Central & South America, Hotels
Oxygen Jungle Villas, Uvita, Costa Rica
Nov
Oxygen Jungle Villas in Costa Rica is one of those places where as soon as you turn onto the road you know you have made a very wise decision. A four wheel drive taxi is required to make the climb up to the resort and as every twist in the road brought more spectacular views, I couldn’t help but feel a bit smug. Our travelers’ karma continued as we pulled into the driveway and saw the attractive white building accented with dark wood and a view to die for.
We were immediately handed tropical drinks and invited to sit and relax beside the crystal blue infinity pool as our bags were taken down to our private villa. Oxygen may be located in the jungles of Costa Rica’s western coast, but the design of the resort, from the minimalist color scheme to the stone Buddha statues populating every corner, is straight out of Bali. The resort is couples only, which means there are no worries of a relaxing poolside drink being impinged upon by the screams and splashing of happy children and so was perfect for our honeymoon.
The friendly host implored us to take our time, but eventually we dragged ourselves away from the serenity of the pool and made the short walk down a stone path to our home for the next few days. The villa was an exquisitely and uniquely designed glass house on stilts with generous drapes that slid closed for privacy and a king size, four-post bed. On the patio a comfortable love seat was the perfect place to look out over the lush forest and sparkling ocean as we watched the sun set and sampled some of the resort’s excellent wines.
The original plan had been to have dinner at Oxygen the first night, and then go into town exploring various restaurants the rest of the evenings. However, one meal at Oxygen with our stunning view and excellent service was enough to derail this idea. Each night dinner was a well thought out five course meal with fresh and inventive ingredients presented beautifully with local flowers. Organic produce is used whenever possible. One dessert, or should I say desserts, that will always stay in our minds was bananas three ways: banana creme brulee, rum and brown sugar soaked bananas, and banana gelato.
As we wandered the grounds the next day, we found a path down to a bustling stream and a small platform with modern chairs where we relaxed and contemplated our good life. Later we learned that the buildings of Oxygen only comprise less than 10% of the resorts land in an effort to preserve the beauty of the surrounding nature. To see that this resort was not just trying to attract environmentally conscious guests but also put their beliefs into practice in such a way was impressive.
Like many world travelers, there are a lot of places to see and we don’t usually plan on returning to the same place twice. In Oxygen’s case, we are making an exception and plan to return again soon.
TIP: Oxygen is also a full spa, offering couples massages, reflexology, mani-pedis, and more.