editor’s letter
It’s 5:21 a.m., and I am in my hotel room in Arenal Volcano National Park in Costa Rica, listening to an absolute riot of birdsong, which was immediately preceded by a ferocious predawn downpour. The mosaic of sounds feels like the aural equivalent of the landscape of mountains and rain forest outside my room: It’s dense with jewel-like tones, many soft and round, some strong and spiky. Somewhere above the tree canopy, the volcano lurks behind the mist. I’ve been here just 12 hours, and already I’m falling in love with my hotel. This is Nayara Tented Camp, which appeared on Condé Nast Traveler’s Hot List three years ago. (It and its neighboring sister properties, Nayara Gardens and Nayara Springs, are also regulars on the Readers’ Choice Awards.) The hotel’s location…