Backstage Pass: Cozying up at Lands in Love, Costa Rica

by VICTORIA ELIZABETH

Nestled in the pristine cloud forests of the Alajuela province in Costa Rica, Lands in Love Resort features a quaint and charming hotel offering 38 total unique, secluded, and cozy rooms (including two specially designed for guests with disabilities), a world-renowned vegan restaurant, featuring a highly trained chef who serves up delectable plant based cuisine at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as full-scale activity center, affording guests the opportunity to experience adrenaline pumping excursions ranging from zip-line, ATV’s, water fall repelling, rafting, and so much more.

Founded by a group of lifelong Israeli friends, united and galvanized by their ardent love and dedication to animals of all species, Lands in Love Resort features 280 acres of pristine, peaceful, uninterrupted land and operates fully to support and sustain the over 1,800 animal residents who reside onsite.

Following my initial excursion to the cloud forest to support this worthy and wonderful cause in 2021, I have ventured halfway across the world to the depths of Central America year after year for consecutive pop-up showcases and influencer spotlights in promotion of this magical resort and animal sanctuary.

THE RESTAURANT:

Featuring a carefully curated menu of artfully prepared vegan dishes, made with great care by widely acclaimed chef Naama Ariel, the restaurant at Lands in Love Resort has been regarded by tourists, locals, influencers, and celebrities alike as one of the best destinations for high quality vegan fare anywhere.

BREAKFAST:

Israeli Breakfast. Fried eggs, scrambled tofu, chickpea omelet, chopped Israeli salad, tahini, cheese, and olives. A light and healthy, albeit highly satisfying, way to start your day.

French Toast. Layers of French toast, smothered in orange and brandy sauce served with maple syrup, toffee sauce, bananas, pineapple, almonds, nuts and chocolate. A longtime favorite of Magnifique house photographer, my mom, Lynn.

Breakfast Burrito. Hearty, healthy, and jam packed with garden fresh vegetables including flavorful avocado, this expertly made breakfast burrito is a sure-fire way to get your day started right with a breakfast that is jam-packed with nutrients and highly delicious.

American Breakfast. You can’t go wrong, and you certainly won’t go hungry, with this All-American Classic featuring pancakes, scrambled tofu and hash browns.

LUNCH AND DINNER:

Israeli Plate. A Lands in Love Specialty featuring hummus, tahini, falafel, five salads and pita bread.

Eggroll. A vegan twist on a beloved Asian classic. Two rolls filled with onion, carrot, bell pepper, broccoli, served on rice with sweet sauce.

Hamburger. Featuring a plant-based patty that tastes world’s better than “the real thing,” this fast-food classic is served up with a side of thick cut French fries providing a guilt free take on a fast-food favorite.)

Shawarma. Includes Mediterranean grilled chopped meat, served with salad, pickles, tahini and flash fried French fries.

Gnocchi. Chef Naama gives this versatile Italian dumpling, known and beloved far and wide for its light “pillowy” texture, blending olive oil, basil, and garlic for a flavor that is truly out of this world.

Spaghetti. Experience this Italian staple as you never have before with a variety of sauces, bolognese, napolitana, olive oil and garlic and garlic pesto Alfredo with mushrooms, fresh basil and vegetables.

Pad Thai. This Thai favorite features noodles, tofu, vegetables and peanuts for a dish that is just as aesthetically pleasing as it is delectable.

Nachos. This quintessential appetizer is the perfect complement to preface every meal. Featuring tomato sauce, guacamole and sour cream.

Pizza. A perfectly portioned pizza topped with fresh olives, pineapple, and onion.

Lafa Wrap. This Israeli classic features specialty sauce drizzled over veggies and crisp falafel wrapped inside a soft flatbread.

Beverages:

Mango Juice and Mango Smoothies. Made with real mango and featuring a flavor reminiscent of a tropical island vacation, this refreshing beverage is a sublime way to cool off after a long day of excursions in the jungle.

Red and White Wine. A favorite of our group, dry and red, white wines offer an elegant accompaniment to any dinner option. An assortment of sweet wines, including Manischewitz, a popular and delicious Jewish wine featuring Concord grapes are also available.

Desserts:

Cheesecake. A vegan reimagining of one of the most popular and iconic desserts world-wide, this scrumptious slice of cheesecake features a graham cracker crust and a fruit coulis topping of choice, sure to satisfy your sweet tooth and leave a smile on your face.

ADVENTURE CENTER:

Offering a wide array of thrilling activities, ranging from zipline, adventure cables, Superman cables, canyoning, rafting, tubing, hiking, night tours, and wall climbing, Lands in Love is sure to offer an adventure suited for every individual taste and preference. Featuring competitive deals on world class excursions unlike anything you’ll find elsewhere, Lands in Love takes great pride in offering some of the best activities that you can find in the heart of Costa Rica with highly trained guides and instructors who offer an experience that is both safe and comprehensive.

ZIPLINE

Zipline at Lands in Love Resort: A stunning view of more than 500 acres of forest as you zip through the canopy. The tour also includes three trails, and a thrilling Tarzan swing, for a total of 845 meters.

CANYONING

Our group, including my mom and Magnifique House photographer, Lynn, model Chrissy, and our trusty and capable tour guides savored the once in a lifetime opportunity to descend into a magical forest surrounded by water and canyon views. Featuring a total of five descents, this excursion affords guests the opportunity to rappel down a hanging bridge and four waterfalls.

ATV

Our Magnifique crew, including Lynn, models Chrissy and Laura Louise as well as guest photographer Mike enjoyed this unique off-road driving experience – an extreme tour of an ATV or Buggies that combines skillful driving speed and control of a vehicle that is completely reliable and safe to ride.

RAFTING

This high octane, adrenaline-pumping adventure affords guests the opportunity to explore the tropical wilderness of a deep canyon, filled with waterfalls, exotic animals, and tropical birds as you navigate through the tumultuous waters of the Balsa River. Our trusty tour guide with Costa Rica Descents, took each and every opportunity to point out the bountiful sloths, bats, iguanas, toucans, and even the occasional howler monkey that can be seen along the banks and in the treetops.

NIGHT TOUR

Experience the magic of Costa Rica like never before with a nighttime tour of the cloud forest. With the help of a flashlight, you’ll navigate through the dark and discover the secrets of the forest and night creatures. Our knowledgeable and personal tour guide Jorge’ provided a menagerie of facts about the diverse array of flora and fauna that inhabit the jungle. During our nighttime hike we saw a variety of strawberry poison dart frogs, lizards and iguanas, snakes (including a coral snake, which was seen on a different nighttime walk) and cicadas.

THE RESORT /ROOMS:

The Lands in Love Resort features a full-scale onsite restaurant, a swimming pool and jacuzzi, a game room area (complete with a pool table and foos ball table), as well as several beautifully decorated lounging areas to relax and enjoy a cup of coffee in the open-air ambience.

POP-UP SHOWCASE:

The centerpiece of our retreat excursion to benefit Animal Love Rescue was our pop-up style fashion showcase, featuring a variety of designers, styles, and genres such as “Resort Wear”, “Metallics”, “Formals”, and “Swim Wear”. Each item was modeled to perfection by our featured Magnifique models, Laura Louise and Chrissy, as well as me, and the crowd of Lands in Love and Animal Love Rescue staff brought energy and excitement throughout the duration of the show. Lynn Henley photography (@lynnsimsphotography) worked hard as the house photographer for the showcase as guest videographer Mike Steidley (@mikesteidley) took a plethora of perspective videos throughout the show. Following the successful nearly one-hour fashion showcase, we all enjoyed networking and photo ops in the lobby before all convening for a relaxing vegan dinner prepared by Chef Naama

ANIMAL LOVE RESCUE CENTER:

Most importantly, we are ardently committed to spread awareness about the ever-growing, changing, and increasing need for support by the hard-working staff at Animal Love Rescue Center, the nonprofit organization supported by the aforementioned Lands in Love Hotel, Restaurant, Activities Center, and more.

Over 1,200 rescue animals (many saved from extreme, life-threatening situations or circumstances) call this sanctuary home and are in constant need of food, medical supplies, veterinary care etc., needs that incur insurmountable expenses that the unbelievably hard-working team at Animal Love Rescue cannot handle alone.

Guests at the resort can enjoy the exclusive opportunity to spend time with the rescue animals, including sectioned areas housing dogs, (our personal favorite) the “Cat House” featuring a massive tree on which all the fun loving felines enjoy climbing and romping as well as a variety of personal “condo” style enclosures (supporters can actually purchase kitty condos online to help house the cats, for a donation), a leisurely stroll to a sanctioned area housing a myriad of geese, rabbits, baby birds, and so much more.

Readers strongly encouraged to donate at the link below.

(Special thanks to Alon, Assaf and the entire Lands in Love and Animal Love Rescue team for facilitating our visit for this benefit experience.)

WEBSITE: https://animallove.cr (ANIMAL LOVE RESCUE), https://landsinlove.com (LANDS IN LOVE RESORT)

PHONE NUMBER: 408-215-1000

INSTAGRAM: @animalloverescue, @landsinlove_tierrasenamor

DONATION LINK: https://donations.animallove.cr/