Casa Aquiares Lodge

Large traditional Costa Rican family house set among the coffee plantation hills under the iconic Turrialba Volcano.

Casa Aquiares is six-bedroom, 4.5 bathroom house that embraces the countryside lifestyle of Costa Rica. On its eastern side, its rooms and gardens look out to the mountains and valley town of Turrialba, home to the popular Turrialba Cheese of Costa Rica. From the western bedrooms and herbal gardens there is a clear view of the active Turrialba Volcano.

Located at the foothills of the Volcano, the frequent smoke and gas activity have no effect on the area as the wind directs the ash north to San Jose. Instead, from the house, you are treated with majestic views of one of Costa Rica’s six active volcanoes.

A two and a half hour drive southeast of San Jose, the town of Aquiares provides a peaceful and outdoorsy alternative from the bustling city life of San Jose and the warmer, party vibes of Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, found 3 hours away. It is an ideal stop off point when travelling between San Jose and Limon. The Turrialba-Siquirres highway is a quieter, safer alternative to the San Jose-Limon drive.

Aquiares itself means ‘ land between rivers’ which encapsulates the appeal of the area. The town of Aquiares is bordered by the Rivers Turrialba and Aquiares, with the River Jesus Maria running through the middle. 20 minutes hike from the house is the magical Aquiares Waterfall that has its own natural water slide.

With streams, waterwalls and rivers, this area of Costa Rica is the hub of river adventures such as whitewater rafting, kayaking, rappelling/canyoning. The streams and river systems in Aquiares make it ideal for coffee production which is why it is home to the largest Rainforest Alliance coffee plantation in Costa Rica, the Aquiares Coffee Estate. With giant ceiba trees, cool climate and volcanic soil, it is also a great place for tropical plant and wildlife spotting.

The Casa Aquiares house highlights its cultural and natural history with a range of indigenous and homelife antiques. The gardens around the house feature garden patches of edible herbs, tropical fruits and distinctive tropical flowers. From outside the kitchen you can pick rosemary, tarragon, mint or thyme to go along with meals that you prepare for yourself, or request on special order. Ripe pineapples, oranges and bananas are available for you to pick off straight off the trees around the property.

Every Friday, a fruit and vegetable truck visits the house so that affordable tropical fruits and vegetables can be purchased and enjoyed. In the town itself is a medium sized supermarket and a small home-front bakery and convenience store is located at the bottom of the Casa Aquiares driveway. A fifteen minute taxi or rental car drive takes you to downtown Turrialba where you can find a range of restaurants, pharmacies, banks, bus stations and other typical small city conveniences.

About the house:

This six bedroom house comfortably fits a total of thirteen persons.

The Master bedroom boasts the property’s best view of the Turrialba Volcano. It is the most wheelchair friendly room with a large bathroom and private outdoor terrace that looks straight out to the volcano. It houses one double and one single bed and a dressing table with full sized mirror.

The western side of the house provides views of gardens and volcano. There is a king-sized bedroom with shared bathroom that looks out to the west. It has an additional door that opens to the garden and child-sized doll house where birds congregate and nest their eggs.

Closer to the spacious driveway and basketball court is the single bedroom with private bathroom at the far side of the house. Its windows look out to a tiled garden terrace with leather rocking chairs and large wooden trunk that serves as an afternoon coffee table.

On the eastern side of the house are another three bedrooms. Two of which share a bathroom between them. The first of these rooms has a double bed and ample closet space. The second fits two single beds and looks out to the Turrialba mountains and valley.

A bunk bed combo with double bed mattress at the base and a single on top fits three persons in third east facing room. This room has an outdoors access door that leads to the pool and driveway.

Casa Aquiares is suitable for active families and groups of all ages. A basketball court and outdoor pool provides outdoor entertainment on the property. With ease of access to hiking and biking trails, waterfalls and rivers, a focus is placed on being in the outdoors. For this reason there is no TV set found in the house. However there are two internet routers and ample electricity sockets for charging phones, laptops and speakers systems you may bring with you. Bikes are available to rent for a daily or weekly rate.

The communal indoor areas of the kitchen and sitting room are warm and open with lots of light coming through large windows and sliding glass doors. From the living room dining table and couches, you can look out to the mountains, pool and gardens. From the kitchen there is a wonderful view of the Turrialba volcano, fruit trees and herbal plants.

On site are self-service laundry facilities are fitted with a washer, dryer and ironing board. Daily maid service is included to maintain house cleanliness throughout your visit.