This Luxurious Costa Rican Resort Offers Guests A Unique, Private Rainforest Experience

With a name like Hotel Three Sixty, the panoramic standards should be high. This hilltop resort in Costa Rica overlooks the Pacific Coast, along with billowing blankets of forest. Viewed from its many decks and balconies, the oceanic horizon smolders with tropical sunsets. The remote night skies are a dazzle of equatorial stars. And each morning, the canopy is symphonic with birdsong, daring guests to spot feathered flyers in the upper boughs. The odds are good: Biologists have identified at least 367 bird species in this corner of Costa Rica, and the nearby Osa Peninsula represents 2.5% of the world's biodiversity.

To help guests spot wildlife, Hotel Three Sixty provides them with CL Curio Binoculars made by Swarovski Optik, one of the top-rated manufacturers in the optical industry. The Austrian brand specializes in telescopic lenses, helping naturalists and hunters set their sites on hard-to-find critters. Hotel Three Sixty and Swarovski recently started a partnership, so that guests both enjoy epic views and also zoom in on specific scenery. Even if you've never set foot in a rainforest or seen a spider monkey up-close, well honed hospitality and ecotourism make Costa Rica a perfect international trip destination for travel newbies.

But Swarovski has taken this relationship one step farther: The company recently purchased an undeveloped, 285-acre property in the Osa Peninsula, which it now maintains as a private conservation area. In an effort to keep poachers and profiteers at bay, the Swarovski Optik Rainforest is strict about entry, and visits are mostly limited to scientists and investors. Yet the new stewards have made an exception for Hotel Three Sixty; guests are invited to splurge on the Swarovski Package, an exclusive guided tour of the new preserve.

The Swarovski Package includes transport to the property, an overland journey that takes about one hour from Hotel Three Sixty. Once in the conservation area, visitors can hike up to six miles of established trails, winding their way through the rainforest and skirting the coast. This parcel is a natural habitat for such diverse species as pumas, toucans, and poison arrow frogs, and provides an important stepping stone for migratory birds. Visitors can learn about Swarovski's conservation efforts, including the introduction of endangered species to these protected grounds.

The tour was inaugurated in 2025 and is still evolving. In true Costa Rican fashion, the Swarovski Package caters to outdoors enthusiasts in decent physical condition; feeling comfortable in isolated woods is a big plus. Like Manual Antonio, a popular national park on the Pacific side of Costa Rica about 50 miles north of Hotel Three Sixty, the preserve is a great place in Central America to glimpse rainforest wildlife; unlike Manuel Antonio, which has paved paths, large tour groups, and lots of hotels and restaurants nearby, the Swarovski Optik Rainforest is a bona fide jungle, whose location doesn't even register on Google Maps.

Such a rare opportunity does come at a price: The package starts at $2,798 per person, including a Premium Villa, a local birding guide, and gourmet breakfast. Fittingly, participants get to use (and keep) a pair of Swarovski binoculars. These alone normally retail for about $900.

Most international guests will fly into Juan Santamaría Airport, located just outside the capital city of San José. The trip to Hotel Three Sixty is a long one — about four hours by car — but this scenic drive through the Costa Rican countryside is a great way to acclimate to the "pura vida" experience. The country's southwestern quarter is famous for its quiet isolation, where surfboard-ready waves lap local beaches and verdant hills teem with life. The resort stands about 11 miles down the road from Uvita, a world-famous peninsula that is shaped like a whale's tale and is an ideal spot for spotting humpbacks.

The long journey is worth it when you arrive, and not just for the spectacular miradores (lookout points): Hotel Three Sixty is like a village made up of luxury villas, boasting refined modernist aesthetics and ample outdoor space. Villas start around $485 per night, so budget travelers may consider starting or finishing a longer Pacific Coast journey with a romantic luxury escape.

The on-site Kua-Kua restaurant serves high-end fusion dishes, such as octopus ceviche, tuna tartare, and tandoori chicken; come dusk, enjoy a signature cocktail by the infinity pool at Bar 360. Whether you opt to bird-watch in the Swarovski Optik Rainforest or relax poolside, you may find that a visit to Hotel Three Sixty is one of the best things to do in Costa Rica.