Moana Lodge is a small personal orientated hotel set amid the unspoiled jungle of the tranquil region of Mal País on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.
The area of Mal País has some of Costa Rica’s most beautiful white sanded beaches, along with incredible surf breaks and jungles teaming with wildlife. By coming to Mal País you’ll discover the true meaning of paradise.
As for the word Moana, it’s taken from the Polynesian word for ocean, making it a very apt name as the hotel is located a mere 200 meters from the sea.
The hotel is now into its fifth year, and was taken over last year by a new owner. Moana is currentley managed by a young enthusiastic couple, Aidan, an Irishman, and Vicky, a Costa Rican native. Aidan was working in Cuba and Central America as a photographer (Aidan did all the photography for the website) before meeting Vicky on his travels. Charmed by this magnificent part of the world, and naturally by Vicky too, the return ticket to Ireland was torn up providing the hotel with a wonderful management team. Both Aidan and Vicky have a history in the hospitality trade so running the hotel wasn’t that big of a change for either of them.
People often ask why the African inspiration. The answer is that the previous owner had African roots hence the theme.
We liked that idea and the style of the hotel and instead of changing it, we felt, well, let’s enhance it and take it a step further, as the theme sits perfectly in Mal País’s tropical backdrop. But we were very aware to not over do the African theme as we didn’t want the hotel to end up looking tacky or contrived. So in terms of style we kept things simple and searched the globe for authentic African memorabilia, like the hotel masks which are from Ghana, Cameroon, and The Congo. We sourced them through an African vendor in Camden Town Market in London. The Zulu shields came from a supplier in South Africa, and the rest came from a mix of countries including Nigeria, Ireland, United States, and Costa Rica.
The hotel was closed for 4 months but we continued building and improving the hotel for a further 6 months after reopening. We set about introducing more luxury and elegance to the rooms. So out went the salon toilet doors, the washbasins that faced windows and not a mirror, the old plasterboard walls, and the impossible to locate light switches. As for the furniture, pretty much everything had to be replaced or added, lights, beds, linens, wardrobes, curtains, everything! We paid great attention to the small details of the room to ensure better functionality for our end product.
The remodelling didn’t just stop with the rooms, we built the new Jacuzzi, modified the grounds, made safer pathways, extended the car park, and lastly we added the Barbeque area. In the end it turned out to be a huge undertaking, but it made all the difference.
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With our luxurious rooms and beautiful location we want Moana to be a homely and welcoming place for our guests to enjoy.
For us it’s all about the small touches in a place that makes it special. So we hope you enjoy this wonderful part of the world as much as we do.
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