Chase the winter’s chill all the way to Costa Rica for our January Spa Spotlight. Real Food Traveler’s Health, Fitness & Spa Editor, Carole Jacobs, tells us what we can expect from the experience at Bearth Spa at El Mangroove Hotel in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

Save this article about Bearth Spa and El Mangroove to Pinterest to help you plan your visit. Photos courtesy of El Mangroove. Graphic by RealFoodTraveler.com.

January Spa Spotlight: Bearth Spa at El Mangroove Hotel, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

If the holiday hustle totally wiped you out, you couldn’t find a better place to regroup for 2026 than Bearth Spa at El Mangroove Hotel. As well as balmy temps, stunning beaches and crashing waves, the spa resort is located in Guanacaste, one of the world’s designed “Blue Zones”— regions boasting the world’s healthiest, longest-living populations and encompassing all things health, wellness, and longevity.

Nestled amid lush mangroves and vibrant tropical gardens, the boutique spa resort overlooks stunning views of Culebra Bay and the Papagayo Peninsula, where the ocean meets the sky in a breathtaking panorama, and is just 20 minutes from Liberia International Airport.

A beautiful pool area at El Mangroove in Costa Rica. Photo courtesy of El Mangroove.

Digs that redefine barefoot luxury

El Mangroove combines contemporary design with relaxed sophistication in 121 spacious suites spread over three floors, with stunning views of the ocean, a dark-sand beach and mangrove trees and equipped with many luxury touches: Plush beds, flat-screen TVs with premium channels, and spa-like bathrooms with walk-in showers, and balconies overlooking the beach.

Upgrade to the exclusive Mangle Suite—with its private sun deck, plunge pool, and direct access to Playa Panama. Or bring the family and settle into a two-, three- or four-bedroom villa featuring spacious living and dining areas, fully equipped kitchens, elegant bathrooms, private outdoor terraces with plunge pools, and rooftop spaces with breathtaking canopy views. (See an image in our collage graphic above).

Guestrooms at El Mangroove let the outside in. Photo courtesy of El Mangroove.

Unwind and revive at the spa and fitness center

The spa, surrounded by the beautiful forests and mangroves, offers transformative spa and massage treatments in elegant wall-less outdoor cabanas with massage decks that let you connect with nature while enjoying massages, body wraps, and facials. Treatments run the gamut from traditional cacao ceremonies to New Age sound baths, meditation, pranayama, and several kinds of yoga.

Try a massage in a wall-less outdoor cabanas as Bearth Spa at El Mangroove. Photo courtesy of El Mangroove.

The resort also features an exclusive adult-only pool area with sunbeds, and private cabanas for rent with a pool concierge service that includes hourly snacks and drinks sample every hour. Or sack out in a hammock on the beach for the most relaxing catnap of your life.

Adjacent to Bearth Spa, the glass-walled Wyl Gym fitness center, open 24/7, has everything you need to maintain your wellness routine, from Matrix treadmills, ellipticals, and weight machines to free weights.

Exterior of the Bearth Spa at El Mangroove. Photo courtesy of El Mangroove.

Hungry for more? Read about Mii amo at Enchantment Resort in Sedona, Arizona.

Get fit in the Great Outdoors

The resort also offers lots of adventure-packed ways to get fit while taking in the breathtaking scenery.

• Wake up to customized yoga session by crashing waves.
• Take a morning hike along the beach or go nature hiking in the rainforest.
• Swim in four private pools with sun loungers.
• Borrow gear from the resort for kayaking, snorkeling or paddleboarding.
• Explore the Pacific and secret beaches during a Sea Doo wave runner jet ski tour.
• Fly high across the tropical rainforest past monkeys, birds and across the Tempisque River on zipline tours featuring 11 cables and 15 platforms.
• Take a full day ocean tour for close-up encounters with whales, dolphins, turtles, devil rays, and sip wine while the sun sets over the ocean.
• Sign up for a cultural tour that includes slip-sliding down a long jungle waterslide, unwinding in natural hot springs, soaking in hot mud, and a traditional lunch.
• Take a guided horseback riding excursion through the rainforest.

What else to expect at Bearth Spa at El Mangroove Hotel, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Feast on the fresh catch and locally sustained cuisine

At El Mangroove, fine dining is more than a meal – it’s a celebration of the region’s farm-to-table and ocean-to-table bounty. Anchored by two distinctive beachfront restaurants, the experience ranges from elevated elegance to barefoot bliss. Makoko, the resort’s signature fine dining restaurant, highlights local ingredients with an innovative twist, offering everything from refined breakfast buffets to exquisite seafood dinners. For those craving a relaxed poolside vibe, Matiss delivers tacos, ceviche, burgers, and pizza with a view of Papagayo Bay.

Other restaurants include Malú, a Mediterranean restaurant celebrating the flavors of Greece, Italy, Spain, France, and Morocco, with a focus on fresh, locally sourced ingredients; and Izakaya, featuring Japanese cuisine with a modern touch.

El Mangroove has been the stage for the Sustainable Gastronomy Congress, a one-of-a-kind culinary gathering where prestigious Michelin-starred chefs from around the world join resort chefs to share their expertise and best practices in sustainable cuisine.

Makoko Restaurant provides inside-outside dining at El Mangroove. Photo courtesy of El Mangroove.

After hours magic

When the sun goes down, take the Bioluminescence & 3-Hour Stargazing Tour. You’ll cruise out to a spot with zero light pollution for unparalleled gazing at the constellations, then to another spot to watch the night ocean come alive with glittering bioluminescence.

Beyond the resort

Known as the “Gold Coast,” the region around El Mangroove has everything from lively surf towns to tranquil, secluded beaches with powder white sands and crystalline blue waters. Home to volcanoes, thermal hot springs, diverse rainforests, wetlands, and countless waterfalls, it’s ideal for hiking, ziplining, and wildlife spotting. It also has a distinct “Pura Vida” (“pure living”) vibe, friendly locals, and traditional cattle ranches. Expats and retirees throng to this budget-friendly place, where you can live it up on $2,500 a month.

As long as you’ve come this far, save a day or two for exploring some scenic wonders near El Mangroove.

• Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!: Skip the long plane flight and hefty price tag of African safaris and head to Africa Mia, offering an authentic safari experience for thousands of dollars less in a landscape very similar to the African savannah. Climb into a Land Rover for a scenic ride into the expansive compounds where the animals roam. Feed ostriches and giraffes by hand, pet the zebras, and visit a small lagoon with a pretty waterfall.
• Hike a volcano: Visit Parque Nacional Rincón de la Vieja, a 35,000-acres national park centered around a volcano that erupted in 1995. Hike around the foothills of an active volcano, swim underneath a waterfall, and take the pressure off your feet in hot springs.
• Zipline over the ocean, visit coffee, cacao and sugarcane plantations, and ATV into jungle depths: Head to Diamantee EcoAdventure Park for a nonstop adventure. The Superman Costa Rica Zipline Pass, Costa Rica’s only ocean view dual zipline, takes you high over the waves for an adrenaline-packed adventure. Hang out with wild things at the Costa Rica Wildlife Sanctuary. Take the Costa Rica Cultural Experience Tour and learn about traditional Costa Rican culture, including the production of cacao, coffee, and sugarcane. Climb on an ATV to explore the mountainous land and dry rainforest of Guanacaste or go horseback riding along the beach and beachside trails.

The ultimate catch

If “gone fishing” is your notion of a luxury vacation, you may to combine your El Manroove stay with a visit to Marina Bahía Golfito. The luxury marina located in Golfo Dulce on Costa Rica’s Southern Pacific Coast has emerged as one of the world’s best sportfishing destinations. An easy flight from Liberia National Airport, the marina offers both inshore and deep-sea excursions up to 70 miles offshore, with opportunities to catch blue, black, and striped marlin; sailfish; yellowfin tuna; roosterfish; snapper; and wahoo. November through June is considered peak fishing season, with June–December particularly strong for marlin.

If you don’t arrive by boat, you can settle in at  Esquinas Rainforest Lodge in Golfito, a 37-acre private reserve tucked in untamed wilds just 1 ½ miles from the airport, with a pool, restaurants, hiking trails, and luxury rooms overlooking gardens, mountains and rivers. The adjoining forests of Piedras Blancas National Park is a birding paradise, with 300-plus species, and is also home to jaguars. Also near the lodge is Corcovado National Park, a backpacking paradise that encompasses 13 major ecosystems, including lowland rain forest, highland cloud forest, jolillo palm forest, mangrove swamps, coastal marine and beach habitats.

Marina Bahia Golfita. Photo courtesy of El Mangroove.

To learn more about the property, click these links for more information about Bearth Spa at El Mangroove Hotel, Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

-By Carole Jacobs, Health, Fitness & Spa Editor, RealFoodTraveler.com

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Hungry for more? Read about El Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico.

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