--- title: The Splendours of Monteverde | Colin Sharpe (2) description: "Monteverde’s Hospitality and Tourism Industry is growing fast, and Karen and Valeria Fallas Monge, the Hotel’s owners, have been there from the very beginning. 25 + years of experience and a reputation for excellence has made them leaders in the field.\n\nKaren was not born in Monteverde. However, her father came to the region just a year after she was born. He worked on a dairy farm. And later on, her mother began working as a cleaning maid for the different scientific organizations that first came to research the incredible diversity and unique environment of Monteverde. Hence, she grew up surrounded by wild nature, yes, but more importantly, she developed in an atmosphere of highly educated people from all over the world that came to enjoy or study the breathtaking cloud forests of the region. (2)" image: https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/Social%20Ocotea%20Boutique%20Hotel.png --- [![mail1](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/mail1.png?width=23&height=21&name=mail1.png)](mailto:reservations@ocoteahotel.com)  [![facebook1](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/facebook1.png?width=19&height=25&name=facebook1.png)](https://www.facebook.com/Ocotea-Boutique-Hotel-101966258958284)  [![insta1](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/insta1.png?width=25&height=25&name=insta1.png)](https://instagram.com/ocoteaboutiquehotel/)  [![phone1](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/phone1.png?width=191&height=25&name=phone1.png)](tel:506%2040022599) [![LOGO OBH-01-1-2-1-1](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/Institutional/LOGO%20OBH-01-1-2-1-1.png "LOGO OBH-01-1-2-1-1")](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/) - [HOME](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/) - [ABOUT](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/about) - [ROOMS](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/rooms) - [Ocotea](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/rooms#Ocotea) - [Sotobosque](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/rooms#Sotobosque) - [Dosel](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/rooms#Dosel) - [EXPERIENCES](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/experiences) - [In-House Services](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/experiences#IN-HOUSESERVICES) - [Ocotea Tours](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/experiences#OCOTEATOURS) - [Ocotea Transfers](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/experiences#OCOTEATRANSFERS) - [CONTACT](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/contact) - [BLOG](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/) - [BOOK NOW](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/book-now) Open main menu Close main menu ![Title](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Title.png?width=1043&name=Title.png "Title") ![Hello, welcome](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/Hello%2c%20welcome.png "Hello, welcome") - [All (67)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/all) - [Inside Monteverde (37)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/inside-monteverde) - [Nature (36)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/nature) - [All about Ocotea (34)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/all-about-ocotea) - [Experiences and Excursions (27)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/experiences-and-excursions) - [Visit Costa Rica (18)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/visit-costa-rica) - [Wine & Dine (16)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/wine-dine) - [Ocotea Boutique Hotel (12)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/ocotea-boutique-hotel) - [Culture & Lifestyle (11)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/culture-lifestyle) - [Packing, checklists & maps (6)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/packing-checklists-maps) - [Food & Beverage (5)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/food-beverage) Posts by: ## Colin Sharpe ![3 Simple Practices to Capture the Peace of Monteverde in Your Daily Life](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/BLOGS%20FOLDER/Ocotea%20Exteriors/3%20Simple%20Practices%20to%20Capture%20the%20Peace%20of%20Monteverde%20in%20Your%20Daily%20Life%20(9).jpg) [Inside Monteverde](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/inside-monteverde) ### [3 Simple Practices to Capture the Peace of Monteverde in Your Daily Life](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/3-simple-practices-to-capture-the-peace-of-monteverde-in-your-daily-life) Perched in the misty cloud forests of Costa Rica, Monteverde is known as one of the most tranquil, peaceful places in a country known for the concept of *pura vida*. Monteverde was founded by Quakers from the US who objected to the Vietnam War’s draft, and they found common ground with Costa Rica’s anti-war beliefs. In this way, even the very creation of Monteverde was an act of peaceful protest. [Read More](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/3-simple-practices-to-capture-the-peace-of-monteverde-in-your-daily-life) ![](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/Exteriors.jpg) [All about Ocotea](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/all-about-ocotea) ### [Sustainable, Local, Luxury: The Building Blocks of Ocotea](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/sustainable-local-luxury-the-building-blocks-of-ocotea) The values of the [Ocotea Boutique Hotel](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/) from the very start have been to prioritize sustainable, local, ethical products and services with an uncompromising dedication to luxury-level quality. For Founders Karen and Valeria Fallas, there would be no other way to deliver the absolute best that [Monteverde has to offer](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/roots-and-resilience-looking-to-the-future-at-the-ocotea-boutique-hotel) while staying true to the foundational values of Monteverde itself. [Read More](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/sustainable-local-luxury-the-building-blocks-of-ocotea) ![](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/Bellbird.webp) [Nature](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/nature) ### [The Arrival of the Three-Wattled Bellbird](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/the-arrival-of-the-three-wattled-bellbird) Seasonal migrations of numerous bird species throughout the year make birdwatching in Monteverde a dynamic activity, where each month can bring a vastly different experience for birders seeking the [rare and magnificent birds](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/bird-watching-in-costa-rica) that visit Monteverde.  [Read More](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/the-arrival-of-the-three-wattled-bellbird) ![Creating A Living and Changing Garden at the Ocotea Boutique Hotel](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/BLOGS%20FOLDER/Ocotea%20Exteriors/Creating%20A%20Living%20and%20Changing%20Garden%20at%20the%20Ocotea%20Boutique%20Hotel%20(4).jpg) [All about Ocotea](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/all-about-ocotea) ### [Creating A Living and Changing Garden at the Ocotea Boutique Hotel](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/creating-a-living-and-changing-garden-at-the-ocotea-boutique-hotel) In Monteverde, there are no clear lines between where civilization ends and nature begins. Instead, it’s a gradual change, where carefully trodden paths offer us the chance to explore cloud forest reserves, where the natural world comes right up to your front porch, and beauty both ecological and manmade is constantly intertwined with each other.  [Read More](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/creating-a-living-and-changing-garden-at-the-ocotea-boutique-hotel) ![If You Seek Monteverde, You Have Found It | A Letter from the Editor](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/BLOGS%20FOLDER/The%20History%20of%20Monteverde/If%20You%20Seek%20Monteverde%2c%20You%20Have%20Found%20It%20(1).jpg) [All about Ocotea](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/all-about-ocotea) ### [If You Seek Monteverde, You Have Found It | A Letter from the Editor](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/if-you-seek-monteverde-you-have-found-it-a-letter-from-the-editor) I have been fortunate to travel a great deal in life so far, both for work as a travel and hospitality writer as well as to satiate my own oft-insatiable desire for new adventures and experiences, and in that time I have come to deeply appreciate the value of seeing new destinations through the eyes of the people who live there.  [Read More](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/if-you-seek-monteverde-you-have-found-it-a-letter-from-the-editor) ![Nectandra Blossoms](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/BLOGS%20FOLDER/Nectandra/Nectandra%20Blossoms%20(1).jpg) [Wine & Dine](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/wine-dine) ### [Nectandra Blossoms | The Bright Future of Ocotea’s Culinary Gem](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/nectandra-blossoms-the-bright-future-of-ocoteas-culinary-gem) You can’t talk about the Ocotea Boutique Hotel without discussing Nectandra, the restaurant at the heart of this welcoming place in the mountains of Monteverde. From the very beginning, founders Karen and Valeria Fallas knew Nectandra needed to [capture the soul of Monteverde](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/all-about-monteverde-dining), with fresh ingredients, warm hospitality, and an understated elegant atmosphere.  [Read More](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/nectandra-blossoms-the-bright-future-of-ocoteas-culinary-gem) ![Bringing Art and Life to the Ocotea Boutique Hotel](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/BLOGS%20FOLDER/Ocotea%20Interiors%20(Restauraurants%20and%20halls)/Bringing%20Art%20and%20Life%20to%20the%20Ocotea%20Boutique%20Hotel%20(1).jpg) [All about Ocotea](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/all-about-ocotea) ### [Bringing Art and Life to the Ocotea Boutique Hotel | An Interview with Muralist Majo Rodriguez](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/bringing-art-and-life-to-the-ocotea-boutique-hotel-an-interview-with-muralist-majo-rodriguez) Any artist who’s had a chance to visit Costa Rica will tell you that the experience is inspiring. The landscapes are dramatic and striking, the natural world is vibrant and exploding with color, the sunsets are breathtaking, and the blend of welcoming hospitality and pulse-pounding adventure provides a broad spectrum of emotions from which to draw.  [Read More](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/bringing-art-and-life-to-the-ocotea-boutique-hotel-an-interview-with-muralist-majo-rodriguez) ![Roots and Resilience | Looking to the Future at The Ocotea Boutique Hotel ](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/BLOGS%20FOLDER/Ocotea%20Interiors%20(Restauraurants%20and%20halls)/Preview.jpg) [All about Ocotea](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/all-about-ocotea) ### [Roots and Resilience | Looking to the Future at The Ocotea Boutique Hotel](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/roots-and-resilience-looking-to-the-future-at-the-ocotea-boutique-hotel) The very first blog published by our team was titled [*Deep Roots and Big Wings | The Story of Karen and Valeria Fallas*](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/deep-roots-and-big-wings), which dove into the story of Karen and Valeria, the founders of the Ocotea Boutique Hotel, and the turbulent challenges that they had navigated to open this gorgeous hotel in the mountains of Monteverde.  [Read More](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/roots-and-resilience-looking-to-the-future-at-the-ocotea-boutique-hotel) ![In the Branches of the Ocotea Tree | The Ocotea Boutique Hotel Rooftop Lounge](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/BLOGS%20FOLDER/Ocotea%20Interiors%20(Restauraurants%20and%20halls)/The%20Ocotea%20Boutique%20Hotel%20Rooftop%20Lounge%20(5).jpg) [All about Ocotea](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/all-about-ocotea) ### [In the Branches of the Ocotea Tree | The Ocotea Boutique Hotel Rooftop Lounge](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/in-the-branches-of-the-ocotea-tree-the-ocotea-boutique-hotel-rooftop-lounge) Monteverde is one of the most unique places in Costa Rica and features a combination of geography, climate, plants, and animals that are found nowhere else on Earth. In the heart of the global ecotourism capital, Monteverde offers something a little different than the steamy tropical rainforests Costa Rica has become known for.  [Read More](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/in-the-branches-of-the-ocotea-tree-the-ocotea-boutique-hotel-rooftop-lounge) [1](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/author/colin-sharpe) [2](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/author/colin-sharpe/page/2) [3](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/author/colin-sharpe/page/3) ## Subscribe LOCATION 250 North from Banco de Costa Rica, Sapo Dorado Neighborhood, Cerro Plano, Monteverde. RECEPTION Daily from 6AM to 10PM +506 40022599 © 2026 Ocotea Boutique Hotel | All Rights Reserved [Visit Monteverde with Ocotea Group](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/) [Privacy & Cookies](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/privacy)| [Terms & Conditions](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/about)