Cala Luna

Paradise lost in translation.

A five-star hotel off the beaten path, hidden in lush forest at the tip of Tamarindo Bay. The world’s largest living labyrinth. Farm-to-table everything. A world-class spa.

And yet, Cala Luna’s brand looked like every other coastal hotel from Costa Rica to Cabo. Worse, their story – grounded in person and meant for fluent English speakers – was buried in cosmic word salad that read like Google Translate circa 2006. A ‘choose your own adventure’ vision of hospitality, literally lost in translation.

The new generation taking the helm knew they had something special. They just couldn’t articulate what or why it mattered. Meanwhile, staff problems festered, premium rates were a hard sell, and their singular magic stayed hidden behind an indigenous mask logo that could’ve belonged to any tropical resort.

Scope
Brand Strategy
Visual Identity
Art Direction
Web Design
Copywriting
Signage 
Print Collateral

Contributors
Strategy & Writing:
Seth Rowden, Thad DeVassie
Design: Elisa Gomez-Monzo
Photography: Steve Walsh

Mindful Luxury

Luxury brands, from cars and homes to handbags and hotels, get a bad rap for waste and decadence. Deservedly so, in many cases.

Cala Luna’s version of upmarket stands in stark contrast. Small forever by design. Produce and proteins from the hotel’s family farm and local vendors. A commitment to holistic wellness, from apothecary cocktails to profoundly healing spa treatments. Solar energy and recycled wastewater. Every choice deliberate, every excess eliminated.

This thoughtful and unique approach needed a name. We called it Mindful Luxury.

Much more than a vacation spot, Cala Luna offers restful transformation and elevated awareness – 
an awakening in paradise.

Brand Strategy Highlights

Unbreakable Idea

Awakening in Paradise

Vision

Elevated awareness and deep contentment that ripples outward 
wherever you wander.

Profile & Approach

Cala Luna is a five-star hotel set in magical surroundings that connect 
you to nature and your authentic self. We offer total wellness through transformative experiences that nourish, stimulate and heal.

Values

Communication · Personalized Service · Adaptability · Shared Experience · Gratitude · Wholeness · Mother Earth

We connect Communication (Level 1) with Wholeness (Level 6) by sending guests off with our blessing: “Be well.” We say this as they leave the restaurant or the wellness center. It should be the last words they hear before driving away.

Positioning

There are few barriers between us and nature. Open-plan spaces and secluded accommodations meld into lush jungle that attracts more wildlife than anywhere else in the area – monkeys, raccoons, iguanas, birds, insects and us. We nourish our senses daily through delicious home-grown ingredients, gastronomic farm to table dinners, spiritual wellness and spa therapies. From dining with us at our homestead La Senda and walking the world’s largest labyrinth, to sipping cocktails on the beach as the sun slips over the edge of the water – you choose the memories to carry home.

Sweet Dreams in Paradise

We wondered: If awakening is the central motif in Cala Luna’s brand narrative, how might we visually depict that idea? And how might the identity embrace wandering with purpose?

Each morning, you cross a threshold from dreaming to waking. 
If you look, you’ll find similar thresholds – liminal spaces – everywhere. At dawn or dusk, where night meets day. Where land meets ocean, sky meets mountains, the seen meets the unseen.

You find all these liminal experiences at Cala Luna, always at the pace of Pura Vida – the slow, mindful, joyful attitude that permeates Costa Rica. But unlike many regional hotels, the core value of personalized service balances the laid-back atmosphere.

Awakening and wandering, luxury meeting primal nature: this is Cala Luna’s signature, and it’s the thread we wove throughout the system – from wordmark to graphic elements, photography, signage and website.

What are the odds that a brand idea aligns perfectly with local geography, typographic shapes and the meaning of a name?

Tamarindo Bay’s moon-shaped coast curves from Dante’s Rock in the north to Playa Langosta in the south. Cala Luna – Moon Beach in Spanish – sits hidden in the jungle on the Bay’s southern tip.

A shoreline shaped like a waxing crescent moon. The letter C. Dreaming and awakening in paradise.

The odds of all three elements falling into perfect alignment may be non-zero, but only just.

After finishing the core design system, we made a photography style guide for macros, people, accommodations, gastronomy, drone shots and more. Montreal-based photographer Steve Walsh ran with the brief, capturing the essence of Mindful Luxury – the Pura Vida way. He delivered a stunning library of images that perfectly match the guest experience. What you see online is finally what you’ll get in person.

Now, Cala Luna’s visual identity makes them unmistakable in a forest of palm-tree logos. And the transformation went deeper than design. Within months, the brand strategy became their hiring bible – attracting service-minded souls while repelling opportunists. Staff problems that plagued them for years? Gone. Culture? United around seven ascending values, from Communication to Mother Earth.

Revenue increased 45% since the rebrand despite Covid. Won TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice every year since 2020. Jumped to “Best of the Best” – the top 1% worldwide – in 2021. Consistently earns 4.7/5 stars from 1,730+ reviews.

Cala Luna is now fully equipped to sustain something truly rare: a place that renews body, mind and soul, where transformation isn’t a marketing promise but a daily occurrence.

Becoming Irreplaceable

Federico Pilurzu, CEO & General Manager

© 2026 Matthew Steel

Aurë Entúluva · Purpose Never Rusts