The Gilded Iguana Surf Hotel

Name

The Gilded Iguana Surf Hotel

Legal name

Iguana Holdings S.R.L.

Website

https://thegildediguana.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Boutique Surf Resort Hospitality

NAICS

Other Traveler Accommodation (72119), Recreational Goods Rental (532284), Full-Service Restaurants (722511)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Boutique Resorts (Small-Scale Resorts) (THAGADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Beachfront & Island Luxury Resorts (THAGACAA)

Keywords

• Surf resort hospitality
• Hotel accommodations
• Surf club services
• Spa wellness treatments
• Adventure tourism activities

Headquarters

HQ city

Nosara

HQ country

Costa Rica

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Hotel Accommodations: Revenue from hotel room bookings including various room types and suites. Direct bookings on website offer best rate guarantee, free breakfast, and complimentary WiFi.
2. Food and Beverage: On-site restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner with locally sourced ingredients. Includes experiential dining, cocktail bar/mixology, ice cream cart, and bread station.
3. Surf Club Memberships and Lessons: Surf club memberships ranging from daily to annual passes offering board access, lockers, showers, and facilities. Surf lessons for private, duo, and group sessions. Board rentals.
4. Spa Services: Full-service spa offering massages, facials, waxing treatments, and day spa packages.
5. Retail Store: The Iguana Shop and Iguana Outfitters retail stores selling beach wear, surf clothing, souvenirs, personal care products, and custom surfboards.
6. Mountain Biking Tours: Mountain bike tours and bike rentals for guests and visitors.
7. Kids Club: Kids Club program for children aged 4-10 offering supervised activities, cultural experiences, and entertainment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Gilded Iguana is a beachfront surf resort on Playa Guiones in Nosara, Costa Rica that sells hotel accommodations along with an integrated suite of on-site hospitality and adventure services. Its core commercial offering combines overnight stays in rooms and suites with a beachfront surf club (memberships, lessons, board rentals), a restaurant and bar, a full-service spa, mountain biking tours, a kids club, retail stores, and event programming.

Product overview

The Gilded Iguana is Nosara's original surf hotel (established 1986) offering a multi-service resort experience centered around surfing and adventure tourism. The portfolio includes core hospitality services (hotel accommodations, restaurant with mixology, full-service spa) integrated with adventure offerings (Surf Club with memberships and lessons, surf school, board rentals, custom surfboards via Channel Islands partnership, mountain biking, athletic center). Supporting amenities include The Iguana Shop retail store, Kids Club children's program, co-working facilities, and events programming. The property provides access to Playa Guiones, one of the world's most consistent surf breaks, with memberships offering access to 150+ surf boards, juice bar, surf rancho, daily lockers, changing areas, and showers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Gilded Iguana Restaurant: On-site restaurant offering breakfast, brunch, signature menus, and mixology services.
• The Gilded Iguana Spa
• Iguana Surf Club
• The Iguana Shop
• Tajalin Bar
• Iguana Outfitters
• Kids Club

Products and services

• Hotel Accommodations Luxury hotel rooms and suites located 200 meters (5-minute walk) from Playa Guiones beach, offering modern amenities for surfers and outdoor enthusiasts; direct website bookings include best rate guarantee, free breakfast, and complimentary WiFi.
• The Gilded Iguana Restaurant

Quantifiable outcome

• 350+ surfable days per year at Playa Guiones
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Channel Islands SurfboardscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 August 2023Long-standing partnership with Channel Islands Surfboards (founded 1969, Santa Barbara) offering custom surfboards, board rentals, surf camps with professional coaches, and exclusive events. The partnership includes surf club access to 150+ Channel Islands boards, surf lessons with Channel Islands team, and surfboard sales through Iguana Outfitters store.
• 5 Minute FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental partnership with the 5 Minute Foundation founded by Carolina Sevilla. Monthly beach cleanups at Playa Guiones, 5MBCP cleanup station at the Surf Club, and community education initiatives on reducing single-use plastic by 30%.
• Two Oceans CoffeeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoffee partnership supplying hotel's own ground coffee blend, crafted from Caturra coffee variety grown on Poás volcano slopes and processed by Guardia family at Hacienda Sonora.
• SitemindercoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party booking engine provider for online reservations on the hotel website.
• Santa Teresita SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational community support including tree planting, fundraising for new classroom construction, and ongoing support for the local elementary school.
• 5 Minute Foundation / Carolina SevillacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental partnership for monthly beach cleanups at Playa Guiones. The partnership includes a 5MBCP cleanup station at the Surf Club where guests and locals can participate in 5-minute beach cleanup activities.
• Costas VerdesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental initiative partnership with Costas Verdes non-profit organization (founded 2009 by Gerardo Bolaños) focused on environmental rejuvenation and coastal protection.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bodhi Tree Yoga Resort: Yoga and wellness resort in Nosara catering to surfers, yogis, and wellness travelers. Overlaps significantly on wellness positioning, surf-adjacent accommodations, and experiential programming.
• Hotel Belmar Nosara: Boutique hotel in Nosara featuring wellness amenities, restaurant, and proximity to Playa Guiones. Directly competes for the same family and wellness traveler segments within the same neighborhood.
• Harmony Hotel Nosara: Boutique wellness-focused hotel in Nosara, Costa Rica, offering yoga, spa, and surf-adjacent accommodations to a similar international traveler demographic. Comparable in scale and product mix, making it the closest head-to-head competitor in the same micro-market.
• Olas Verdes Hotel: Eco-conscious boutique hotel in Nosara with a surf-focused concept and sustainability positioning. Operates within the same micro-market and competes for the same surf-and-wellness guest profile.
• Pranamar Oceanfront Yoga & Surf Resort: Boutique oceanfront resort in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica combining yoga retreats, surf lessons, and villa-style accommodations. Comparable product mix targeting surf-and-wellness travelers, though in a different Costa Rican surf town.
• Selina Nosara: Hospitaly brand with a Nosara location that serves surf-focused travelers, digital nomads, and backpackers with co-working and communal amenities. Directly competes for the surf-and-co-working traveler segment at a different price point.

Regional players

• Casa Chameleon Las Catalinas: Small luxury boutique resort on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica with similar full-service surf-adjacent amenities. Comparable boutique scale and experiential positioning, but serves a different Costa Rican micro-market.
• Hotel Tropico Latino: Boutique beachfront hotel in Santa Teresa with surf, yoga, and wellness programming. Closely comparable in product offering and target guest, though operating in a separate Costa Rican surf destination.

Broad incumbents

• Andaz Costa Rica Resort at Peninsula Papagayo: Hyatt-affiliated luxury resort in Costa Rica offering beach, spa, and adventure programming. Operates in the same country with overlapping luxury adventure positioning but at a larger scale and broader portfolio.
• Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo: Five-star luxury resort in Costa Rica with a broad hospitality and wellness offering including beach access. Represents the upper benchmark for Costa Rican luxury hospitality and a competitive anchor at the top of the market.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/gildediguana
• Instagraminstagram.com/thegildediguana
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-gilded-iguana

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Gilded Iguana Surf Hotel