Splendour and Sustainability at Casa Flotanta

The Publishers Perspective

This trip to Costa Rica takes me back to Hermosa with a great friend and colleague Tenneil for what we call workcation.

The Air Canada flight from Toronto to Liberia was super productive with our in air wifi and once there we rented a car and had a fun drive to Hermosa for a week of fun, surf, sand, dining and lots of sun mixed with some work in our bikinis.

This is my third Benjamin Garcia Saxe homestay and not my last! This design certainly feels like you are floating in nature.

We loved having time with old and new friends and entertaining in the home. The restaurants just ten minutes away are world class. Our amazing concierge hostesses from Green nest Estates were there for us to see to our needs. They booked us surf with Zopilote surf camp, in-house facials and massages, shopped for us before we arrived, took us in a beautiful tour to see other mountaintop homes for our next stay, sailing trip and even took us to a 7 course gastronomy dinner at Tropical Latino where they introduced us to some of their business owner friends in the area.

 

Overall it was a productive and fulfilling trip and before our feet landed back in Canada we have already booked a return trip. Next time to Tambor to stay with our friends in Los Delfinos.

Pura Vida

Sandra

 

Splendour and Sustainability at Casa Flotanta

Photography Jennifer Harter

Years before our infatuation with floating houses, there was Casa Flotanta, an estate propped a dozen feet above the ridged terrain of Santiago. It’s a childhood dream come true: a sprawling, tree house of sorts; a collection of rooms connected by bamboo-flanked corridors. You’ll feel like a King or Queen, surveying the lush, tropical landscape from your very own iron-and-hardwood castle. Cushioned wooden benches line the balconies and deck and make perfect destinations for losing yourself in a book or the natural magnificence of Costa Rica.

The design of the house is spectacular. Many neighbouring properties fight the terrain, constructing large retaining walls and displacing soil in order to build. Architecture firm Benjamin Garcia Saxe did the opposite, embracing the rugged earth. The creators floated the house, allowing nature to remain intact, underneath. Water, vegetation, and wildlife are free to continue existing as they have, engineers minimized the impact on the surrounding area and reduced the overall carbon footprint. Even the shape of the house works to reduce the effect on the environment. Slanted roofs reflect sunlight and, working in tandem with the structure’s open facade, naturally cool the property.

There are three small buildings that make up the estate and Benjamin Garcia Saxe staggered them to improve views. Multiple vantage points have clear sight of both the mountains and water as well as the immediate area. In addition to beautiful sight lines, these rooms also share short bridges connected to a terrace that slithers along the front of the house.

Managed by Green Nest Estates, the property is beautifully decorated with colourful textiles, soft linens, and modernist fixtures and furniture. The interior blends perfectly with the surrounding mountains and treetops, creating views that seem to extend past the terrace and into the ether.

After a restful sleep in one of Case Flotanta’s unique bedrooms, you’ll want to meet in the open-air kitchen for a fresh, simple breakfast and gaze at the horizon: calming waves and wind rustling through trees. Nearby monkeys provide daily reminders that you are, in fact, in the middle of the jungle; it’s not uncommon to see them foraging for food only metres away.

The mist-soaked mornings are also perfect opportunities to use the private open-air shower facilities. The pulse of hot water and the fresh scent of nature are complemented by the calls of exotic wildlife. Imagine the most relaxing spa experience of your life and then add the breathtaking splendour of Santiago’s coast.

You can also relax in property’s infinity pool, nestled in a secluded, shady part of the property. But if you want to venture further, Playa Cocal Grande beach is a fifteen minute walk away and offers a transcendent view of the Pacific Ocean—you’ll feel like you’re on the edge of the world. And in a way you are: due west, the closest land mass is over 5,000 kilometres away.

Whether staying locally or heading into neighbouring Santa Teresa Beach, be sure to rent a car. Or consider a four-wheeler; the surrounding roads are rugged and this makes it a lot easier—and a lot more fun—to get around. This community is a foodie’s paradise, rich with local and multicultural cuisine. If you plan on cooking some of your own meals, you’ll find the supermarket especially convenient. Shops, too, line what Forbes calls “one of the top ten beaches on Earth.” The beautify and vibe of the city are unique not only to Costa Rica but to the world. The area also offers horseback riding tours, paddle boarding, and an aerial adventure park. If you’re interested in something more holistic, nearby Pranamar yoga studio and Florablanca spa masterfully provide stress-releasing classes and treatments. There is no shortage of activities and locals are eager to show off the community they clearly adore. It’s not difficult to understand why people visit for a week or two and want to stay for a lifetime.

Casa Flotanta offers something special in Central America: sustainable splendor. Its guests enjoy breathtaking visual and auditory experiences in the Costa Rican jungle while boarding in rustic opulence and actively participating in the reduction of the tourism industry’s carbon footprint. Casa Flotanta is as good to its guests as it is to the Earth.

 

 

To Book your stay please contact…hello@floatinghousecr.com

 

To buy $2,000,000.00