Tabacón is a

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

resort and ecohotel located in Nuevo Arenal, Alajuela Province, Costa Rica, northwest of La Fortuna. It lies on the flanks of Arenal Volcano, which it uses to heat its springs. The

geothermal springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

have a range between 72 and 105

°F The Fahrenheit scale () is a temperature scale based on one proposed in 1724 by the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736). It uses the degree Fahrenheit (symbol: °F) as the unit. Several accounts of how he originally defined his ...

(22-41

°C The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius scale (originally known as the centigrade scale outside Sweden), one of two temperature scales used in the International System of Units (SI), the other being the Kelvin scale. The ...

). The resort was founded in 1991 by Costa Rican architect Jaime Mikowski, taking two years to develop the resort, and was opened in April

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. It consists of 105 rooms, three restaurants, five bars, a

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

and event room. It occupies 300

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

s of

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

. Tabacón aims to be

environmentally friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that clai ...

, and has a rating of 5 'leaves' from the

Costa Rican Tourism Board The Costa Rican Tourism Board ( es, Instituto Costarricense de Turismo) is the government agency responsible for promoting sustainable in Costa Rica. Originally the agency was created by decree in 1931 as the National Tourism Board, and by a law ...

. The hotel has furthermore won several awards for sustainability, including ''Sustainable Travel International’s Luxury Eco Certification Standard'' in June 2010, and the ''Green World Award'' by ''Seven Stars and Stripes'' in 2009. The resort is

carbon neutral Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...

.References

Hotels in Costa Rica Hotels established in 1991 {{costaRica-stub