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Rooms With A View
July 9, 2008
In my travels to both Costa Rica and Honduras in 2008, I've had the good fortune to stay at two intimate, mountain-top lodges with sweeping views: Los Altos de Eros and Hacienda San Lucas, respectively.
What struck me about these two properties is how brilliant and successful they are in their simplicity.
Neither is at the cutting edge of technology (the idea here is to get away and relax, not to telecommute), and neither offers an "eclectic international menu" in an overpriced, overdecorated hotel restaurant (both serve local cuisine, simply prepared by local cooks in open-air dining areas).
But both offer truly warm hospitality that starts with the owners (Calvin & Jacqueline Haskell for Los Altos and Flavia Cueva for Hacienda) and carries through to the locally recruited staffs. And both provide one-of-a-kind locations and experiences--like open-air yoga studios in serene settings.
The pictures below are easily worth 1,000 more words, so I'll leave you to see for yourself what I mean when I say that the best hospitality occurs when someone simply and kindly welcomes you into his/her home, and it feels like it could become your home.
Posted by Derek Gale on July 9, 2008 | Comments (6)
Reader Comments
at 7/9/2008 8:09:34 PM, Binu John commented:
Great thought Derek. You definitely got a point.It is actually not so easy to create a simple & homely place for tourists....in this materialistic, opulence seeking world.
at 7/9/2008 11:06:49 PM, Anchal commented:
Pics looks great.An Ideal place for a family getaway in an relaxed atmosphere.Keep things simple and things will always be simple
at 7/10/2008 12:26:23 AM, Goran Tudorovic commented:
Nice retreat. In this world of overload of everything, places like this will have a more and more significance in mental health of all of us... you feel relaxed just by looking at the pictures..
at 7/10/2008 6:22:00 AM, Tracey commented:
Beautiful thought, beautiful place. HOpe the gas prices drop enough so I'll be able to afford to GET THERE!
at 7/10/2008 9:01:04 AM, Nancy A. Norman commented:
Derek - I agree with Goran...your pictures say it all - what absolutely beautiful venues...the mountains create such a wonderful feeling serenity!
at 3/3/2009 3:26:44 AM, GORAN TUDOROVIC commented:
Who took the pictures of my house without my knoledge!?...