Hotel Belmar

Overview

Description

The Hotel Belmar is in Monteverde, in the province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica. The main attraction of the region is the famous Monteverde cloud forest, which you can visit in guided daytime or night tours, on hanging bridges, in canopy exploration tours, through visits to the biological stations, and more.

Monteverde has a frog and toad nature center, serpentarium, butterfly garden, orchid garden, hummingbird gallery, a bat jungle exhibit, an insect museum, etc. There are also many handicraft souvenir shops, live music, music festivals three times a year, restaurants, and much more.

Rooms

28

Making a Difference

Number of employees: 20

Percentage of local employees: 90%

The Hotel Belmar has 4 sustainability leaves (the higher levels is 5).

The hotel aims for sustainability in all its operations, including:

• The use of biodegradable paints and cleaning materials.
• No use of agrochemicals for garden maintenance.
• We use foods obtained from organic production systems as much as possible.
• Separation of wastes, composting of organic wastes, and recycling of solid wastes.
• All our organic wastes are processed in a worm composting system to convert it into organic fertilizer for the gardens.
• We use a biodigester to treat our wastewaters while producing bio-gas, which we use as energy for warming the Jacuzzi and other things.
• We use compact energy-saving fluorescent lights in 90% of the installations.
• We use skylights to light the hotel during the day.
• Motivating our guests to adopt these practices during their stay at the hotel and ideally, in their lives after their departure.
• Our involvement with environmental organizations to protect the region's natural resources, such as the Ministry of the Environment and Energy, the Monteverde Conservation Association, and the School for Creative Education.
• Supporting cultural activities in the zone.
• Using inputs that are locally produced in a sustainable fashion (organic, fair trade, and others) when possible.
• Hiring and training workers from the zone.

Rates

$76 – 100

For more information about rates, please visit:

• www.hotelbelmar.net/accommodations.html (available in English, French and Spanish).

Getting There

Nearest international airport: Liberia (LIR).

Nearest local/national airport: The central plaza in Santa Elena, Monteverde, for helicopters.

Distance, by land, to the nearest airport: 70 miles (112 km).

There are no limitations in getting to Monteverde year-round, but four-wheel drive vehicles are recommended. The last 18 miles (30 km) of the road are gravel and low vehicles sometimes have trouble ascending.

Additional Information

Date This Information Was Provided

January 2010.

Photo courtesy of Hotel Belmar, Costa Rica, for SustainableTrip.org.