Small Distinctive Sustainability

 Costa Rica has long been known as one of the  world's "greenest" countries, and is often referred to as an ecotourism pioneer. Indeed, preserving the precious natural environment of this magnificent country has long been on top of the agenda of the Costa Rican government, governmental as well as NGO organizations. Moreover the travel industry in Costa Rica recognizes that succesful tourism is dependent on an intact environmental as well as socio-cultural environment, and therefore engages avidly in its protection.

In line with Costa Rica's sustainability efforts,Small Distinctive Hotels prioritizes sustainability not only by supporting a variety of Costa Rican social and environmental organizations, but also by promoting sustainability among its member hotels. An example for this is that each hotel upon entry, must commit to the National Sustainable Tourism Certification (CST) process.

The Certification for Sustainable Tourism Program (CST) is a product of the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT). The program seeks to categorize and certify tourism companies according to the degree to which its operations comply to a model of sustainability, for which 4 fundamental aspects are evaluated: 

1. Physical-biological Parameters

2. Infrastructure and Services

3. External Clients

4. Socio-economic Development

Accordingly, each of our nine hotels has either gone through the process of certification, is still within the process, or is currently renewing it's certification. Within recent months, the continous and dedicated efforts of our member hotels have begun to show rewards, as positive certification results were being awarded as shown below:

Hotel Casa Turire in Turrialba - 4 out of 5 leaves

Hotel Grano de Oro in San José - 4 out of 5 leaves

Hotel Cuna del Angel in Dominical - 4 out of 5 leaves

Florblanca Resort in Santa Teresa - 4 out of 5 leaves

Hotel Capitan Suizo in Tamarindo - 4 out of 5 leaves

The other hotels likewise rank generally high in the sustainability certification:

Arenas del Mar Resort in Manuel Antonio- 5 out of 5 leaves

Playa Nicuesa Lodge in Osa Peninsula - 4 out of 5 leaves

Peace Lodge in Vara Blanca - 2 out of 5 leaves (currently upgrading)

Hotel Villa Caletas in Jacó - 2 out of 5 leaves (currently upgrading)

At Small Distinctive Hotels, apart from offering a collection of the most beautiful hotels in Costa Rica to journey to, we see sustainability as a journey in itself to which we are continuously committed.