Amazilia Retreat has been a long dream finally come true and we are thrilled to be sharing our beloved space with all of you!

 

We came from two very different worlds; Max was born and raised in San Jose, Costa Rica. He grew up spending family vacations in Playa Flamingo which sparked his love of the Guanacaste culture and region. Erin spent the first part of her childhood on her family’s farm in Saskatchewan, Canada and the later part of her childhood and teenage years in Okotoks, Alberta, Canada. While she never visited an ocean until she was almost an adult, something in her knew she would be destined to live in the tropics one day.  

 

It would seem as though finding our way to each other would be impossible, but through some interesting life decisions that we each took, the stars aligned and we crossed paths in our corporate careers. For close to 20 years, we both worked for the same multi-national company where Max, an engineer, had a 7 month work assignment in Calgary, while at that exact same time, Erin had coincidently taken a Human Resources role in San Jose, Costa Rica as part growing the office there that had recently opened. 

 

Our friendship flourished while we each lived in the other’s country and upon Max’s return to Costa Rica, the friendship shifted to something more. We got married, bought a house and after 5 years of living in San Jose, the company offered us roles relocating to Calgary. Without hesitation, we moved to start a whole new life adventure in the north. As we both grew in our respective careers, Max eventually led a cloud hosting global team and Erin progressed in Human Resources which later evolved into her leading a wellness program as an extension of corporate benefits. As a side passion, we started to invest in real estate. Each new venture expanding our knowledge in building and renting out homes. At the same time, we both have  grown exponentially in our practices for wellness, mindfulness, meditation and spiritually. Max has been meditating for over 15 years and also runs a business that helps others seek their own inner wisdom. https://iwlifeguidance.com/. Not to mention, we are both fascinated with nature! We’ve travelled across both Canada and Costa Rica seeking out all that each has to offer and have both travelled around the world together and separately for work trips, taking advantage each time to explore this magical world.  

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Creating Amazilia Retreat has been a several step journey not taken lightly. We bought the land in Guanacaste in 2021. From there, we wanted to start with building the small guest house (Casa Rutila) so that we could learn the construction process in Costa Rica. It is not for the faint of heart! Through trials and tribulations, our little house (casita) was completed in early 2024. For 2 years we rented the house out on Airbnb and thoroughly enjoyed hosting many people who gave us 5 star reviews and appreciated the energy and essence of the home and the peaceful nature filled property. During that time, we worked on the architectural plans for the main retreat house (Casa Rufous). Initially we wanted to build a third house for us to live in long term, however destroying more trees and habitat for animals didn’t feel right. Plus we don’t need a lot of space to live. So we designed a small apartment for us on the 2nd level of Casa Rufous so that we can preserve as much of nature as possible. 

 

In 2026 we started construction on Casa Rufous and are beyond grateful for all the help, guidance, family love, support and prayers that we have received in this journey to open our space and truly our hearts to all of you. Whether it be a retreat you are hosting or a place to enjoy your vacation with your family and friends, we have designed and created everything to be healing and nurturing. We love to host, to make your experience spectacular and we love to make art… in the form of building homes!

 

Thank you for choosing to stay with us and we hope to never stop learning, never stop improving, and always help others however we can!