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THE KEEPER OF THE VOLCANO -MIRADAS ARENAL
The volcano watches us, or we watch the volcano—it’s not clear. Erick looks to the side; the hot spring pool is one of the last projects finished a few years ago. When Don Roberto, his father, was a boy fishing at night in the densest part of the forest that still remains, feeling the hot water was the sign, in the middle of the darkness, that he could head back home along the trail. Don Roberto grew up there, watched over that land, built on it his house, his home, his livelihood. Even from the highest part, we can still see what once was the dairy farm. That’s where he raised little Erick and his daughters.
Today there are 14 rooms. Erick believes the most there will ever be is 30, to keep protecting the treasure. One of the last times he saw his father so happy was right there in that hot spring pool.
As a child, Don Roberto never thought that curious water would one day be so important—that people would want to stay on his farm, watch the volcano, and create a new way of living. Tourism grew in the area, and Estrella, Erick’s mother, suggested to Don Roberto that they should be part of the adventure. Little by little, they traded corrals for rooms in a beautiful hotel. Roberto and Estrella began the dream. Being a farmer, he wanted to go slow, not rush like others in the area. Today Don Roberto is gone, and standing at the highest part of the property, looking at the hot springs and the volcano, I ask his son Erick, How do you think your father would feel? His eyes fill with tears, but a smile appears on his lips as he says, I think he would be proud. I stayed here to take care of the farm, just like he did. I’m here, at the top, watching over it. Miradas Arenal is similar to other hotels in the area—they sit on the volcano’s opposite slope, which makes the views from the rooms ever more magical. But Miradas Arenal is different: it grew slowly, because what mattered wasn’t to expand or sell, but to create a solid foundation for a family.
For decades and generations, that land was the livelihood and home of one family. It wasn’t meant to become a golden goose, but a space where the family could always feel it was theirs—where it wasn’t about how fast the rooms were built, but about honoring the land in its transformation. Erick does want to grow, yes. He doesn’t want the biggest hotel in the area; he wants the best one, with the best service, the magical place that land has always been—where his ancestors and he grew up playing and laughing in the middle of nature. This isn’t about a hotel. It’s about a sacred place learning to embrace visitors from all around the world.
Today they have one hot spring pool, with more on the way. His father’s footprints were engraved in the cement and decorated with colorful stones. Estrella and her son Erick now run the hotel with its fourteen rooms, bar, and restaurant, along with top-notch service. Erick knows he’s taking his first steps in hospitality, but he follows in his father’s great footsteps on that land. He wants to build the most magical option in the area. Every day, every new project, brings him closer to that dream, as he watches from above, guarding the legacy of his ancestors. That’s why the small details in the rooms—the decorations, the construction elements—speak to us of what, from now on, will become a new inheritance.
INCLUDED:
Rooms
Hotsprings
Breakfast
Restaurant
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