Hotel Buenos Aires: 24 Years of Building a Home Above Santa Teresa
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 13 hours ago
Part of the Blue Mystic Santa Teresa Local Guide
Perched on a hillside above town, with an ocean view few properties in Santa Teresa can match, Hotel Buenos Aires has quietly become one of the area's most trusted places to stay—not because it tries hardest to stand out, but because it hasn't changed what makes it work. We sat down with Javier, the hotel's Argentinian owner, who arrived in Costa Rica in 2000 and has spent nearly a quarter-century turning an inaccessible piece of hillside into one of Santa Teresa's most recommended hotels.
From Buenos Aires to a Hillside With No Road
Javier didn't come to Santa Teresa chasing a lifestyle. He came for a job.
“I came here for work,” he says.
“I came specifically for this project of building a small hotel, and that's what I came to do. If they had offered me a job opening a laundromat in Canada, I'd probably be skiing right now. If it had been a bookstore in Mexico, maybe I'd be there. Luckily, what came up was a hotel in Costa Rica.”
That was 2000. The Santa Teresa he found bears little resemblance to the town visitors see today.
“Empty. Empty, with dirt roads,” Javier recalls. “We all knew each other. That's what it was like. There was nothing here. It was beautiful.”
There was also, notably, no way to reach the land he and his partners had bought.
“We were smart enough to buy a piece of land with no access!” he laughs.
“That's actually why this public road is called Buenos Aires. We had to build the road ourselves. Electricity, water, the road — we had to do everything ourselves so we could bring the machinery up here and build the terraces where the hotel now sits, which allowed us to have this view.”
The hotel's name wasn't the product of a branding exercise. It came from homesickness.
“At the time, we were the only Argentinians here and we missed home quite a bit. We couldn't agree on a name at first, and Buenos Aires was the one that everyone involved at the time liked the most. So Buenos Aires stayed. In the end, I think it worked out really well. I like the name and I'm happy with it.”
Twenty-four years later, the hotel is still standing on the terraces they carved into that hillside—and so is the road they built to reach it.
Building Brukas With $20
Long before it became a rental operation, the hotel's restaurant, Brukas, was Javier's own project—started with almost nothing.
“My favorite restaurant is the restaurant at Hotel Buenos Aires, called Brukas,” he says. “We originally opened it in October 2001 with $20 in our pockets.”
For the past 13 years, the restaurant has been run by an outside operator, a decision Javier made deliberately as the hotel itself grew.
“The hotel was doing well, and we wanted to concentrate on running it. A restaurant is a lot of work, so we preferred to outsource it and have a slightly more relaxed life. A restaurant is a good business if it's your passion and your dream is to own a restaurant. But purely as a business? Find something else!”
What Makes Hotel Buenos Aires Different
Ask Javier what sets the hotel apart from the dozens of other places to stay in Santa Teresa, and he doesn't hesitate.
“Nobody has this view within walking distance of town. Normally, if you want a view like this around here, you need a 4x4 and have to drive much farther up into the mountains. There aren't many places with this kind of view that are still accessible to everything.”
That combination — an elevated, panoramic ocean view without sacrificing walkability — shapes almost everything about the guest experience.
“You can sit here watching the birds and the waves. Depending on the season, you might see dolphins or whales. You can watch the surfers in the morning and then watch the sunset. It's almost hypnotic. You can just sit there staring at it.”
When asked what guests mention most after their stay, Javier doesn't split the answer: “The view and the hill. Both!” His own favorite spot on the property reflects the same thing—the room's balconies, “whether it's raining or sunny,” look out over the garden, the animals, the birds, and the ocean beyond.
Rooms and Practical Information
● Rooms: For one or two guests, each with air conditioning, a mini refrigerator, a water heater, and a private bathroom.
● Breakfast: Included, served at the on-site restaurant.
● Pool: Available for hotel guests.
● Internet: Fiber-optic connection, popular with digital nomads working remotely.
● Guest policy: The hotel welcomes guests ages 13 and up; it does not accommodate families with younger children.
● Location: Within a 5–15 minute walk of yoga studios, the beach, an ATM, a pharmacy, a bank, surf shops, and restaurants.
● Parking: Available on-site for guests arriving by car.
Who Stays at Hotel Buenos Aires
“Almost anyone,” Javier says. The hotel draws couples, solo travelers, groups of friends, surfers, and remote workers drawn in by the reliable internet—a wide mix, but one thing tends to unite them.
“It depends on the expectations of each guest. Some guests come exclusively to surf. They spend their days in the water from early in the morning. That's exactly what they're looking for because Santa Teresa is Disney for surfers — one of the reasons it's such a well-suited town for learning to surf in the first place. But the majority of our guests are relatively young, mostly couples, and they want to experience Costa Rica. Depending on how many days they're staying, they'll explore a little and also relax. They'll take a surf lesson, visit a reserve and, above all, walk along the beach and enjoy the sunsets. They're here to recharge their batteries for the year ahead.”
A Four-Season Partnership With Blue Mystic
Javier has been sending his guests to Blue Mystic Surf School for what will be its fourth season, and the reason is simple: consistency.
“The guests come back very happy. Most of my guests are couples, and both people don't necessarily take lessons. But from what I understand and from what they tell me, they always come back happy. Usually, if they take one lesson, they go back and take another one the next day"—the kind of pattern that has many guests weighing a single lesson against a multi-day package once they're hooked.
For Javier, the recommendation renews itself with every season. “Because the guests continue telling me good things. As long as the guests are happy, I keep recommending you.”
Javier's Santa Teresa: What to Do (and What Not to Overdo)
After 24 years in town, Javier's advice to first-time visitors runs against the instinct to fill every day with activities.
“If a friend were visiting Santa Teresa for the first time, what would I recommend? Take a surf lesson with Blue Mystic. After that, I don't really like recommending too many activities. Everyone is desperate to constantly be doing activities. What I normally recommend is that people relax. Read a book on the beach. Take a nap here by the pool. Walk along the beach at sunset or early in the morning. I think there are already too many things to do. People need to slow down on vacation instead of constantly doing something.”
When pressed for specifics, though, he has clear favorites:
● Beaches: Playa Carmen, Playa Santa Teresa and Playa Hermosa—three of the best surf beaches in Costa Rica
● A lesser-known favorite: Playa Los Suecos
● A day trip worth taking: The road behind the reserve toward Cabuya, continuing on to Montezuma and the Montezuma Waterfall—an activity our guests really enjoy."
● Best time to visit: November 15 to December 15 — “The rainy season is ending, everything is green, and the businesses have just reopened... The weather is already good. You might get some rain, but there aren't that many people in town yet. All the businesses are happy to start receiving people again and begin the new season, so everybody gives you a very warm welcome.” His timing lines up closely with what we generally recommend for the best time of year to visit Santa Teresa for surfing.
● Minimum stay: “Don't come for less than a week. You need to spend time here.”
What Two Decades in Santa Teresa Taught Him
Asked what the town means to him after more than 20 years, Javier takes a moment before answering.
“I'd probably need a little more time to really think about that. But the first thing that comes to mind is that living here made me realize that you can make it through. It was difficult here. More than 20 years ago there was really nothing here, and life was difficult. Especially because I didn't specifically choose this lifestyle. Like I said, I originally came here for work. So I didn't just have to adapt to what was available; I also had to adapt to the entire lifestyle. And I'm very satisfied because the experience gave me a lot of confidence in myself and helped me get to know myself better.”
Plan Your Stay
Hotel Buenos Aires sits within walking distance of Santa Teresa's beaches, restaurants, and surf shops, with the kind of elevated ocean view that's otherwise hard to find without a 4x4. Guests looking to combine their stay with surf lessons can book directly with Blue Mystic Surf School, Hotel Buenos Aires' recommended surf partner heading into their fourth season working together—whether that's a group lesson or private surf lessons for a more one-on-one pace.
For more original interviews with the people who make Santa Teresa what it is, visit the Santa Teresa Local Guide.
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