Skip to main content

Playa Nicuesa receives 5 Leaves sustainable tourism rating!

By: PLAYA NICUESA RAINFOREST LODGE / 13 Oct 2015
Playa Nicuesa receives 5 Leaves sustainable tourism rating!
Playa Nicuesa received Five Leaves!! All of the dedication to positive environmental practices and community social responsibility by the staff at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge were rewarded last month when the Costa Rica eco-hotel received the highest level rating of the Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) program.

This is the second consecutive year that the Costa Rica rainforest lodge has received the highest rating of 5 Leaves in the CST Program by the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT). Playa Nicuesa Lodge is one of only 41 hotels in Costa Rica that have a 5-Leaf certification.

The CST program rates and certifies tourism businesses based on their compliance with natural, cultural and social resource management. CST consists of five levels, called “Leaves”; Level 5, or 5 Leaves, signifies that the company is considered “outstanding in terms of sustainability.” The rating process is very detailed and involves frequent inspections and evaluations; the highest levels are very difficult to obtain.

“For all the staff at Playa Nicuesa Lodge, it is a huge honor to be able to realize our sustainability efforts to obtain the 5-leaf CST for the second consecutive year,” said Marcelo Lopez, manager of Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge. “Sustainability is a harmonious way of life we try to convey to each of our visitors with each of our actions, and this recognition of the daily efforts of our staff and the environmental and social consciousness that the owners, Donna and Michael (Butler), have had since the birth of Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge is important to us."

Having obtained the highest level of CST is one more way to ensure our guests that they are choosing a responsible company with the environment and the community," Lopez said. For many travelers, eco-friendly travel is a priority and so is staying at sustainable tourism hotels. Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge, in the southern Costa Rica rainforest on the Pacific Coast gulf of Golfo Dulce by the Osa Peninsula, is one of the first sustainable tourism eco-hotels in Costa Rica.

Celebrating its 12th anniversary in 2015, Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge protects 95 percent of its 165-acre rainforest property in an undeveloped and natural state. The extraordinary Costa Rica eco-lodge was designed in harmony with the environment constructed from naturally fallen trees and recycled materials. Earlier this year, Playa Nicuesa received the important Ecological Blue Flag Award for the fifth time for having one of Costa Rica's cleanest beaches.

Accessible only by boat, Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge fronts the pristine beaches of the Golfo Dulce, surrounded by the wild Piedras Blancas National Park. The location is part of a giant conservation area including the world-famous Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. The unique tropical fjord of Golfo Dulce is a critical habitat for migrating Pacific Humpback Whales, and for dolphins and sharks.> "
 

 

Our goal is to provide guests with an experience that they will always remember fondly: Excellence, friendly service, high-end accommodations, educational opportunities and unique, well-run adventure activities, and to provide this experience while operating the lodge in the most environmentally-friendly manner possible,” explained Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge owners, Michael and Donna Butler.

Article by Shannon Farley

Find more readings