Central and South America / Central America / Costa Rica / Guanacaste and the Nicoya Peninsula / Malpais and Santa Teresa / Best Hotels

Cristal Azul

You’ll need a four-wheel-drive vehicle to reach this isolated hilltop hotel and its four individual cabins. They are simple, almost to the point of austere, but all offer 180-degree views over a patch of flat farmland and out to the sea. At the beach, Playa San Miguel is a virtually undiscovered piece of Pacific coast sand. The hotel operates a small beachfront bar and restaurant during the day. Hosts Zene and Henner Morales are very personable and attentive and pretty much always on-site.