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One of the early advocates of eco-tourism was founder and CEO Jim Damalas, who helped pioneer the concept of sustainable hospitality 30 years ago, with the group’s first property, Sí Como No Resort & Wildlife Refuge, in Manuel Antonio. Today Si Como No is a recognized leader in sustainable hospitality in Costa Rica, and beyond. Sustainable hospitality is the unifying principle that connects all the staff and management and is expressed through our passionate and deeply held conviction to respect, honor, and protect the Magic of Nature.
Those values are the foundation of our brand, resulting in a behavioral commitment to continuous improvement in sustainable hospitality. It is how we deliver exceptional Costa Rica experiences that are shaped around the unique region of rainforest of Manuel Antonio.
Reducing our carbon footprint while increasing our activity in protecting the natural resources in our areas of operation is one of our key objectives. The other is the economic sustainability of the surrounding communities where we operate. We believe Costa Rica’s natural resources include the county of Quepos and the barrios surrounding the property, which includes our long-held commitment to hire locally. We invite you to learn more about the hotel and surrounding communities by talking to our staff, the majority of whom grew up in the area.
Recycling and Waste Management
We recycle glass, plastic, paper, and aluminum cans across all hotel operations utilizing the local recycling center in each community. Fruit and vegetable waste is recycled for compost to fertilize hotel gardens. Meat, fish, and poultry waste is collected daily for farm animals, reducing demands on local waste disposal facilities. We have also eliminated plastic shampoo bottles and have limited soap bars to the vanity sinks. All soap bar wrappers are recyclable and banana paper is used wherever possible for printed material.
Housekeeping teams use certified biodegradable cleaning and laundry products, eliminating the use of chlorine bleach and other harmful chemicals. Chlorine is used only in swimming pools in compliance with Health Department regulations. However, waterfalls were designed into each of our pools for improved aeration, which reduces overall chlorine use.
To involve our guests in sustainability, each room has cards with suggestions to minimize environmental impact. Guest support in turning off lights and air conditioning when not in the rooms, and reusing linens per their preference, helps us significantly reduce energy consumption and save water.
We also learn from our guests and our staff. Through guest feedback in conversations and surveys, we’ve fine-tuned our services and policies, acting on many of their suggestions and observations over the years.
We have a long-standing program at Si Como No to help the Corcovado Foundation with the help of our guest’s voluntary donation of $2 per night that goes directly to the Corcovado Foundation mission in education of sustainable practices and the emphasis in Regenerative Agriculture.
