Hotel Las Tortugas

Welcome to Hotel Las Tortugas!

Our small, ecotouristic beachfront hotel is located on one of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica. Since prehistoric times, Playa Grande has been one of the world's principle nesting beaches for the Giant Leatherback Sea Turtle. Louis Wilson, the founder of Hotel Las Tortugas, was instrumental in preserving Playa Grande as one of the last functioning, healthy nesting areas in the world for this now highly-endangered species. Join us and witness this spectacle of nature which occurs at our doorstep every October through February. The nightly turtle tours run from October 15 to Feb. 15th through the park service. After Feb. 15th, you can walk our beach in the early morning hours in hopes of seeing the baby hatclings making their way to the sea in the half-light of the early dawn.

Hotel Las Tortugas is perfectly positioned in the center of Playa Grande, just steps from the main peak which is one of Costa Rica's most consistent surf breaks. Our guests revel in the luxury of staying at the only beachfront hotel in the area with our pool, jacuzzi, garden with hammocks, and open-air restaurant and bar all just steps from the water's edge. Wilson, who owns and operates both the Las Tortugas Hotel and our Tortugas Lighthouse Apartments, is a surf-pioneer with 30 years experience living & surfing in northwest Costa Rica. Louis was one of the original surfers of Witch's Rock and is more than happy to assist you with surf forecasts and his unique knowledge of the area. We rent surfboards and boogie boards.

Hotel-
We designed and built the Hotel ourselves. Its temple-like structure is not an expensive accident. Since turtles are sensitive to light, there are no oceanviews to the south where the nesting beach is located. The structure is intended to block light from any future development to the north.

Our eleven rooms all have AC and private hotwater bathrooms, providing a climate-controlled space for resting up for the next nature excursion.

Apartments-
We also have jungle apartments for rent up the hill from the hotel if you need a kitchen, plan an extended stay, or just want to enjoy a more secluded, private atmosphere set on a hillside above the ocean. Of course, all our Tortugas Lighthouse Apartment guests use the hotel as their beachfront clubhouse with full access to all our hotel facilities.

All our apartments have AC and private hot water baths, as well as private porches set among the jungle trees which howler monkeys frequent as it's part of their monkey trail. Our apartments are 500 meters from the ocean and 650 meters from the hotel. The walk to the hotel takes about 5 minutes.


Hotel Las Tortugas is a model for sustainable development. The center fills a variety of functions and roles. We fund anf manage projects like shielding the street lights across the bay at Tamarindo. We also promote the sanctuary in the public and private sector and serve as its information center.

Our staff and guests are watch dogs for the wildlife area. We helped bring the local communities together, not only in an economic sense, but through their jobs and community work.

Our entire staff is from the surrounding villages. We invite you to get to know them, practice your Spanish, and join them in authentic cultural events such as local fiestas and rodeos. Nearly every weekend, December through March, a different local town hosts a fiesta/rodeo with dancing, local fare, and bull riding.

Our oceanfront hotel is located in front of the main peak at Playa Grande, one of Costa Rica's most consistent surf breaks. We have a hot jacuzzi , swimming pool, outside shower (great for rinsing off after stumbling up off the beach), and a palmfrond rancho with hammocks--all just steps from the sand. We are ideal for families and couples. The laid back atmosphere makes Las Tortugas a children's paradise. There is a telephone for local and long distance calls, in addition to fax service. Rental car service can be arranged through our front desk.

Restaurant-
You will enjoy the delicious seafood and international dishes of our restaurant/bar. The indoor dining room is surrounded by ocean front, open-air and roofed decks. We serve food all day from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Our beachfront hotel is just steps from the main peak at Playa Grande, one of Costa Rica's most consistent surf breaks. It's great to get out of the water and rinse off in our outside shower, jump in the pool or jacuzzi, relax in a hammock in the shade, or head for our open-air restaurant bar for a tropical smoothie, cold Imperial, or killer margarita.

There is plenty to do at Las Tortugas in addition to sufing, beach-combing and relaxing. Hotel Las Tortugas is itself nested in an area that is part of the Costa Rica National Park system. Enjoy exploring miles of deserted, pristine whitesand beaches, stretching for miles to our north and south. The beach trail to the north along the cape offers tidepools for snorkeling and secluded blacksand coves of volcanic rock for luxuriating and sunbathing in complete privacy. Behind the beach lies a natural saltwater estuary, Estero Tamarindo, a national wildlife refuge. The area around the estuary is teeming with wildlife and contain small patches of intact lowland dry forest, the most endangered type of forest on the planet. Predatory birds abound.

We are strictly ecotouristic and while our emphasis is not on luxury, we like to think that we provide local charm and warmth as we employ only local people from the surrounding villages in order to encourage sustainable development and support the local economy. Having come from families that at one time eked out a living from gathering turtle eggs, now our staff are watchdogs for the wildlife area, realizing that safeguarding this unique environment is the smartest way to maintain a strong economy through tourism, as well as to ensure a better future for all.

Pura Vida!