Hotel Hacienda GuachipelínThe is located in Hacienda Guachipelín, in Curubandé, an old Indian town, 15 km north of Liberia, in the province of Guanacaste. The road is accessible all year round by car, although 4x4 is more adequate for any Costa Rican road.

The hotel is located in the center of a 120 year old cattle ranch that is still in operation. The hacienda is also an Andalusian horse breeding ranch, with more than 40 breeding mares. 

The main house and the corral are over 100 years old. The altitude at the hacienda house is 450 meters above sea level. This gives the place a cooler climate; 5 degrees lower than the Pacific Coast.

In the morning: If the visitor wants, he can experience milking the cows, feeding the pigs, collecting the eggs from the hen house, or herding the cattle or the horses back and forth. Remember that Hacienda Guachipelín is a working ranch.

The hacienda is surrounded by natural beauty. It has more than 5 waterfalls; only 3 are open to our guests, but upon request and for the adventurer we can arrange trips to the other two. The 3 waterfalls that are open regularly to our guests are beautiful. 

The hacienda has hot springs and volcanic mud inside the property. These have medicinal and exfoliating properties.

There are also horseback riding trails around the property and to the national park. Some of those trails are used for hiking. Close to the main house, there is an outlook post with a 360 degree view; you can see from the coast to some of the volcanoes in the area, from the peninsula to the Rincón de la Vieja Volcano. 

It is interesting to know that the water used for drinking at the hotel comes from a mountain mineral spring inside the property. Also the electricity in the hotel is from our 104 year old Pelton water wheel, which takes advantage of the stream that flows close to the hotel. 

The main theme of the area around the Rincón de la Vieja is nature at its best. Within the park you will find rivers, waterfalls, hot springs, an active crater, a volcanic lagoon, lots of different types of forest, more than 250 birds, lots of volcanic activity and more. Come and see it for yourself. 

The road going up to the park is private, and no public entity gives maintenance to it. That is the reason why the hacienda collects 2 dollars per person for the use of the road and parking space at the park’s entrance. With that money, the road from the gate to the park, and the private parking along side the park entrance, are maintained. It is important to remember that 4 years ago, the road was impassable and there was no parking at the park’s entrance. 

The rooms

At the present time we have 26 rooms available. They are distributed in 5 sectors, 3 sectors have 6 rooms each. Trees and plants and plenty of space separate them. Five rooms are located in the old hacienda house, and 3 rooms are located near the corral. From the rooms you can see plenty of bird activity in the morning.

All of the rooms have private baths with solar water heating system. We try to use energy conservation techniques. The rooms have a front porch with very comfortable rocking chairs to enjoy an afternoon chat or simply to contemplate the surroundings. 

Twelve rooms are family rooms. They have a double bed and a single bed with an extra bed under it. The rooms have an adequate size for a family of 4. There are also 14 double rooms. They each have a double bed and a single bed. 

Tours in the hacienda

This tour is a courtesy tour to our guests. On that tour the visitor will see the corral, the milking of the cows, the process of making cheese, the calves, the mares with the colts, the henhouse and the pigpen. Also the visitor will have the opportunity to see the hydroelectric system. It is a water-driven wheel called a "Pelton water wheel" built in 1896. It is more than 100 years old. It has been in operation for more than 4 years. The visitor will see how the energy is transmitted at high voltage and then transformed into commercial voltage. They will also see the emergency generator and how it adapts to the system. Another spectacular place to see is the Mirador "View Point"; it has a view of 360 degrees of the coastline, the peninsula and the volcano.

Rates – Nov 2000 - Oct. 20001