahead. I don’t mind.
Hacienda AltaGracia’s traditional horse show and dinner, Cienfuegos, is an ongoing event at their modern-designed stables. The 42 Peruvian, Spanish, and Costa Rican horses are living their best lives, and they look like they know it.
Lanterns and fire pits are among the sole sources of light. A band of musicians performs low-key background music. After an hour of cocktails and polite chit-chat (a totally acceptable time for chit-chat) at the immaculate stables, we enter the barn and are seated communally for a family-style dinner. Roasted meats, salads, and veggies prepared Costa Rican style keep us satiated. Wine is poured, and the horse show begins.
The riders entertain the crowd with their control of prancing horses. The atmosphere gets livelier with each round of performances (enhanced by each round of drinks). It’s a festive peek into Costa Rican equestrian tradition. Afterward, we take a golf cart back to the villa to dream of horses. Not me, mind you, but I’m sure many people did.
It sounds cheesy, right? But it’s actually totally fun and festive.
Early Mornings at Hacienda AltaGracia
Lisa organized two super early off-property activities so that we could eat the rest of the day without guilt. I despise early wake-ups. Lisa loves them. It’s surprising we are friends. That said, once I was up (and caffeinated), my anger disappeared. Almost.
Rising before the sun has its pluses. Like seeing the sunrise, for one! Another is the early morning sounds and stillness of nature. One morning we take a 7-mile hike to Roca de Nubes and spot a troop of elusive spider monkeys. Wildlife—another plus of early rising.
The following day we hike to a series of three gushing waterfalls. Our guide asks us to choose (again with the choices!) which one we’d like to swim beneath. The answer for me is none. I may have taken the polar plunge in Antarctica earlier this year, but take my word on this, the water in Costa Rica is much colder. Lisa fully embraces the invigorating experience while I merely dip my toes like the water wimp that I am.
Welcome to the jungle
I take a look around. The landscape around Hacienda AltaGracia is rich in texture. Layers upon layers of prehistorically oversized leaves with stencil-like cutouts, palms, ferns, and fruit-filled banana trees. Dramatic low-hanging clouds drape the Talamanca mountains in the distance. Swallow-tailed Kites soar. As the sun descends, the vegetation takes on a warm hue. What was initially shades of green now appear orange, yellow, and red.
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Villa Life at Hacienda AltaGracia
Hacienda AltaGracia’s 50 villas are built into the Costa Rican jungle—seemingly absorbed by it. This makes it feel like a private, remote hideaway. The property is so lovingly nestled in the jungle that the wildlife doesn’t even seem to notice. Hawks swoop overhead and kaleidoscopic-colored butterflies swirl around us.
Our villa’s veranda has a heated plunge pool that overlooks mountainous layers in the distance. Because Lisa wakes up at 4am she always gets to the daybed first. I forgive her.
The living space is lounge-y and inviting, with stacked coffee table books, cushy throws, binoculars, and birding books for bird nerds like me. It has a walk-in closet larger than my first apartment in NYC and a full bar for us to pour drinks as needed. Heated water bottles magically appear tucked under the covers of the beds each evening. If the villa is designed to keep us there, we fail miserably. There is just too much to do.
At Hacienda AltaGracia, it’s your vacation, your choice
On our last night, we have drinks on Grano’s patio with Valerie, one of the visiting wellness masters. Her inherent sense of humor and lightness takes the edge off the woo-woo. We gather around the fire pit at sunset for a release-burning ceremony.
It’s an opportunity to rid ourselves of ‘something that no longer serves us’ by throwing a personal note into the flames. A few husbands attempt to escape, but Valerie lures them back. One by one we throw our paper into the fire and watch it burn. With clear minds and empty stomachs, we head in for dinner.
You don’t have to be a life coach, herbalist, spiritual influencer, or accomplished sound bather in order to have a restorative experience at Hacienda AltaGracia. Everyone can use a few days to reset, recharge, and reload. Whatever your vacation is calling for, there are opportunities to fulfill it at Hacienda AltaGracia. The choices are annoyingly endless.
Well-being and wellness go hand in hand. I can’t think of a better trend to embrace. And you need not go to a luxurious tropical jungle resort in the heart of Costa Rica to do it.
But should you have the choice, it’s certainly a lot more fun.
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