Sustainability in Monteverde isn’t something you announce; it’s something lived quietly, practiced daily, and passed from one generation to the next.
Mother-daughter founders Karen and Valeria Fallas grew up in this community, where everyone composts, everyone protects water, and everyone knows their neighbors. So when they built Ocotea Boutique Hotel, they didn’t set out to create another “sustainable hotel in Costa Rica;” they set out to build a place that honored the land they love, helped the people who taught them, and served the community that shaped their lives.
Every choice we’ve made since – from the way we manage resources carefully to the biodegradable cleaning products we source – is a daily act of love. It’s a renewed commitment to do what’s right over what’s easy.
As our guest, you’ll often feel this care in ways you might not be able to name at first: the freshly roasted Monteverde coffee that greets your arrival, the eco-friendly luxury amenities waiting in your bathroom, the greens on your plate picked hours earlier by nearby farmers, and the sense of belonging that only grows deeper the longer you stay. This is the foundation on which everything else rests.
When shaping Ocotea Boutique Hotel, Karen and Valeria made one choice over and over again: to honor the land even when it meant more time, more expense, or more effort.
The hotel was designed to follow the natural contours of the hillside, reducing forest disturbance and letting the existing topography guide its footprint. Local wood, regional materials, and the work of Monteverde craftsmen appear throughout the rooms, hallways, and furniture, grounding the space in the textures of this mountain. Natural ventilation helps keep energy use low, while water-efficient fixtures reflect the town’s long history of protecting one of its most precious resources. An electric vehicle charging station encourages clean drives.
This spirit continues into daily life. All cleaning and personal-care products are biodegradable. There are no single-use plastics anywhere on the property. Most amenities are refillable. Almost everything can be recycled, reused, or composted. Food scraps return to the garden as nourishment. And all waste – even at full occupancy – fits into roughly one bag a week.
These aren’t box-checking practices. They’re everyday acts of care.
If you ask Karen and Valeria what they’re proudest of, they won’t mention the glowing Tripadvisor reviews of our design or our rooms or our made-to-order breakfast or even our view. Karen and Valeria will always praise our people first.
Because Ocotea Boutique Hotel was built by Monteverde hands – by the craftspeople, the gardeners, the builders, the cleaners, the chefs, and the Front Desk staff who live here, raise their families here, and know every turn of the road and every mood of the mountain.
During construction, they insisted on responsible hiring: 25 workers from Monteverde, 10 from nearby towns, and only a handful from elsewhere in Costa Rica. They prioritized certified firms, fair wages, and transparent practices. When one worker turned out to be misrepresented by an outside contractor, they handled it quietly, respectfully, and with the worker’s well-being at the center.
That philosophy still guides us today. Many of our team members have grown with Ocotea right from the beginning. The drivers who work with Ocotea Tours have been supported through professional development and even vehicle upgrades, allowing them to expand their businesses and support their families. One driver now owns two vehicles and works alongside his wife, in a story that fills Valeria with visible pride: “These aren’t just workers,” she says. “They’re our team members, and our community members. When you invest in people, you build a better business and a better town.”
This is why your stay at Ocotea Boutique Hotel feels so personal: Our hospitality is rooted in real relationships, human values, and respect. You’ll feel it in every greeting, every remembered preference, every warm welcome, and every small kindness.
Sustainability flourishes when it spreads outward, and when the impact extends beyond the hotel walls and into the community. It’s what’s known as the circular economy – a system that pours back into itself – and our partnerships form a web of support that strengthens both the land and the people who call Monteverde home.
Ocotea Tours, Karen’s first business, founded 18+ years ago, is our hotel’s trusted tour partner, connecting you with expert local guides who lead cloud forest walks, sunrise birdwatching, and meaningful nature experiences. Their work supports local families and preserves natural heritage.
Café Monteverde appears at every breakfast, on the Monteverde Rooftop, and at Nectandra Restaurant, roasted fresh and served with pride. Guests who fall in love with the flavor can find it again in the hotel’s Gift Shop, supporting local producers with every purchase.
Monteverde Brewing Co. brings the spirit of the region to the Monteverde Rooftop, pairing crisp, small-batch beers with cool mountain evenings.
Through relationships with local farmers, Nectandra Restaurant receives fresh produce picked just hours before service. You’ll taste that freshness in every colorful meal, while farmers sustain their operations through long-term, reliable partnerships and farm tours that connect travelers directly to their fields.
And through collaborations with Monteverde creators, including artisans featured in the new Gift Shop, you, our guests, can take home a meaningful, ethically made piece of the forest. Because these aren’t transactional partnerships; they are relationships shaped over years of shared work, mutual trust, and deep-rooted respect.
Travel shapes places, especially when they’re as small and community-rooted as Monteverde. With fewer than 7,000 residents and one of the most delicate cloud-forest ecosystems in the world, every choice you make matters: Where you stay, who you tour with, and which businesses you support all ripple outward into the land and the lives of the people who call this mountain home.
When you choose Ocotea Boutique Hotel, you’re choosing more than a Monteverde boutique hotel with a view. You’re supporting a project that was built from the ground up with our community’s well-being in mind. You’re choosing water- and energy-conscious design, biodegradable products, refillable amenities, composting, recycling, and a hotel that produces almost no waste.
You’re choosing to support a team that’s employed year-round, which is a rare and meaningful commitment in a tourism-driven region with strong seasonal shifts. Your stay also extends support into the wider circular economy, whether you’re hiring local guides and drivers whose livelihoods depend on responsible travel, supporting small producers who pour their craft into this town, or purchasing souvenirs from local artisans whose work keeps cultural traditions alive. Even a simple farm tour helps keep local agricultural families afloat.
None of these actions requires extra effort on your part, but they have a real impact. They help ensure Monteverde remains a thriving, living community rather than just a tourist destination. They protect the forest not only through conservation, but by sustaining the people who protect it. And they reflect a powerful truth: your presence here can be part of the solution.
If there's one truth that shapes our eco-luxury Monteverde hotel, it's this: Caring for the land and the community is the truest act of love.
It's love expressed in quiet decisions that few guests ever see, but always feel. Karen often says, “When you do things right, it becomes easy to keep doing things right.” And Valeria adds, “We’re still learning, still evolving. This will always be a work in progress.”
That humility is the soul of Ocotea. Because sustainability isn’t a milestone here. It’s a relationship that grows even deeper every year. So, if you’re seeking a stay that reflects your values, we’re ready to welcome you.
Plan your visit to Ocotea Boutique Hotel and experience a version of sustainable luxury rooted not in excess, but in purpose. Let the forest show you what balance feels like. Let our community share what care looks like. And let your time here become a small but meaningful part of a much larger story.