Green travel guide

Sustainable Hotels and Eco-Lodges in Costa Rica: The People and the Proof

The most reliable sign of a sustainable hotel in Costa Rica is a current CST certificate from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), at Basic or Elite level, plus named people who can explain its water, energy, food and community work. Only about 159 tourism businesses held CST in late 2026, so many good small lodges aren't certified and need to be judged by the questions you ask.

By Pura-Verde.com Editors · Published October 30, 2026 · Last checked October 30, 2026

Official standard

CST (Certificación para la Sostenibilidad Turística), run free of charge by the ICT, with 2 levels, Basic and Elite

Old labels

the five-leaf scale was left behind when CST 2.0 took effect in 2018

How many

about 159 tourism businesses held CST as of October 2026, out of roughly 3,095 lodging establishments counted in 2025

Certificate term

3 years since the 2025 update (previously 2)

Where to check

the official CST site, turismo-sostenible.co.cr, relaunched by the ICT in February 2026

Ask before you go

current CST level and expiry, who leads sustainability, where food and wastewater go

One hotel grows the eggs and coffee for its breakfast table. Another has backed a rural school since 1991. A third lets you walk its shade-grown coffee with the guide who's worked there since he was 23. The word "eco" on a booking page tells you none of that. People do.

Costa Rica earned its green reputation honestly in many ways: protected areas, environmental education and a homegrown hotel sustainability standard that's now more than 30 years old. But a reputation isn't a guarantee. Plenty of jungle lodges and beach resorts with wooden furniture and a view of the trees have never been audited for anything. This guide explains how Costa Rica's official certification works, introduces a few properties and the people behind them, and gives you the questions that separate real practice from marketing.

What CST is and how Basic and Elite differ

The official standard is the Certificación para la Sostenibilidad Turística (CST), run by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT). It's free and voluntary, and it covers hotels plus other tourism businesses such as tour operators, restaurants and transport companies.

According to the ICT's CST page, a business is assessed in 4 areas: business management; social, economic and cultural impact; environmental impact; and indicators specific to its type of business (lodging has its own). There are 2 levels:

• CST Basic means the business meets 100% of the mandatory questions in every area.
• CST Elite means it meets all of that, plus at least 30% of the "improvement and continuity" questions and 70% of the "external impact" questions, the ones about what it does beyond its own property.

Visitors still ask for "five-leaf hotels." That scale is history: the second version of CST, applied from 2018, left the old five-leaf classification behind and widened the review to social, cultural, operational and accessibility issues, as El Observador reported in October 2026. The same report says the ICT cut the evaluation from 355 to 210 questions in 2025 and stretched certificate validity from 2 years to 3. So if a hotel advertises leaves, it's showing you an old badge. Ask what its current level is.

How to check whether a hotel's certificate is current

In February 2026 the ICT relaunched the program's official website, turismo-sostenible.co.cr. Mariana Garita, head of the ICT's Sustainability Department, presented it in the ICT's announcement as an information window for businesses and travelers, noting the program's free, internationally recognized status. That release counted more than 150 certified entities.

When you check a property, confirm 3 things: the exact business name (rebrands and sister properties trip people up), the level, and the validity dates. If you can't find the hotel, ask it to send you its certificate.

Keep the numbers in perspective. About 159 businesses held CST in late 2026, against roughly 3,095 lodging establishments counted in 2025, per El Observador. Small rural and family lodges often lack the staff to assemble the paperwork, even when their practices are good. So treat CST as strong evidence when it's there, and as a reason to ask more questions, not a verdict, when it isn't.

It also helps to keep 3 things apart: a hotel's self-reported practices, a current third-party certification, and an independently measured environmental outcome. They're different kinds of proof, and most hotel websites only offer the first.

Hotel Belmar, Monteverde: a farm that feeds the hotel

In Monteverde, Pedro Belmar and Vera Zeledón opened Hotel Belmar in late 1985, after a 10-year stay in Austria left them wanting to build a mountain guesthouse inspired by the Tyrol. The hotel says it was only the second lodging in Monteverde at the time, and it's still family-managed.

In 2011 the hotel added Finca Madre Tierra, a nearby family farm that the hotel says was conceived and is led by Doña Vera. It supplies the kitchen with eggs, sugarcane, artisan cheese, coffee and seasonal fruit and vegetables, and guests can book farm visits, horseback rides and a coffee and sugarcane experience. The hotel also reports that it and the farm achieved carbon-neutral status in 2016; that's the hotel's own claim.

A hotel with its own farm can shorten its food chain and show guests where breakfast comes from. It doesn't automatically mean a smaller overall footprint, since flights, transport and imported goods still count. But it gives you something concrete to ask about.

Finca Rosa Blanca, Heredia: a coffee farm with named staff

Finca Rosa Blanca, in the hills of Santa Bárbara de Heredia, began in 1985 with Sylvia Jampol, her son Glenn and his wife Teri. Glenn and Teri run the organic coffee farm next to the hotel. What stands out is that the family's story names the people who carry the place: naturalist and coffee guide Ulises Zúñiga, who started there at 23, and reservations chief Edgardo Quesada, who's been there more than 20 years. Long careers in a rural community are a kind of sustainability guests rarely see.

The coffee side is unusually specific. The farm page says it uses no agrochemicals, feeds the soil with worm compost and composted hotel food waste, plants along the contours to cut erosion, grows coffee under native shade trees and uses living fences of native shrubs. It reports organic certification by Kiwa BCS for all of its coffee, plus Rainforest Alliance and ICAFE sustainability certifications. That's a lot to ask Ulises about on the tour: soil, birds, pollinators and how the harvest is going.

The hotel says it was the first in Costa Rica certified under CST, in 1999, and that it holds Elite level. Check the current certificate on the official site before you cite a level or date.

Lapa Rios and Pacuare: conservation beyond the property line

On the Osa Peninsula, John and Karen Lewis founded Lapa Rios in the early 1990s. A 2018 lodge story about Carbonera School recalls how, in 1991, they gathered neighbors to discuss opening a school; with help from the lodge and guest donations, it became a fixture of the community. The Lewises later sold the lodge, and it's now part of the Böëna Wilderness Lodges group.

Today the lodge says it protects about 1,000 acres as a private reserve under a conservation easement with The Nature Conservancy and CEDARENA, acting as a buffer for Corcovado National Park. It runs mostly on about 220 solar panels and small hydro turbines, composts food waste, supports the Carbonera and Piro schools, and backs the National University's jaguar research. It reports receiving its second CST certificate in 2018; confirm the current level yourself.

Pacuare Lodge, its sister property on the Pacuare River, says most staff come from nearby communities including the Nairi Awari Indigenous reserve, and that it funds the preservation of Cabécar arts and crafts and offers training in guiding, English and food handling. It announced CST Elite in January 2024 and says its camera traps have recorded 5 individual jaguars since it began supporting the jaguar program in 2009. Relationships with Indigenous communities deserve to be understood from the community's side too, so ask how decisions are made, not just what's offered.

A different model is Finca Luna Nueva Lodge, near La Fortuna, which ties its rooms to a 127-acre regenerative farm that began with organic ginger and turmeric in 1994.

What an eco-lodge's footprint really includes

A room in the rainforest isn't low-impact by default. Access roads, deliveries, laundry, air conditioning, pools, wastewater, generators and guest transfers all count, and no hotel can erase the carbon from your flight. Location matters too: beachfront lighting can disorient nesting sea turtles (see our report on beachfront lights and turtles), and dry spells have forced water rationing in dozens of communities, many of them in Guanacaste.

Good hotels respond with real decisions: passive cooling, efficient systems, metered water, treated wastewater, local hiring with real career paths, food from named growers and protected land next door. Wastewater is worth asking about anywhere near a park; even Corcovado's own facilities have faced a wastewater alarm.

7 questions to ask before you book

1. What's your current CST level and expiry date? Can you send the certificate?
2. Who leads your sustainability work? A named manager, gardener or engineer is a good sign.
3. How do you treat wastewater, and what changes in the dry season?
4. Which local farms or co-ops supply your kitchen? Names, not "fresh and local."
5. How many staff are from nearby communities, and do any hold management roles?
6. Where does your waste go? What gets composted, recycled or hauled away?
7. What are you trying to improve next? Credible operators can name unfinished work.

Red flags: an old leaf badge with no current level, "eco" claims with no specifics, wildlife feeding or handling as an attraction, and new construction cutting into forest or beach vegetation.

Choosing by region

Monteverde pairs cloud-forest science with small family hotels and highland farms. The Osa Peninsula puts you beside Corcovado and big tracts of rainforest, where wastewater and lighting matter most. The Central Valley around Heredia offers coffee farms and short transfers from the airport, which cuts road time. The Caribbean slope and Pacuare River mix rafting access with Indigenous territories. Guanacaste's beaches are where to ask hardest about water and development; the Papagayo building-rights fight shows why, and some resorts there are trying pollinator projects such as Reserva Conchal's bee pilot.

Seasons differ by coast: the Pacific side is wettest from about May to November, while the Caribbean has its own rhythm, so ask the lodge what to expect in the month you're going.

Use the places-to-stay layer on our map as a starting point, then check each listing yourself. To round out a trip, see our guides to responsible ecotourism tours, farm-to-table restaurants, green building and nature reserves and wildlife corridors.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best sustainability certification for hotels in Costa Rica?

The official one is CST, run free of charge by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute. It has 2 levels, Basic and Elite, and Elite requires extra evidence of improvement and positive impact outside the property.

Does Costa Rica still use the five-leaf hotel rating?

No. The five-leaf scale was left behind when CST 2.0 took effect in 2018. Current certificates say Basic or Elite.

How do I check if a Costa Rica hotel is CST certified?

Look it up on the official CST site, turismo-sostenible.co.cr, and confirm the exact business name, level and validity dates. Certificates now last 3 years. If it isn't listed, ask the hotel for its certificate.

Are uncertified eco-lodges in Costa Rica bad?

Not necessarily. Only about 159 businesses held CST in late 2026, and many small lodges find the paperwork hard. Ask about water, waste, food sources and local staff to judge for yourself.

What questions should I ask an eco-lodge before booking?

Ask for its current CST level, who leads its sustainability work, how it treats wastewater, which local farms supply the kitchen, how many staff are local and what it plans to improve next.

Sources

1. ICT: Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST)
2. ICT: Certificación de Sostenibilidad Turística
3. ICT: ICT renueva plataforma sobre turismo sostenible en Costa Rica (2026-Feb-05)
4. El Observador: Forbes pone a prueba casi 30 años del modelo de turismo sostenible de Costa Rica (2026-Oct-06)
5. Hotel Belmar: About
6. Hotel Belmar: Finca Madre Tierra
7. Finca Rosa Blanca: Our Story
8. Café Rosa Blanca: Know our coffee
9. Lapa Rios: Sustainability
10. Lapa Rios: Adding the finishing touch to Carbonera School (2018)
11. Pacuare Lodge: Sustainability
12. Finca Luna Nueva Lodge

We checked these pages when we last updated this guide. We didn't interview the people named; their roles and words come from the sources above.