Olas Verdes Hotel &
Safari Surf School
Sustainability Director (June 2012 - November 2017)
Construction Project Manager (May 2013 - November 2015)
Life Can Wait. Pura Vida Can’t.
After college, I was hired as the Sustainability Director for Safari Surf School and its Casa Tucan Hotel and Restaurant—the first surf school in Nosara dating back to 1996. After hotel ownership changed hands, the surf school sought out a group of investors from their most long-term patrons to build a new hotel that integrated sustainability from the ground up. In March 2013, funding was secured for what would become the Olas Verdes Hotel and the new HQ for Safari Surf.
Initially, I was hired as a sustainability consultant, but after the original project manager was let go, I was asked at the age of 23 to become the PM in May 2013. Having never managed a construction project, I was intimidated of course, but could not pass up the opportunity to lead a development that would become a catalyst for sustainable design and construction in the region.
Located in a rural and rustic beach town only accessible by dirt roads certainly presented its challenges, but the limitations imposed on a remote project with fewer resources forced us to be creative in meeting LEED standards. I was fortunate to work with an incredible team and we eventually became the first LEED Platinum hotel in Central America and the first LEED certified surf hotel in the world.
Youngest project manager of a LEED Platinum Development (age 23-26) according to U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). First LEED Platinum hotel in Central America. LEED Green Associate credential (January 2017 - Present). Read my interview in USGBC+ magazine here.
Managed a $2.5M budget and completed construction of the 17-suite (5 buildings) boutique hotel one month ahead of schedule.
Responsible for the sustainable design and development of the Olas Verdes Hotel, Safari Surf School, and female-owned restaurant (two local women through microfinancing program), El Manglar, according to LEED v3 New Construction standards (compliance documentation by SPHERA). Managed a local architect, a local construction company, and 18 subcontractors and suppliers.
Screened and hired the General Manager and trained 23 staff across all departments on sustainability initiatives in English and Spanish.
Developed and marketed a new voluntourism package in collaboration with local nonprofits that resulted in 200+ volunteer hours and a 16% increase in revenue.
Created a Sustainability Management System for both U.S. and Costa Rica-based operations that included environmental and social responsibility policies and procedures, sustainability targets, defined roles and responsibilities, utility management dashboards (energy, water, waste), guest satisfaction surveys, a preventative maintenance program, and an emergency response plan.
In-country coordinator and lecturer for undergraduate learn-abroad programs.
Top achievements include (see gallery below):
🌳 Preserved 90% of the existing trees on the property via building layout, pool design (two waves breaking around two Jobo trees), roof/gutter design, and tree aeration wells.
☀️ Rooftop solar panels, solar hot water, and battery storage meet nearly 30% of the hotel’s annual energy demand.
⚡Energy efficient appliances, automated HVAC system, Big Ass Fans® (see case study here), passive solar design principles, and automated LED lighting makes Olas Verdes 40% more efficient than the baseline building performance rating based on the ASHRAE standard, which is the highest level of energy efficiency for the LEED v3 requirements.
🎨 Two recycled glass mosaics of Playa Guiones done by a local artist (beach and northern peninsula depicted in cover shot above). A dozen 55-gallon barrels of glass were collected over 10 months from local restaurants, hotels, and residents which supported 4 local women with jobs at the Nosara Recycling Center. Remaining recycled glass was used to create all of the bathroom and bar countertops.
💩 Chemical-free and aerobic Bionest wastewater treatment system with greywater recycling for irrigation and toilets in three defined zones on the property.
💧 14,000 liters of rainwater harvesting. Low-flow fixtures. Hotel consumes a third of the water that other equivalent hotels in the area use.
🌱 100% native landscaping which required 12 months of seed collection from nurseries around Costa Rica before creating an on-site nursery at Olas Verdes.
🐒 Proceeds from the hotel support the BarriGuiones Costas Verdes coastal reforestation project as well as the Nosara Wildlife Refuge. Installed shock-preventing insulation on all power lines since the property is a haven for the Howler Monkeys in the area.
⛈️Restored the quebrada with boulders and local plants to reduce erosion and increase infiltration along with rainwater gardens around the property. The hotel received no erosion or flooding damage during Tropical Storm Nate in 2017 while other hotels were decimated.
🚪 Locally sourced wood and carpentry services for the furniture, doors, cabinets, roofs, and everything in between. Recycled plastic restaurant, yoga deck, and Palmex fake palm overhangs.
🎭 Created a cultural heritage design philosophy: Each of the five buildings represent a different region of Costa Rica featuring distinct color palettes and authentic decor from local artisans in their respective province. When observing the property from an aerial view, the lots follow the geographic points of a map of Costa Rica in a clockwise pattern.
♻️ Designed a waste management area for glass, plastics, aluminum, compostables, cardboard, and trash. Hotel has achieved close to an 80% average diversion rate each month.
Featured In
Wrote website copy and led creative direction in collaboration with Grizzly for the website and brand design.
Managed PR influencer trip itinerary for the brand launch — earned tens of millions of unique online impressions from the following sources:
“To be a sustainable business, you have to practice what you preach. There's a reason that Olas Verdes Hotel is one of one of Nosara’s leaders in conservation: according to ASADA’s (the water company) monthly published reports, our water consumption is a third of hotels of similar size and occupancy and we produce 20% to 35% of our electric energy with solar panels. Despite our conversational efforts, profit still comes in. Since opening in December of 2015, Olas Verdes has impressively grown in sales, overperforming by 21% of what was projected during its first year of operation (2016), and closing 2017 with a 47% increase in sales.”
— Luis Pardo | GM - Olas Verdes Hotel (Forbes)
