Hotel Punta Islita is fully committed to a holistic sustainability model that supports an array of local environmental and community initiatives.
Planet-Friendly People-Positive
As part of Grupo Islita, Hotel Punta Islita underscores that we are all stakeholders in our planet’s health and prosperity. Understanding and embracing our role is enriching. It fosters a caring attitude that permeates every endeavor. And we are thus better empowered to protect the environment, champion economic opportunity, and celebrate the cultural differences that color the fabric of human experience.
Hotel Punta Islita opened its doors in 1994 and was developed in full synergy with its local neighbors, prompting wildlife conservation, reforestation, and local employment opportunities. Art programs and complementary education further provided empowering tools for the local communities. Today, Hotel Punta Islita is not only a globally recognized sustainable travel destination, but also a thriving region characterized by a healthy natural environment and a dynamic collective of travel professionals, community artists, and micro-entrepreneurs.
We believe travel should be planet-friendly, people-positive and we thank you for your interest in sustainability.
Hotel Punta Islita opened its doors in 1994 and was developed in full synergy with its local neighbors, prompting wildlife conservation, reforestation, and local employment opportunities. Art programs and complementary education further provided empowering tools for the local communities. Today, Hotel Punta Islita is not only a globally recognized sustainable travel destination, but also a thriving region characterized by a healthy natural environment and a dynamic collective of travel professionals, community artists, and micro-entrepreneurs.
We believe travel should be planet-friendly, people-positive and we thank you for your interest in sustainability.
ISLITA ART MUSEUM
This Costa Rica art museum is the flagship of Hotel Punta Islita’s sustainability model.
The Islita Art Museum is an innovative cultural program that pairs established Costa Rican artists with local counterparts, transforming Islita village into a living museum featuring colorful murals, installations, and sculptures.
Guests can enjoy an authentic cultural experience by visiting the art studios, purchasing signature pieces, or creating art with local artists.
The Islita Art Museum is an innovative cultural program that pairs established Costa Rican artists with local counterparts, transforming Islita village into a living museum featuring colorful murals, installations, and sculptures.
Guests can enjoy an authentic cultural experience by visiting the art studios, purchasing signature pieces, or creating art with local artists.
education
Hotel Punta Islita's long-standing partnership with local neighbors is a key component of our unique experience because a healthy community is a truly welcoming destination! Through the years, we have led innovative programs that have earned national and global recognition for their impact, scope, and sustainability. Our education outreach programs are an ongoing and are supported by the hotel in partnership with guests, friends, business peers, NGO's, and government entities.
The New Islita School
Our most recent initiative is the construction and inauguration of a brand-new Islita School. Featuring a groundbreaking eco-architectural design, cutting-edge electronic tools, and stunning public art, it embodies the collaboration of the hotel, guests, associates, and business partners.
The innovative design prompts natural ventilation, lighting, and cooling. It was donated by renowned Costa Rican architect Ronald Zurcher to provide an optimal learning environment for children in remote tropical locations. Highly replicable, it sets a living example to maximize opportunity for children in the region.
Established Costa Rican artists from Perro Cerámico were invited to create a collaborative public art project in partnership with local Islita artists. The stunning murals embellish the school and add to the Islita Art Museum collection of open-air pieces.
Islita Creative Center
The Islita Creative Center provides complimentary education opportunities to local children and teenagers with the goal of instilling critical thinking, healthy lifestyles, and environmental awareness in its youngest neighbors. Toddlers enjoy subsidized nutrition and early stimulation in the areas of motor skills, language, and socialization.
Older kids benefit from beginner’s English, arithmetic, reading & writing, science, and social studies. The Islita Creative Center hosts after school programs to encourage creative and critical thinking, self-esteem, and inquisitive drive. Attendance is voluntary and free for all participants. Art, creative play, and research are at the core of the Center’s curriculum and activities emphasizing the use of computers, high-speed Internet, and multi-media equipment.
Jon and Janie Mangus Day Care Center
Located at the heart of Islita, the Jon and Janie Mangus Day Care Center tends to local children with ages ranging between nine months and six years old. The Center's namesake reflects the love and commitment to the community that is embraced by our friends. The Mangus family found in Islita the perfect place to build a Villa Home and establish a connection to the land and people, greatly contributing to the Day Care Center's success. After Mr. Mangus passed away, their legacy continues under a renamed institution.
In addition to a healthy meal plan, youngsters receive complementary education that emphasizes critical thinking, English as a Second Language, and environmental awareness. Its success is a tribute to the generous involvement of Hotel Punta Islita's homeowners' association in collaboration with the Villafranca-Zurcher Foundation.
The New Islita School
Our most recent initiative is the construction and inauguration of a brand-new Islita School. Featuring a groundbreaking eco-architectural design, cutting-edge electronic tools, and stunning public art, it embodies the collaboration of the hotel, guests, associates, and business partners.
The innovative design prompts natural ventilation, lighting, and cooling. It was donated by renowned Costa Rican architect Ronald Zurcher to provide an optimal learning environment for children in remote tropical locations. Highly replicable, it sets a living example to maximize opportunity for children in the region.
Established Costa Rican artists from Perro Cerámico were invited to create a collaborative public art project in partnership with local Islita artists. The stunning murals embellish the school and add to the Islita Art Museum collection of open-air pieces.
Islita Creative Center
The Islita Creative Center provides complimentary education opportunities to local children and teenagers with the goal of instilling critical thinking, healthy lifestyles, and environmental awareness in its youngest neighbors. Toddlers enjoy subsidized nutrition and early stimulation in the areas of motor skills, language, and socialization.
Older kids benefit from beginner’s English, arithmetic, reading & writing, science, and social studies. The Islita Creative Center hosts after school programs to encourage creative and critical thinking, self-esteem, and inquisitive drive. Attendance is voluntary and free for all participants. Art, creative play, and research are at the core of the Center’s curriculum and activities emphasizing the use of computers, high-speed Internet, and multi-media equipment.
Jon and Janie Mangus Day Care Center
Located at the heart of Islita, the Jon and Janie Mangus Day Care Center tends to local children with ages ranging between nine months and six years old. The Center's namesake reflects the love and commitment to the community that is embraced by our friends. The Mangus family found in Islita the perfect place to build a Villa Home and establish a connection to the land and people, greatly contributing to the Day Care Center's success. After Mr. Mangus passed away, their legacy continues under a renamed institution.
In addition to a healthy meal plan, youngsters receive complementary education that emphasizes critical thinking, English as a Second Language, and environmental awareness. Its success is a tribute to the generous involvement of Hotel Punta Islita's homeowners' association in collaboration with the Villafranca-Zurcher Foundation.
Fauna
Scarlet Macaw Recovery in Costa Rica
Our partnership with regional conservation NGO’s has made Hotel Punta Islita's eco-system more colorful and fascinating. The surrounding tropical dry forest is thriving, evidenced by the healthy numbers of howler monkeys, large iguanas, and exotic birds. Two standout projects have jumpstarted the recovery of sea turtles in nearby Camaronal Beach and red macaw populations in the Nicoya region.
The most recent program involves a full partnership with The Macaw Recovery Network. Founded in 2018 after working under the name of The Ara Project, The Macaw Recovery Network responds to a need for a region-wide focus that contemplates the success of the initiative's first local stage. Hotel Punta Islita is proud to host the program’s headquarters, donating a plot of land, breeding facilities, living quarters for a biologist, and the biologist's wages. The recently- inaugurated Lapa Lookout is an education and viewing center where guests can learn and participate in the recovery and release efforts.
Sea-Turtle Protection in Costa Rica
The months of September, October, and early November bring about a fascinating yearly ritual when female sea turtles swim along hundreds of kilometers to return to the Costa Rican beaches that once saw them head out to the ocean as hatchlings.
Globally endangered sea turtles are the quiet heroes of marine and beach environments. Some species are sea grass grazers (like manatees), helping to optimize the living habitats of key food chain populations. Egg laying and hatching on the beach provide essential nutrients for the sand dune vegetation that helps prevent erosion. These functions, essential to the health of coastal ecosystems, have prompted aggressive conservation and recovery efforts. Hotel Punta Islita in Costa Rica has fully supported such initiatives as led by the Camaronal Foundation. Thanks to these efforts, Leatherbacks, Kemp Ridley, Green, Hawksbill, and Black turtles have once again returned in robust numbers.
Our partnership with regional conservation NGO’s has made Hotel Punta Islita's eco-system more colorful and fascinating. The surrounding tropical dry forest is thriving, evidenced by the healthy numbers of howler monkeys, large iguanas, and exotic birds. Two standout projects have jumpstarted the recovery of sea turtles in nearby Camaronal Beach and red macaw populations in the Nicoya region.
The most recent program involves a full partnership with The Macaw Recovery Network. Founded in 2018 after working under the name of The Ara Project, The Macaw Recovery Network responds to a need for a region-wide focus that contemplates the success of the initiative's first local stage. Hotel Punta Islita is proud to host the program’s headquarters, donating a plot of land, breeding facilities, living quarters for a biologist, and the biologist's wages. The recently- inaugurated Lapa Lookout is an education and viewing center where guests can learn and participate in the recovery and release efforts.
Sea-Turtle Protection in Costa Rica
The months of September, October, and early November bring about a fascinating yearly ritual when female sea turtles swim along hundreds of kilometers to return to the Costa Rican beaches that once saw them head out to the ocean as hatchlings.
Globally endangered sea turtles are the quiet heroes of marine and beach environments. Some species are sea grass grazers (like manatees), helping to optimize the living habitats of key food chain populations. Egg laying and hatching on the beach provide essential nutrients for the sand dune vegetation that helps prevent erosion. These functions, essential to the health of coastal ecosystems, have prompted aggressive conservation and recovery efforts. Hotel Punta Islita in Costa Rica has fully supported such initiatives as led by the Camaronal Foundation. Thanks to these efforts, Leatherbacks, Kemp Ridley, Green, Hawksbill, and Black turtles have once again returned in robust numbers.
Villafranca-Zurcher Foundation
The Villafranca-Zurcher Foundation is the executive arm of Hotel Punta Islita's community outreach programs. It has been instrumental in the creation, development, and growth of the Islita Art Museum, the Jon & Janie Mangus Islita Day Care Center, and related human betterment initiatives. As a fundraising entity, it has been able to leverage Hotel Punta Islita's contributions by enlisting the support of private individuals, NGO's, affiliates, and foundations including Holcim, Zurcher Arquitectos, Avina, Fundecooperacion, and the US based, Friends of Islita.
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