Aves Hotel Montezuma

A Hilltop Address Named for Its Birds

Above Montezuma's beach town, on ten acres of garden and secondary forest, Aves Hotel and Resort takes its name from the Spanish word for birds, and the choice is literal rather than decorative. The property opened in December 2019 as a cluster of Bali-roof bungalows built around a 200-year-old pochote tree and a creek that runs through the grounds. Howler and white-faced monkeys move through the canopy most mornings, and the birdlife that gave the hotel its name is reliably present on the open decks that front each room. It reads as a hotel built by people who wanted to live on this hill, then decided to let guests stay too.

Why It Works

We picked Aves because Montezuma has no shortage of guesthouses and surf hostels, but very few properties with the design discipline of an actual boutique hotel. The Deluxe King rooms, set in Bali-style roof bungalows, pair a king bed below with an open loft for two more, high ceilings, and a kitchenette, a practical touch in a town where restaurant hours can be unpredictable. The build is recent enough that the finishes still read current rather than weathered, and the ten-acre footprint gives it a sense of space that denser beachfront hotels in town cannot match.

Why This Location

Montezuma sits at the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, a town that built its reputation on waterfalls, surf, and a slower pace than the resorts further north. Aves takes the hilltop position rather than the beachfront one, which costs a short walk or drive to the sand but buys ocean views from the yoga shala and a genuine sense of separation from the town's main strip. Montezuma's waterfalls are a fourteen-minute walk from the property, and the beach itself is roughly six minutes by car, close enough for a swim without placing the hotel in the middle of the evening crowds.

Fast Facts

• Price: boutique mid-to-upper tier for the Nicoya Peninsula

• Vibe: hilltop boutique hotel with a wellness lean, nature-immersed rather than beach-club loud

• Rooms: 10 total, including Bali-roof Deluxe King bungalows with lofts

• Best for: travellers who want Montezuma's slow pace with better design and a real pool

• Our favorite thing about the hotel: the second pool, fed by its own small waterfall, tucked below the lap pool

• Dining: on-site restaurant and poolside bar, with Montezuma's café strip a short walk away

• Amenities: 17-metre lap pool, waterfall pool, yoga shala with ocean views, gym, massage treatment rooms

• Nearby: Montezuma Falls, Montezuma Beach, canopy tours, horse riding, snorkelling

Two Pools, One Waterfall

The hotel's defining amenity is less the room design than the pool arrangement: a 17-metre lap pool for anyone who wants to actually swim, and a second, smaller lounge pool a level below it, fed by a waterfall built into the hillside. Loungers and a poolside bar sit between the two, and because the property is set back from the beach, the pools do real work as the hotel's social centre rather than a backup to the ocean.

Yoga With a View

The yoga shala sits high enough on the hill to look out over the forest canopy toward the ocean, and it is sized for groups rather than a single mat in a corner, which is why retreat organisers use the property for teacher trainings. A gym and massage treatment rooms round out the wellness side without turning the hotel into a full spa resort; the emphasis stays on the shala and the view.

Monkeys, Creeks, and a 200-Year-Old Tree

What separates Aves from a standard boutique build is the grounds it sits on. A creek runs through the ten acres, a pochote tree estimated at two centuries old anchors the central garden, and howler and white-faced monkeys treat the property as part of their regular range. Birders will recognise that the hotel's name is earned rather than borrowed: guests report sightings from their own balconies without needing to book an excursion.