Costa Rica is well known for promoting sustainable ecotourism and one luxury hotel in Manuel Antonio is pioneering a project that is being hailed as the countries first truly Green architectural project.
Located in close proximity to Manuel Antonio National Park, the most visited national park in Costa Rica, the luxury Palazzo Park Hotel and Residences project is a beachfront resort that will be constructed using the latest Green building techniques in accordance with LEED certification.
LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is an internationally recognized Green building certification system which the Palazzo Park Hotel & Resort project will be adhering to. Materials, building techniques and technologies aimed at creating a negative carbon footprint are the key elements of eco friendly hotel construction. But it is perhaps the eco-friendly Green roof that is the most significant element of the hotel project. Proposed by project developer KC Development Group, this eco Green roof at Palazzo Park Hotel & Resort will use vegetation to absorb rainwater, treat grey water, provide insulation to cool the structure, reduce energy consumption, and create a habitat for Costa Rica’s wildlife.Â
As the main feature of the Manual Antonio hotel, the magnificent Green roof will be the largest of its kind in Costa Rica. An open-air common area with vistas of Manuel Antonio National Park, the rain forest and the sea, Palazzo Park’s Green roof will provide over 40,000 square feet of native vegetation designed as habitat for indigenous wildlife. “Palazzo Park Hotel & Resort is the first truly Green project of this size and scope in Costa Rica,” Tony Quesada, President and Founder of Arqueco Ltda. said.
The approved plans for Manuel Antionio’s luxury Palazzo Park Hotel and Residences include a program to restore habitat to endangered Mono Titi squirrel monkeys in Costa Rica’s Central Pacific region. The creation of the Palazzo Park Eco Action project will ensure that land adjacent to Manuel Antonio National Park is protected, ensuring a healthy population of Costa Rica’s Mono Titi squirrel monkeys.
Kevin Peterson of the Eco Preservation Society said, “Palazzo Park Hotel & Resort has made a truly revolutionary commitment to habitat restoration with the Palazzo Park Eco Action Program. We are unaware of any similar programs associated with a major resort and residence development anywhere in the world. This program integrates our efforts to save endangered species with guests and residents who will be continuously connected to the researchers, conservationists and other like-minded individuals. It’s truly a groundbreaking effort.”
Manuel Antonio National Park received 297,000 visitors in 2009 and is seen as a popular worldwide beach and tropical vacation destination. The Palazzo Park Hotel & Resort project in Manuel Antonio is seen as a
welcome addition to an already prospering ecotourism community. The areas surrounding Manuel Antonio National Park have high occupancy levels through the year and with new development under strict controls the Palazzo Park project has been identified as a pioneering initiative that will set the trend for future Green ecotourism hotel constructions in the Central Pacific area of Costa Rica.
For more information on the Palazzo Park Hotel & Residences Resort in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica, visit www.palazzopark.com.
