Transformation of Hilton’s Botánika Osa Peninsula Has Begun
The hotel company’s first branded residential resort and marina development in Costa Rica is set to open in a year
After more than 20 years as one of Costa Rica’s most iconic billfish sportfishing destinations, Crocodile Bay Resort has begun its transformation into Botánika Osa Peninsula, Curio Collection by Hilton, slated to open in October 2021.
The resort’s transformation begins as Costa Rica announces its reopening beginning in November, following months of closure due to coronavirus travel restrictions. The Central American nation is looking to rebuild its tourism economy, based on its biodiversity and natural environment.
“With Corcovado National Park in our ‘backyard’ and the Pacific Ocean in our ‘front yard,’ Botánika will be virtually surrounded by national parks and forest reserves,” said managing member Cory Williams. “We will have an unrivalled location that will make us the perfect base camp from which to explore Costa Rica’s incredible biodiversity.”
Botánika will offer guests an immersive rainforest experience with sport fishing and a wide range of guided eco-adventures – like visiting an animal sanctuary, chocolate farm, or butterfly conservatory; panning for gold or engaging in voluntourism opportunities, including participating in endangered sea turtle conservation. Activities include kayaking through mangroves, exploring the jungle and sighting rare species of monkeys, plants and insects, or taking photography tours, zip lining and horseback riding.
Plans for Botánika include up to 106 studio-, one-, two-, and three-bedroom Curio Collection rainforest residences designed to coexist in harmony with the environment. Construction is currently underway on the first phase, with 27 Curio branded hotel residences slated to open in October 2021.
Special features of the resort grounds will include nature trails and themed gardens, including an orchid garden, a hummingbird garden, a medicinal garden and a bamboo garden. Guests and owners of the hotel residences will enjoy VIP access to Botánika’s planned private beach club that will offer expansive beachfront experiences at four exclusive locations.
Other amenities will include a fitness center, a three meal restaurant and bar, a conference center, a lagoon-style resort pool with hanging swings and fairy lights, and access to Crocodile Bay Marina, home to the largest private sport fishing fleet in Central and South America.
Located on Costa Rica’s South Pacific Coast, a premier sport fishing and eco-adventure destination, Botánika will provide guests with an immersive rainforest experience. Named “the most biologically intense place on Earth” by National Geographic, Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula is home to more than 2.5 percent of the world’s biodiversity. Additionally, 1 in 40 of the world’s plant and animal species are concentrated on the Osa.
