Escaping a New York winter for a trip to the eco-luxury resort Rancho Santana was exactly what I needed
B
arely
escaping
the
first
hint
of
winter
in
New
York
City,
when
my
plane
landed
in
Managua,
I
exhaled
a
breath
I’d
been
holding
for
months.
The
temperature
hovered
at
90
degrees,
and
I
felt
thankful
to
be
somewhere
with
sunshine
and
saltwater.
I
was
en
route
to
Rancho
Santana
—a
luxury
resort
community
on
Nicaragua’s
Emerald
coast.
The
team
at
Rancho
Santana
invited
travel
journalists
to
experience
the
soft
opening
of
their
new
The
Spa
in
El
Bosque
,
and
to
get
acquainted
with
the
resort’s
seemingly
endless
activities.
Situated
on
an
isthmus,
Rancho
Santana
is
flanked
by
water
and
seems
to
have
a
constant
soft
beach
breeze.
Rancho
Santa’s
property
is
massive—2700
acres
boasting
five
private
beaches.
The
property
offers
a
mix
of
private
residences,
Spanish-colonial
condos,
and
boutique
rooms
at
their
Inn.
With
such
a
spectacular
setting
and
the
exciting
new
spa,
it’s
the
latest
selection
for
our
series
on
hotels,
The
New
Room
with
a
View.
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A view from a guest room The Inn at Rancho Santana, and the lush greenery in the Inn’s courtyard.
The
oceanfront
hotel
doesn’t
have
telephones
or
televisions
in
the
guest
rooms,
suggesting
maybe
you
should
get
off
your
phone
and
dip
your
toes
in
the
Pacific
instead.
The
allure
of
the
escape
is
the
mix
of
luxury
accommodations
and
natural
surroundings:
“rugged
by
nature,
elegant
by
design”
the
website
practically
whispers.
Despite
its
size,
most
of
the
developments
hug
the
shoreline
and
much
of
the
land
on
the
property
remains
untouched.
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One of Rancho Santana’s five private beaches.
“We
don’t
want
to
develop
anything
that
isn’t
waterfront,”
Alberto
Marin,
Director
of
Guest
Experiences,
told
the
Daily
Beast.
While
the
beaches
are
clearly
the
draw
of
the
resort,
the
area
offers
dense
forests,
wildlife,
and
volcanoes
nearby
to
explore.“We’re
not
a
hotel
or
resort
per
se,
but
a
community
for
luxury
travelers,”
Marin
clarifies.He’s
not
wrong.
Rancho
Santana
is
both
a
community
for
residents
and
a
resort
for
travelers,
built
to
be
fairly
self-sustaining.
It
has
its
own
on-site
farm:
30
acres
of
livestock,
7
acres
of
produce,
and
an
industrial
kitchen
that
produces
its
own
cheese,
meats,
and
meals
for
the
property’s
four
restaurants
and
small
grocery
store.
Brian
Block,
Rancho
Santana’s
Culinary
Director,
told
the
Daily
Beast
that
the
only
meat
partially
outsourced
is
beef,
and
fish
and
shrimp
are
sourced
from
local
partners
in
Nicaragua.
Chickens,
goats,
pigs,
and
cattle
are
all
raised
on
site.
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Goats at Rancho Santana’s farm are released to graze.
Onions,
garlic,
potatoes,
and
cabbage
don’t
grow
in
the
area
so
are
also
shipped
in,
but
the
majority
of
the
food
consumed
is
organically
grown
in
the
warm
Central
American
climate.The
eco-friendly
sustainability
of
Rancho
Santana
was
born
out
of
both
mission
and
necessity.
Block
points
out
a
wood
shop,
iron
mill,
and
solar
farm
on
our
way
to
tour
the
farmland.
Much
of
the
area
surrounding
Rancho
Santana
is
rural
and
lacking
major
highways,
so
getting
supplies
onto
the
property
is
surely
a
feat
made
easier
by
doing
everything
themselves.
There’s
a
small
airport
nearby,
but
the
majority
of
traffic
comes
through
Managua—a
bumpy
3-hour
drive
from
the
resort.
Making
as
much
on
site
as
possible
makes
supplies
more
obtainable
for
residents,
and
employs
600
full-time
Nicaraguans.Several
people
likened
the
resort
to
a
summer
camp
for
adults.
There’s
a
breadth
of
activities
if
you’re
feeling
active:
surfing,
sand
surfing,
horseback
riding
,
hiking,
fishing—and
three
pools
and
plenty
of
beachfront
if
you’d
rather
lounge.
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A morning yoga class at Rancho Santana.
I
started
one
morning
with
an
hour
and
a
half
of
yoga:
a
blend
of
restorative
Hatha
with
a
twist
of
Vinyasa,
led
by
a
cheery
blonde
instructor
named
Britt
Quinn.
The
intention
for
the
class
was
gratitude,
Quinn
announced,
being
grateful
for
what
you
have
and
not
desiring
more.
Spending
a
weekday
overlooking
the
ocean,
sending
sun
salutations
toward
the
actual
sun,
it
was
hard
to
imagine
wanting
anything
else.
Overlooking the ocean, sending sun salutations toward the actual sun, it was hard to imagine wanting anything else.
Later
I
wandered
to
Playa
Santana,
the
beach
closest
to
the
resort’s
Inn.
The
sand
is
dark
and
coarse
and
speckled
with
driftwood
and
stones
smoothed
from
the
tide.
The
Pacific
ocean
was
chilly.
The
beachfront
isn’t
manicured
like
an
all-inclusive
Caribbean
resort,
but
it’s
also
not
packed
with
tourists.
On
this
particular
afternoon,
my
only
beach
companions
were
two
massive
vultures,
drying
their
wingspan,
facing
the
horizon.
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Nicaraguan cowboys Lorenzo and Lorenzo ready horses for a ride while a horse enjoys a sunbeam inside the stable.
At
sunset,
two
cowboys—Nicaraguan
father
and
son,
both
named
Lorenzo—lead
a
group
of
silhouetted
horseback
riders
down
the
beach
as
surfers
disappeared
into
waves
behind
them.
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“A view from El Bosque, Rancho Santana’s spa.”
Nestled
in
the
woods
off
a
charming
stone
staircase,
El
Bosque
,
Rancho
Santa’s
spa,
is
a
relaxing
retreat
from
the
sun
and
activities.
Opening
in
January,
the
spa
has
luxury
wooden
treehouses
for
massages
and
skin
treatments.
Soft
piano
music
and
the
white
noise
of
the
ocean
breeze
flows
throughout
the
space,
occasionally
punctuated
with
chirping
birds
and
sounds
of
the
forest.I
opted
for
a
“Nica
Night
Cap”—a
spa
combo
experience
that
includes
dipping
in
their
hot
and
cold
pools,
a
80-minute
Swedish-style
massage,
and
chamomile
body
scrub
that
is
more
aromatic
than
exfoliating.
The
Night
Cap
ended
with
the
option
of
a
glass
of
rum
or
herbal
tea,
sitting
in
a
plush
robe,
overlooking
the
dense
trees.
It
was
undeniably
decadent,
and
I
found
myself
scrambling
to
restructure
my
routine
to
somehow
include
more
of
this.If
you’re
looking
to
unplug,
Rancho
Santana
is
an
excellent
option.
If
you’re
looking
to
brag
on
Instagram
or
reinvent
yourself
as
a
luxe
influencer,
it’s
a
goldmine.
From
The
Daily
Beast,
written
by
Sarah
Rogers.
Read
the
original
article
here
.