Mr. Sloth and His Gift of Happiness

The new spokesperson for Costa Rica and its Gift of Happiness promotion is Mr. Sloth.   Below are some pictures of sloths, both two and three toed, that can be found around our hotels. Which one do you think is closest to Mr. Sloth?

By the way, do you like the campaign?  We have heard mixed reviews.  A lot of people here in Costa Rica’s tourism sector are not convinced, but it seems there are lot of the people in our target market in the US who really like it.

Cayuga Announces New Property!

Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality has taken a page from Diana Ross’s hit, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” with the addition of a new Costa Rican property into its fold.

Hacienda Tayutic, located in the mountainous valley of Turrialba, Costa Rica, is Cayuga’s seventh property. The luxurious boutique hotel is a family operation and has five guestrooms with queen- or king-sized beds, private bathrooms and decks; a gourmet restaurant that features dishes made with organic ingredients and herbs grown on-site; a swimming pool and new spa (opening in December 2011); lush gardens and a macadamia nut, sugarcane and coffee plantation; and great views of the constantly rumbling and fuming Turrialba Volcano – Costa Rica’s most active volcano.

Cayuga’s other award-winning properties include Latitude 10 Exclusive Beach Resort in Santa Teresa, Lapa Rios Ecolodge on the Osa Peninsula, Finca Rosa Blanca Coffee Plantation & Inn located just outside San José, Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort in Manuel Antonio, The Harmony Hotel in Nosara and Jicaro Island Ecolodge near Granada, Nicaragua.

“It’s truly a pleasure to welcome Tayutic to the Cayuga family,” said Hans Pfister, CEO and principle of Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality. “Four of our properties showcase the stunning beaches of coastal Costa Rica, one brings guests to a private island in Nicaragua and another takes explorers deep into the mainland jungle. Hacienda Tayutic is our first ecolodge located in a mountainous region – Turrialba one of Costa Rica’s best-kept secrets and what some like to call the ‘Switzerland of the tropics.’ It’s a place made famous for cheese production and organic coffee and raw sugar plantations – not surf breaks and sandy beaches.”

Set at an average altitude of 639 meters (2,096 feet), the Turrialba region is an epicenter for agriculture with plenty of cattle ranches, milk processing plants and acreages dotting the landscape. Considered by some to be the adventure sports capital of Costa Rica, activities range from riding horseback through the countryside to exploring centuries-old ruin sites and navigating Class II and III rapids down the Pejibaye River (October 2011’s World Rafting Championship was held at the nearby Pacuare River). The team at Hacienda Tayutic offers all of these outdoor activities – and more – so guests can fully-experience what the Turrialba valley has to offer.

The cost to rent a room at Hacienda Tayutic ranges from $295 USD (low season, breakfast and snacks only) to $385 (high season, all-inclusive). The price for each additional room guest is $50 USD per person (breakfast and snacks only) or $80 (all-inclusive). The cost to rent the entire five-room Hacienda Tayutic ranges from $2,120 USD (low season) to $2,300 (high season). To learn more about Hacienda Tayutic or to book a vacation, visit www.tayutic.com.  

Olive Ridley Sea Turtles at Playitas Beach

Olive Ridley Sea Turtles at Playitas Beach, Arenas del Mar Beachfront and Rainforest Resort, Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
By Hans Pfister

Our night receptionist at Arenas del Mar, Dannier, called my room at 5:30 am on Friday morning (Nov 18th).  He suggested I go down to Playitas beach as fast as possible as a sea turtle was discovered by our guard laying eggs on the beach. 

I went down immediately to observe this incredible “National Geographic Moment” just steps away from my hotel room.  Other guests and our nature guide, Erselm were already there.  Everyone was in awe of what they were seeing… 

While there was one sea turtle laying eggs in the sand, just three meters behind us a little baby sea turtle made its way out of the nest that must have been placed there by another turtle a few weeks earlier. 

It is not unusual to see sea turtles in Costa Rica.  It is not that common though to see sea turtles in Manuel Antonio, and quite unusual and special to see one sea turtle lay eggs just a few meters from where another one is being born.  So, on the picture below, you can see how the turtle marches off into the waters next to the big turtle. 

By this time, more guests have come down to the beach to admire this wonderful scene.  The children especially loved it.  But most everybody was impressed by the size of the big turtle and the “cuteness” of the little baby one.  We did not see his or her brothers and sisters being born.  Maybe this one was late and everybody else had headed to the Ocean during the dark of the night. 

The big turtle was headed back to the water.  I tell my three year old daughter stories about a sea turtle called Charlie and she loved the idea of Charlie having visited Arenas del Mar (one of her favorite hotels).  Well, maybe is Charlene, not Charlie… 

What was also nice is that Rodbin, the head of our golf cart driver team, let the restaurant know about what was going on at Playitas and just after 6 am, we had breakfast served at the beach.  We had freshly brewed organic coffee, tropical fruits and home-made pastries.

If you are interested in learning more about this turtle species, check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_ridley_sea_turtle.  This was certainly one of the best mornings of the year and unforgettable for all the guests that were able to be a part of this experience. 

La Soda Tapia

Our Cayuga Corporate Office in San Jose is located just a few steps from La Soda Tapia.  Since 1965, this has been a favorite for Costa Ricans, especially for breakfast and lunch.  The signature dish is the “Lorenzo Sandwich” and if you are looking for a true breakfast for champions, order it with Gallo Pinto on the side. 

But what really strikes me about La Soda Tapia is how it represents Costa Rican society.  I was there this morning for breakfast with my wife after a run in La Sabana (that is the San Jose version of New York’s Central Park).  What caught my attention was that on one side of the restaurant, the crew of a municipal garbage truck was having a hearty breakfast and just around the corner the owner of a brand new Porsche had a business meeting.  I really like this about Costa Rica. 

So if your travels to Costa Rica and our hotels along the Pacific coast take you through San Jose, stop by for breakfast or lunch or a quick stop in the afternoon for some of their famous fruit and ice cream.  Everybody knows the place.  Just ask.  Enjoy and let me know how it went. 

World Travel Adventure Summit

In mid-October, I attended the World Travel Adventure Summit in Chiapas, Mexico.  I did not go there to “sell” our hotels to wholesalers or tour operators.  I wanted to get inspired, get new ideas and meet interesting people.  My expectations of the event were exceeded.  The best conference I have ever been to.  Why? 

1.      The right balance:  It is not a hotel conference with lots of “suits” and a primary focus on business.  However, business is important to everybody there.   But it is also not a sustainability conference where I sometimes feel things are a bit too academic and removed from our day to day reality.  But intact nature and healthy communities are the basis for adventure tourism. 

2.     The press:  Great presence of press from National Geographic Traveler to Outside Magazine and Travel & Leisure.  It was especially cool, since we were on the cover of T&L with Lapa Rios this month.   Also, a lot of great freelancers and a great work session about how to get more PR for our company. 

3.     The presentations:  The focus was on story telling.  And of course a lot on social media.  All very helpful and inspiring.  Working on the 2012 Marketing Plan right now and we are planning to make some big changes.  Stay tuned… 

4.      The people:  They talked about the “tribe” of adventure travel professionals at the beginning of the conference.  It took me only a day to figure out what they meant.  Everybody I met was super cool, had a great story, full of passion about what they did.  Met people from Namibia, Scotland, Canada, Philippines just to name a few. 

So next year’s conference is in Lucerne, Switzerland.  I hope I can go.  Anybody else going? 

Saludos,

Hans

Annual Cayuga Retreat

We recently held our annual Cayuga Retreat at co-owner Andrea Bonilla's farm.  On the first day, everyone met at a Restaurant near the farm; we were all super happy to have the 18 staff members together (hotel managers and corporate team). Kurt Niehaus, high performance athlete, was our coach for the first two days.  Our first task was to illustrate on of Cayuga's standards of excellence which was followed by a great dinner!

On the second day, we began with a 6:00 a.m. walk around the property, to wake up and exercise our bodies, followed by a stretching session by Kurt.  We then had a typical Costa Rican breakfast and got ready for our 4 hour horseback ride which was full of surprises!  Bull 'herding' and other tasks showed us how hard the job of a 'sabanero' (people in charge of cattle) is. It was a great adventure running behind the bulls that wanted to escape...lots of thinking, coordinating, patience and strategy required! 

We had an amazing lunch in the middle of a mango plantation and talked more about our standards of excellence.  Later, we had a little free time at the pool which was followed by a coaching season with Kurt where each of us evaluated how to better be a high level executive along with a short talk about stress and how to handle it best.  We concluded today with a geat dinner by our Chef, Jose Lopez, wine tasting and time to share with all.

On the last day,  we started with a 6:30 a.m. walk and Chi Kung exercises.  Some of us also went out for a run at 5:30 a.m.!  This was followed by a great breakfast and coffee.  We then brainstormed about sustainability projects we would like to implement at the hotels in 2012/2013 which was guided by Michelle Libby.  We created great ideas which involve the ocean and preserving it, as well as fun and helpful to the surrounding community,  Later we had a stretching session guided by Isis Mejia, physiotherapist, another one of our hosts at the retreat as well as life coaching session with our another host Linda Cruse.  Linda talked about the 'power of one', her experiences and offered thoughts on how each of us would like to be remembered at the end of our days.  Michelle then gave an explanation about Equilibirum - how the nonprofit organization was founded, what the goals are, and how each of us can help promote it within our positions.  We ended with a delicious lunch and then everyone took off to their corresponding hotels and places.

Action, relaxation, adventures, fun, exercise, food, laughs and reflections….a great retreat!