A locally owned community-minded beachfront address
The sun is barely up in Santa Teresa, and chef Pedro Cajas is in the kitchen of Manzu, Nantipa’s beachfront restaurant, a production line of sandwich-filling in full swing. But these are not for the guests; “They’re for the athletes,” he smiles. A local initiative, Futbol por mi Pais, trains twice weekly in the plaza up the road. Kids from underprivileged backgrounds receive mentoring from world-class coaches, and the program teaches them important values, discipline and respect. “At Christmas, Pedro made Christmas-tree-shaped cookies with decorations, each individually wrapped and ribboned,” recalls Gally Meyer, the non-profit’s founder. “When I first approached the hotel, I had my elevator pitch ready to go, but they stopped me. The director Harry Hartman was like, count us in, what do you need?” Since then, the kids have been provided with two full, healthy meals a week, and Nantipa has become Gally’s unofficial office. You’ll see her—baseball cap bobbing, pen scribbling—switching seamlessly between English and Spanish in Manzu as she talks sport with the staff (everyone in Costa Rica supports a team), conducts business and fundraises for the foundation.
Above her, a palm-thatched roof is suspended by thick trunks— native pochote, teca and Guanacaste trees—designed to imitate the traditional techniques of the country’s indigenous Chorotegan community. Like the Guanacaste tree, whose strong, firm roots symbolize stability and growth in Costa Rican culture, Nantipa’s own roots already run deep in the community, with initiatives at every turn, from the permaculture farm it supports at Cirenas to the beach cleanups; one bucket-full of microplastics will earn you a free smoothie. If that’s not immersive enough for you, staffer Mario Brenes once took a guest home to La Esperanza Sur. “He wanted to experience life in a local farm town, so I taught him how to milk cows and grind yellow corn, plus introduced him to three elders in the village because he was curious about the Blue Zone lifestyle.” And if you have time for a surfing lesson? Ask for Andres to take you to Playa Hermosa, where there are freshly-fallen pipas (coconuts) and beginner-friendly waves. —Anna Prendergast
