Borinquen Thermal Resort - Rincón de la Vieja

It was the most wonderful hotel. Unique in where it is situated. Staff very attentive. Wildlife spotting incredible. Iguanas wandering across the lawn. Loved every minute there. Enjoyed the thermal mud.

Me & my wife sincerely enjoyed our stay here. The goal was for me and her to be in high altitude, immersed in nature. That’s exactly what Borinquen Resort provided for us. It was amazing to be where there was very very minimal pollution do two vehicles. I truly felt as though the air that we breathe was so much better than Florida where we live. We really enjoyed the service that the staff has given us and we plan on returning.

The Borinquen Thermal Resort was an amazing start to this Costa Rica trip. The drive from LIR was a fun adventure with beautiful views, the spa was incredibly relaxing, our room was so comfortable, and the property is absolutely beautiful. I would come back just to visit the resort again.

A unique opportunity to experience the wonders of Costa Rica in a natural setting. This hotel, thermal resort and spa offers a one of a kind experience that goes above and beyond any other that I have experienced in Costa Rica. The steam room of the spa sits atop a natural thermal steam vent that supplies mud for the mud bath pools and the naturally heated hot tubs and relaxing pools. The restaurant prepares a wide variety of locally grown and sourced meats, fruits, and vegetables. A large selection of Vegan meals and offerings are also available on the menu. Apart from the majestic views, artisans built architecture and the wonderful wildlife that can be viewed all around the property including the stables, I found the nightly prices here more affordable than the prices of the chain hotels in the city. With so much more to see, this traveler will be back again to experience more that this resort has to offer.

A hidden gem in the mountains - very hidden. You will need to arrange a shuttle or get a rental car with 4 wheel drive!!
But once you arrive, it is absolutely worth it. All staff were extremely friendly and helpful, and the junior suite with jet tub was huge! They offer free breakfast, and paid dinner with a reservation. We ate the best steaks of our lives here.

Super nice, absolutely worth the drive up the bumpy road, would return in a heartbeat. Zero complaints, the whole family had a great time. Not too crowded (we often had the whole pool to ourselves) and everything was top-notch.

I spent a lot of time researching places to stay in CR, and I ultimately chose Borinquen because of the relaxing rainforest vibe. So this place is stunning, tucked in a beautiful forest, with hot springs and free mud bath! I also did the horseback riding, zip line, and hike to waterfalls tour that is hosted by the hotel. It’s very affordable and so fun. There isn’t much else to do except relax here, so if you wanted a lot of activities, pick another place. I specifically wanted to relax on my balcony and read for a few hours. And enjoy the quiet pristine view. The road to get here from the airport is very extremely bumpy, so you can’t really leave without a car, also there’s nothing else around so you’ll have to be comfy with your own thoughts for a few days :)

Oh also, the resort is very huge, and you’ll have to do a lot of walking. Though I enjoyed strolling around, people with physical limitations may have a harder time.

Our first time to Costa Rica and we started at Borinquen. It is an amazing place! Usually I take reviews with a grain of salt but all the five star ratings were right on. The grounds are beautiful, the Casita was perfect, except the chairs on the deck could be more comfortable for the morning coffee. The staff without exception are super friendly and helpful. We did the waterfall hike with Nati, he's really knowledgeable about the plants and wildlife, besides being very friendly. The zip lines were my first, so I was nervous, but we had two great guides, York and Oliver. They were really good at what they do and made me feel very comfortable. Great pre line instruction, very safe equipment, beautiful scenery. Also thanks Armando for telling us about Costa Rican drinks! The monkeys and birds were great too! Thank you for a great visit! Pura vida!

We came to this resort to celebrate our 30th anniversary and nothing could have made our stay more fabulous or memorable! The entire staff was very attentive the entire week of our stay, and made sure that we had all that we needed (other than have any super glue for my broken finger nail, lol). We enjoyed all of our meals at the beautiful restaurant, usually outside on the covered deck to watch the monkeys and birds. The food was exceptional (the tenderloin steak was my personal fave for dinner) and the Costa Rican breakfast that was included with our package was bien rico todo los dias! We enjoyed the horseback riding tour to the waterfalls with Oscar on the day of the eclipse, and the sky became cloudy as well so it got eerily dark at one point which made the excursion even better than expected- we loved it! Being the "wet" season we had rain every day in the afternoons and we loved swimming in the amazing pool and enjoying cocktails at the swim-up bar while watching the rain fall on the surrounding jungle. The thermal pools and mud bath were a daily must-do, as was the walk through the jungle from the pool, to the sauna, past the hieroglyphs carved in the cliff (would have liked to have gotten more historical info on this) and up to the elegant spa. Our best adventure was the zip-lining tour with Warren & Guillermo- wonderful guides who entertained us along each of the 12 platforms. We were nervous at first but they had us laughing and having a ball the entire time!
Will definitely return with friends and family.
NOTE: this lovely property is well off the beaten path, a little over an hour from the airport in Liberia, but expect a very bumpy ride on rough roads as you get closer to the resort. The hotel arranged our transport ($125) but if you rent a car be sure to get a 4WD.

This resort was incredible! We came here for our honeymoon and fell in love. The cabanas are so cute and comfortable! The service staff was extremely nice and helpful. The resort was surrounded by lush trees; filled with monkeys, toucans, and iguanas! The mud spa was a super fun experience and the thermal pools were so relaxing. The swim up bar always had a friendly and attentive bartender and the whole experience was perfect!

Amazing place to stay and relax. Way too far out in the boonies. Definitely need four-wheel-drive or helicopter but definitely worth the drive.

The resort is wonderful. The surroundings are meticulously arranged, the houses are beautiful and comfortable. Everything is in the embrace of nature, there you will be able to observe ostriches, iguanas, birds, raccoons, squirrels... The staff is friendly, the activities are well organized, we went riding horses to waterfalls and ziplines. I highly recommend everything! Fantastic experience! The only things I would add are electric mini vehicles and a change of chef in the restaurant. The food is expensive and not very tasty.

This place is second to none! BB 79 (reviewer below) u need to have 3 seats. Bring a book next time...or go and dig out a DVD player in your basement and carry some movies with u. They r in the mountains. The road is NOT all that terrible. It's not the Autoban in Germany but then again....wait for it....CR is not Germany. Lol

The pool bar closes at 4....hm cuz u can go get alcohol from the restaurant at dinner. Otherwise BYOB there is a Walmart where we stopped and got snacks and soda and candy bars and things for sandwiches and a roasted chicken ....on the way...we just kindly asked our shuttle driver.

Don't be cheap tip even the breakfast staff and yes 10 percent gratuity is included but when is the last time u lived off of ten percent of a meal? Standard...except for the cheap...is $20. Tip the housekeepers and don't destroy the rooms. These are hard working beautiful smiling people. Tip the man that drives u up the hills. I'm an overweight diabetic with a five year old and we walked up and down just fine. If u are that bored sing a rendition of "Climb every mountain" from the sound of music on your way up.

Complaining about an establishment is kinda dumb. Just don't return but don't devalue them.

Thank u to the BTR staff for a beautiful stay. We will return if we r n the area again.

Very nice rooms. Beautiful area. Saw lots of wildlife. The nain restaurant was a bit fancy for my tastes. But, the other restaurant had more basic meals, which is what l like.
Hot tubs were very nice. They gad a cold one, one that was 37c and the other that was in the low 40c l think

The resort is beautiful , remote, the facilities and staff amazing. You have to walk a lot up hill to get your rooms but you can ask for transportation. The hot springs are amazing and the surrounding area with the pool is very well maintained. The food in the restaurant is good and affordable. The resort is kind of remote, 30 minutes going uphill from the main road, so be patient and go slow. Nothing around the resort for at least 30 minutes. If you are looking a place to relax and enjoy nature, this is the place.

There's a lot of love put into the maintenance of this place. I was not expecting it to be as beautiful as it was based off of the photos I saw on the web. So many different activities to do outdoors. The pool was very clean and the mud baths were amazing. Skin still feels great. The staff was on top of everything. Harold took great care of us when we arrived for dinner an hour earlier than our reservation. The hotel manager came by many times to make sure we were okay and gave us great recommendations.

Looking forward to returning.

Our family had an amazing time. The thermal pools are wonderfully relaxing. The mud bath stinks horribly but did help clear my skin. Dinner at the restaurant was great. Wonderful time.

This restore is in a hidden location, maybe not too easy to drive to here, but we were lucky booked trip with Bill Beard's, we had private transportation to get here. We saw spider monkeys in the restore with other animals. The hot springs and mud bath all nine. We also had spa, the building is on top the water where you can hear the water sound all the time, we enjoyed the service. The room we had is like a western style cabin in the jungle, it's clean and very comfortable. The restaurant is on the deck, food was delicious. Pura Vida!

Wow, I stayed 5 nights which was a touch long but I saw the best wildlife here my whole trip. Howler monkeys, white faced monkeys at the top of the resort crossing the trees with babies on their backs, spyder monkeys by the pools flying through the trees, Montezuma oropendola- birds with nests on site, toucans, iguanas, mot-mot bird. The hiking trail on site is great 15min with hieroglyphics. Pool is so nice with swim up bar. Snack bar is tasty, bar restaurant tasty, main restaurant tasty. The hills are steep there though, calves got a workout. Rooms were comfortable and beautiful little cottages, the view was spectacular with great sunsets.

This has become one of my favorite places in the world. While not everyone may enjoy the fact that the lodging is on a huge hillside, so far above the restaurant, pool, thermal tubs and pool and spa, i loved the opportunity to get a bit of exercise because it comes with an amazing view and a unique feel amidst the beautiful landscape.

The grounds are beautiful, the staff is amazingly friendly (we especially enjoyed Giovanni, Luis and Ior, and Valeria), the thermal tubs so relaxing and clean, with multiple opportunities for wild monkey observations...i can't wait to go back, and we might even make another journey there before we go home because we love it so much.

And, i can't say enough about the 4 senses tour. Such a beautiful relaxing adventure that is totally affordable ($60/ 3+ hours).