Grupo Islita, Hotel Punta Islita, and El Silencio Lodge & Spa believe that we are all stakeholders in our planet’s prosperity. Understanding and embracing our role is enriching. It fosters a caring attitude that permeates every endeavor. And we are thus better empowered to protect the environment, champion economic opportunity, and celebrate the cultural differences that color the fabric of human experience.

Hotel Punta Islita opened its doors in 1994 in a setting of economic disadvantage and environmental decline. Access to education was limited, professional opportunities were inexistent, and the tropical dry forest had been stripped by slash-and-burn agriculture and cattle ranching.

The Islita Art Museum is the flagship of Hotel Punta Islita’s sustainability model. This innovative program pairs established Costa Rican artists with local counterparts, transforming Islita village into a living museum featuring colorful murals, installations, and sculptures.

The Islita Day Center tends to local children with ages ranging between nine months and six years old. Breakfast, lunch, and two snacks are provided with a menu that emphasizes health and nutrition.

The Islita Creative Center will host after school programs to encourage creative and critical thinking, self-esteem, and inquisitive drive. Attendance will be voluntary and tuition will be waived. Art, creative play, and research will be the core of the Center’s curriculum and activities.

One of our latest and most exciting conservation partnerships is about to make Hotel Punta Islita’s blue skies more colorful. The Ara Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to the breeding and reintroduction of Costa Rica’s beautiful, yet endangered Red (Ara macaw) and Green (Ara ambiguous) species.

Hotel Punta Islita and its sister property, El Silencio Lodge & Spa, have achieved the maximum sustainability certification level in Costa Rica. The CST certification is a globally-respected tool to rate, monitor, and guide the country’s tourism industry.

The Villafranca-Zurcher Foundation is the executive arm of Hotel Punta Islita’s community outreach programs. It has been instrumental in the creation, development, and growth of the Islita Art Museum, the Jon & Janie Mangus Islita Day Care Center, and related human betterment initiatives.

RBA is a Costa Rican interdisciplinary group of professionals dedicated to the development and oversight of innovative social responsibility programs. Led by Hotel Punta Islita’s former CEO, Mr. Eduardo Villafranca, RBA has articulated a Penta-Pillar sustainability model based on the successful strategies and learned lessons during Mr. Villafranca’s tenure at Hotel Punta Islita. RBA Grupo Islita’s current sustainability advisor.