A 1965 Boeing 727 sits in the jungle canopy above Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. It never took off again. It became a home.
That is the starting point for Hotel Costa Verde in Quepos — one of those rare places where the architecture is not decoration. It is the story.
A 727 Grounded in the Jungle
The plane spent years abandoned before someone asked a different question: what if it stayed?
The fuselage was disassembled, transported to the hillside above Manuel Antonio National Park, and rebuilt among the trees. Today it juts from the canopy at elevation, nose pointed toward the Pacific. From below, it reads as impossible. From inside, it feels entirely deliberate.
The conversion is careful. Hand-carved teak panels line the interior. The curved walls — unmistakably a fuselage — frame the spaces rather than fight them. Nothing pretends the plane is something else. The architecture works because it leans into what it already is.
How the Space Works
The 727 Fuselage Home sleeps four. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchenette, a dining area — all shaped by the plane’s original geometry. The oval cross-section creates a continuous ceiling that arches low overhead. Windows run along both sides, letting the jungle press close on one end and the ocean open up on the other.
The cockpit window is intact. Waking up and looking out through it — treetops, sky, the shimmer of water in the distance — is the kind of spatial experience that is difficult to explain and easy to remember.
There is also a separate Cockpit Cottage adjacent to the fuselage, and a Cockpit Cabana for those who want the atmosphere without the full suite commitment. The whole compound is built into the hillside, elevated above the forest floor, connected by paths that wind through tropical vegetation.
The Rest of the Property
Hotel Costa Verde is not only the plane. The broader property includes bungalows and rooms set among the trees, each positioned to minimize impact and maximize the sense of being inside the forest rather than adjacent to it. The site drops down toward Manuel Antonio National Park, one of Costa Rica’s smallest and most biodiverse parks. Monkeys, sloths, and birds are routine here — not a selling point but a condition of the place.
There are four restaurants on the property. El Avión is built inside another decommissioned aircraft — a 1954 Fairchild C-123 cargo plane — repurposed as a bar and seafood restaurant with ocean views. The detail is worth noting: this is a property that has made a habit of reuse. It is not a gimmick repeated once. It is a design philosophy.
Before You Arrive
Hotel Costa Verde is located on the road between Quepos and Manuel Antonio, about 7 km from Quepos town and the domestic airport. The 727 Fuselage Home is the marquee accommodation — book well in advance, especially for high season (December through April).
The surrounding area rewards slow travel. Manuel Antonio National Park requires advance tickets. The canopy zip line and wildlife night tours are available through the hotel.
Check availability and Book here!
