Mint Resort Santa Theresa, Caribbean Hotel Building, Architecture Images

Mint Resort in Santa Theresa

Hotel Project in Costa Rica, Central America – design by Studio Saxe Architects

3 May 2018

Mint Resort, Santa Theresa

Architects: Studio Saxe

Location: Santa Theresa, Costa Rica

Mint Resort in Costa Rica

Stepping down a steep hillside and overlooking the ocean, Mint Santa Theresa is a new hotel that blends a European design aesthetic with Costa Rican craftsmanship – created to ensure that guests can commune with nature, each other and local people.

The Swedish owners fell in love with Santa Theresa as a surfing paradise, as well as its burgeoning yoga community. Inspired by Greek architecture, minimalism and Scandinavian design, they commissioned Studio Saxe who have developed a reputation for their approach to architecture that harmonises with tropical landscapes.

Hotel residents occupy individual pavilion-like structures where they can retreat into a private zone and yet still interact with the nature around them. The spacious guest rooms can be opened up completely to a personal terrace with an ocean view to the front and a garden with tropical plants in the rear. Even the bathrooms have an open layout, giving the guests the opportunity to shower while listening to the sound of the crashing waves.

Each room is afforded its own rooftop terrace, complete with lush plants, a sail for shade and furnished with rattan furniture made in Sarchí, a Costa Rican town famous for its inhabitants’ craftsmanship. The architects have used locally-sourced materials throughout the project, such as in ceilings that are made of “caña brava” (a type of grass) installed in an intricate fishbone pattern. Local craftsmen have also created custom furniture made of local wood and using traditional techniques in new ways.

The heart of Mint Santa Teresa is the communal lounge area with its infinity pool and sunset bar. It is open on all sides save for a single wall of plants by the entrance, providing the guests with some privacy while maintaining the natural setting. The lounge serves as a meeting spot for guests, owners and locals of the area. In the morning, a breakfast buffet, is eaten at a communal table and later in the day stories are exchanged over drinks by sunset. The experience at Mint Santa Teresa is part of a new form of tourism, where visitors want to learn more about a destination and get a sense of what it is like to actually live there.

Benjamin Garcia Saxe explains his vision: “Hotels traditionally became vast objects in the landscape that bear no relation to their surroundings and are devoid of genuine human interaction. At Mint, we endeavored to create a contextual design that adapts to its landscape and offers a new type of experience for a breed of traveler seeking authenticity. We worked hard on creating spaces that combine an appreciation of natural beauty with a rich array of possibilities for social and cultural interaction. The result is a completely unique way of thinking about hospitality and wellness.”

Mint Resort, Santa Theresa – Building Information

Location: Santa Teresa Costa Rica
Date of completion: 2018
Client: Jonas Thorrel / Johanna Johansson
Area: 660 sqm
Architecture Team: Studio Saxe
Design Director: Benjamin García Saxe
Project Architect: Cesar Coto
Project Coordinator: Laura Morelli Structural Engineer: Sotela Alfaro Ltda. Electromechanical
Engineer: Dynamo Studio
Builder: Matta Duran