IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE RETREAT COSTA RICA
The Retreat Costa Rica
Best for
Ayurveda · Detox · Emotional healing
Typical stay
Min 3 nights
Recommended 9 nights
From
Quote on request
Expert verdict
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Same price as The Retreat Costa Rica's own site, never more, with an independent expert advisor by your side.
The Retreat Costa Rica sits on sixty acres of a quartz crystal mountain above Atenas, an hour inland from San José, with the tropical valley below it and the Gulf of Nicoya and the Pacific on the horizon. It is an adults only wellness resort of eighteen rooms plus ten new lofts, and it is unusually complete: most wellness properties are fitness led, or food led, or spiritual. This one is all of them at once.
It is the personal project of Diana Stobo, an author, chef and wellness coach whose method is simple to describe and hard to do well. An anti inflammatory diet of gorgeous locally grown food, gentle movement, real emotional and mental support, human connection and education, all delivered in a place people enjoy being. The staff are hired for warmth first and trained afterwards, which guests notice within a day.
The heart of the property is Vida Mía, an eight thousand square foot healing centre and spa that has repeatedly placed among the leading destination spas in the world in the Condé Nast Readers’ Choice Awards. Around it sit two organic restaurants, two saltwater pools, an organic coffee plantation, jungle and river paths, and a vegetable garden grown in crystal soil and watered from a crystal fed spring. In 2025 the Santosha Wellness Club added ten luxury lofts, a fitness club, a yoga shala, a lap pool and two new restaurants.
The property
How The Retreat works
The Retreat is built for wellness packages rather than à la carte spa days. Each package addresses a specific goal across physical, mental, emotional and spiritual renewal, and runs three, five or seven nights depending on how deep the work goes. The seven night packages are where the real change happens, and they are the ones the house is known for.
Every package rests on the same foundation: a morning and afternoon movement practice, self guided exploration of the crystal mountain, three meals a day at Sol Terrace, and a wellness cooking class. On top of that sit the treatments particular to your goal, delivered at Vida Mía by therapists who work across Ayurveda, deep tissue, lymphatic drainage, reiki, sound healing and energy work.
The Ayurvedic strand is the most clinically structured thing here. Authentic Ayurveda runs a Panchakarma approach with a pre arrival video consultation, a constitution analysis, a daily check in with the Ayurvedic doctor and six customised two hand herbal oil therapies. Elsewhere the register is gentler and more emotional: counselling sessions, self discovery workshops, sound baths and pranayama are inclusions rather than extras.
The location is treated as part of the treatment rather than as scenery. The property sits on quartz, and the house is direct about what it believes that does. You do not have to share the belief to benefit from the effect, which is that the place is quiet, high, clean aired and completely removed from anything urban.
What you eat at The Retreat
All package pricing includes three meals a day at Sol Terrace, the resort’s farm to table restaurant, where the menu is chef’s choice and built each day around what is freshest. The approach is anti inflammatory: mainly plant based, grain free, dairy free and free of refined sweeteners, with local sustainably raised fish, fowl, beef and lamb also served.
Most of the produce is grown on site. The vegetable garden runs down the south facing side of the mountain, and guests are invited to walk it with the chef or simply wander it alone. Fresh healing herbs go into the drinking water, the frescos, the elixirs and the cocktails. The Sol Terrace bar holds the largest selection of organic and biodynamic wines in Costa Rica.
The 2025 Santosha Wellness Club added two more venues on the clubhouse roof: Mystique, the resort’s signature restaurant, and La Diosa, an open air pool lounge doing ceviches, tropical salads and artisanal tacos. Wellness cooking classes run three times a week and cover raw food preparation, herbal medicine making, fermenting and sprouting.
Diets are adapted to the package. On Authentic Ayurveda the nutrition follows the Ayurvedic doctor’s recommendation and your dosha. On the detox packages it tightens considerably.
The property
Eighteen rooms in the main house plus ten Santosha lofts, spread across sixty acres, adults only from sixteen. Rooms come with essential oil diffusers, luxury organic hypoallergenic bedding, raw organic body care products, bamboo toiletries and mountain views, and a copy of Diana Stobo’s Get Naked Fast.
Vida Mía Healing Center and Spa is eight thousand square feet, sits beside the main house, and gives every treatment room a panoramic mountain view. Its treatments work through the four elements, earth, water, air and fire, and mix organic remedies with holistic therapies.
The rest of the estate: two organic restaurants plus the two new Santosha venues, two saltwater pools, a lap pool, a fitness club, a yoga shala, an outdoor covered pavilion, a high vibration crystal lobby, a community reading room, a curated boutique, an organic tea and wine bar, an organic coffee plantation, a permaculture garden, hanging pool swings, river swings and miles of jungle and river paths.
Activities included in a stay: cooking classes, guided nature tours, hiking, meditation, yoga, swimming and visits to the coffee plantation. Private tours and excursions can be arranged, and wildlife encounters happen whether you arrange them or not.
Programs
Art of Resting
5–10 nights · Price on request
Art of Resting
5–10 nights · Price on request
The burnout package, and the one most directly aimed at people who cannot sleep.
It is deliberately quiet: shirodhara and shiro-abhyanga to settle the nervous system, aromatherapy and cranial massage, three deep pranayama sessions and a sound healing. The theory is that rest is a skill that has been lost rather than a thing that happens when you stop, so the week teaches it.
Authentic Ayurveda Spa
Popular7–14 nights · Price on request
Authentic Ayurveda Spa
Popular7–14 nights · Price on request
The most structured thing The Retreat does, and the closest it comes to a clinical protocol.
It runs a Panchakarma approach that begins before you arrive, with a video consultation with the Ayurvedic doctor, and continues with a welcome consultation, a constitution analysis and a daily check in. Six customised two hand herbal oil therapies are tailored to your dosha, alongside the Jal Nati nasal cleanse, six sunrise yoga sessions and six pranayama or sunset meditations.
Guests describe it as intense. Reaching real depth in seven nights means sending strong signals to the body, so the schedule is full. It is also the package guests most often say changed something that lasted.
Emotional Healing & Recovery
5–10 nights · Price on request
Emotional Healing & Recovery
5–10 nights · Price on request
For guests carrying something rather than simply tired.
The centre of it is two hours of emotional healing counselling, wrapped in bodywork chosen to open rather than to soothe: Vida Mía Dhara, a self love crystal infused scrub, heart opening deep tissue and reiki. This is the package the resort is least shy about, and the one guests describe as difficult and worth it.
Fitness Reboot & Fat Burning
7–14 nights · Price on request
Fitness Reboot & Fat Burning
7–14 nights · Price on request
The performance package, built around six private fitness sessions and a pre and post evaluation with a trainer.
Around the training sit vascular BEMER therapy, lymphatic drainage, Thai massage, infrared sauna and an ultrasonic cavitation body contouring session, plus the Ayurvedic trio of shirodhara, udwarthanam and abhyanga. The point is not a week of hard exercise but priming the body to keep burning fat afterwards.
Five Senses
5–10 nights · Price on request
Five Senses
5–10 nights · Price on request
A package built around sensory re-engagement rather than around a medical goal.
Chromotherapy bath, crystal healing scrub, Heaven on Earth, the Jal Nati nasal cleanse and shiro-abhyanga, closed with a sound bath energy healing and a rare tea tasting. It suits people who are functioning perfectly well and have stopped noticing anything.
Immersive Wellness
3–7 nights · Price on request
Immersive Wellness
3–7 nights · Price on request
The shortest way in, and the package for guests who want to rejuvenate in every way without committing to a specific protocol.
It keeps the daily frame that all the packages share, a morning and an afternoon practice, self guided exploration of the crystal mountain and the full Sol Terrace kitchen, and adds the signature Heaven on Earth treatment and a wellness cooking class. Think of it as the resort at its most relaxed rather than as a cure.
Luxury Spa Healing and Beautifying
7–10 nights · Price on request
Luxury Spa Healing and Beautifying
7–10 nights · Price on request
The beauty and rejuvenation package, and the least demanding of the seven night programmes.
A Royal Facial and an Ayurveda restoring facial, a two hour banana leaf body wrap, abhyanga, shirodhara, lymphatic drainage and three infrared sauna sessions. It is aimed squarely at guests who feel dull rather than ill, and want their sparkle back.
The Big M: Mastering Menopause
7–10 nights · Price on request
The Big M: Mastering Menopause
7–10 nights · Price on request
A menopause package that treats the transition as something to be trained for rather than endured.
It combines physical development classes, kegel work, resistance and strength training and a menopause belly and chest class, with hormone aware bodywork: Ayurveda chakra balancing, a herbal abhyanga and shirodhara bliss, a Maharani milk bath ritual and a Kansa facial with marma points. Guests leave with herbal digestive bitters, a hormone balancing e-book and a self guided workbook.
The Naked Challenge Signature Detox
7–14 nights · Price on request
The Naked Challenge Signature Detox
7–14 nights · Price on request
Diana Stobo’s signature programme, and the most demanding thing on the menu.
It is a full detox with the tools to keep it: three infrared saunas, an enema, a Vibra-Pro detox, two ionic detox foot baths, udwarthanam, abhyanga, heart opening deep tissue and lymphatic drainage, plus ultrasonic cavitation body contouring. Guests leave with the Naked Challenge guidebook, workbook and recipe book, which is the part that determines whether the week holds.
Need help choosing?
Have a question about availability, the program, or amenities?
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Tell us about your goals, which retreats you've been to, what you're looking for.
We'll advise you whether The Retreat Costa Rica is the best match for you, and what program(s) you should consider.
We offer independent advice, for free. We have tested the best wellness clinics and longevity resorts like regular customers. We have advised hundreds of clients since 2024 so they could find the optimal program for their objectives.
Rooms & suites
Santosha Luxury Loft
945 sq ft · Double occupancy
Santosha Luxury Loft
945 sq ft · Double occupancy
At 945 square feet the largest accommodation on the property, with one king bed. The Santosha lofts take the best of the 2025 addition: the widest outlook across the crystal mountain towards the Gulf of Nicoya and the Pacific, and the shortest walk to Mystique and La Diosa on the clubhouse roof.
Luxury Loft
690 sq ft · Double occupancy
Luxury Loft
690 sq ft · Double occupancy
A 690 square foot loft with a king bed, part of the Santosha Wellness Club opened in 2025 alongside the fitness club, yoga shala and lap pool. Contemporary and generous, with the full in-room organic specification and easy access to the two new rooftop restaurants above the clubhouse.
Premium Room
355 sq ft · Sleeps 5
Premium Room
355 sq ft · Sleeps 5
From 355 to 700 square feet, with either one king bed or two queens plus a sofa bed, sleeping two to five. The premium rooms take the better positions on the mountainside and the wider views over the valley towards the Gulf of Nicoya.
Double Queen Room
560 sq ft · Sleeps 5
Double Queen Room
560 sq ft · Sleeps 5
At 560 square feet with two queen beds, this is the largest-capacity room in the main house and sleeps up to five. Same in-room specification as the Deluxe: air conditioning, organic bedding, essential oil diffuser, raw organic body care, safe and wifi, with mountain views.
Deluxe Room
280 sq ft · Double occupancy
Deluxe Room
280 sq ft · Double occupancy
The entry category in the main house, from 280 square feet up to considerably larger depending on the room, with one king bed and mountain views. Air conditioning, luxury organic hypoallergenic bedding, an essential oil diffuser, raw organic body care products, bathrobes and slippers, a safe and wifi.
Know before you arrive
Languages spoken
Languages spoken
English, Spanish
Minimum stay
Minimum stay
3 nights
Booking policy
Booking policy
Standard rates: 30 percent pre-payment at the time of booking. Discounted rates: 100 percent pre-payment at the time of booking. All package pricing includes three meals a day at Sol Terrace. The Retreat is adults only, from sixteen years old. Minimum stay is three nights.
Cancellation policy
Cancellation policy
Low season: cancel with no penalty up to 7 days before your stay. High season: cancel with no penalty up to 15 days before your stay. Peak season: cancel with no penalty up to 30 days before your stay. Discounted rates are non-refundable but can be rebooked within the following 6 months.
Kids policy
Kids policy
The Retreat is adults only and welcomes guests aged 16 and above.
Pets policy
Pets policy
The Retreat does not accommodate pets.
Frequently asked questions
What is the atmosphere like, and who stays here?
Warm, informal and openly spiritual, with none of the clinical hush of a European medical spa. Guests are adults from sixteen up, skewing North American given the flight times, and often arriving at a turning point rather than for a tune up. The staff are the thing everyone mentions afterwards: hired for genuine care rather than hotel polish, and treated by the owner as part of the therapeutic experience rather than as service.
What makes The Retreat Costa Rica different?
Three things. First, breadth: most wellness properties pick a lane, and this one runs fitness, food, spa, Ayurveda and emotional and spiritual work at the same time. Second, the food, which is grown on the mountain, anti inflammatory, grain and dairy free, and good enough that guests stop treating it as a diet. Third, Vida Mía, an eight thousand square foot spa that has repeatedly ranked among the best destination spas in the world.
How much does The Retreat Costa Rica cost?
Prices are being integrated. The Retreat prices a stay as a room rate per night plus a wellness package, with all three daily meals at Sol Terrace included in the package pricing. Rates move with season, so contact us for a current quote and we will confirm it with the resort.
What are the alternatives to The Retreat Costa Rica?
In the Americas the closest comparisons are Rancho La Puerta in Baja California, which shares the garden to table philosophy at a much larger scale, and Palmaïa in Mexico, which shares the spiritual register. Canyon Ranch is the more structured, more clinical American alternative. For guests drawn specifically by the Ayurveda, Ananda in the Himalayas and Kamalaya do it with deeper traditional roots, at the cost of a much longer flight.
What is the minimum stay?
Three nights, which is the length of the Immersive Wellness package. The five night packages cover rest, emotional healing and the senses, and the seven night packages, including Authentic Ayurveda and the Naked Challenge detox, are where the deeper work happens. Average stay for programme guests is around nine nights.
Do I have to do a wellness package?
No. You can stay at The Retreat without a package and still get three meals a day, the daily yoga and movement schedule, the spa menu à la carte, the gardens, the pools and the trails. The packages exist for guests who want a structured result rather than a rest.
Can I come with a partner who is not doing a programme?
Yes, partners are welcome whether or not they take part. There is plenty to do outside the programme: hiking, the coffee plantation, guided wildlife tours, river swings and excursions in the surrounding valley.
What is the climate like?
The Retreat sits in the central valley, a region the National Geographic Society has called one of the best climates in the world. Days are warm and evenings are genuinely cool, so bring layers. A light jacket, long sleeves and a rain jacket for excursions are all worth packing alongside hiking shoes and swimwear.
Is there a dress code?
Nothing formal. Active daytime clothing, yoga wear, swimwear and hiking shoes for the day, casual resort wear for sunset and dinner. Nights on the mountain can be chilly, so pashminas and light layers are recommended.
How do I get there?
Fly into Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) near San José, which has direct flights from Europe and most large North American hubs. The resort is about forty five minutes by car from the airport and arranges the transfer.
Payment & terms
No card details taken here.
A secure payment link is sent by The Retreat Costa Rica once availability is confirmed. When you book with Serenity Ways, you pay the hotel directly.
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