Kimkim Trip Reviews for Costa Rica

Hands down the best resort/hotel I've stayed at. In a word, impeccable.

The overall hike was nice, but our specific experience was not amazing. Our guide was a no-show due to some sort of misunderstanding (presumably). We had to pay for parking at the main lot since our guide wasn't there to tell us to park in their private lot. It was rainy, so the river was not blue like in the pictures (but that's just luck of the draw). The guide who did jump in to help us was pretty good, but the ending of the hike was a bit awkward while we waited around to figure out payment (basically fact checking that we had pre-paid).

We stayed at a resort that did have hotsprings, so although Tabacon had a gimmick of the river hotspring, it was not worth it for us. It was crowded, the pools were very shallow, the natural rock was painful, and the man-made pools even more painful. They charge a deposit for towels, so you have to worry about people walking off with your towel and owing money at the end.

It was good, but very touristy. The handmaking of the various products was an interesting experience, but overall it wasn't the kind of thing we typically do.

Andy was great. Super interesting to talk to and very knowledgeable about the forest and animals, cameras and photo techniques, and just life in general. Very attentive to our questions and desires.

Our guide Andy was great. We saw some interesting things, got to play with cool gadgets like infrared cameras, night vision goggles and UV lights.

Roy and Ebi were great guides. It was a fun experience, never felt like we were in any danger. Great views and very exciting.

Alfredo was a really great guide. He was very knowledgeable and very fun to talk to. I would have taken more tours with him if I could have. We ended up going over on time because Alfredo would give such detailed and interesting answers to the questions we asked. The park itself was very cool and pretty. A lot of interesting history here that isn't just generic "this is a jungle hike."

It was really fun but a little bit dangerous. The rocks were slippery and if you don't have good balance you can easily trip. The rappelling was not inherently dangerous, but I did tweak my arm coming down one of the waterfalls. Our guide Roy was fun to work with. I didn't realize how wet we would be getting and should have worn different clothes.

We don't usually spring for resorts but it was the most reasonably priced option that we saw. I'm glad we did it! The rooms were immaculate and top-notch. Reception and guest services was super helpful for a huge variety of questions. Breakfast was great. Pool is great. Staff are great. Kids loved the pool table. It was generally very kid friendly. We saw a sloth on our first day!

I was glad to be isolated from the busy town. The trees and view of the volcano are magnificent. Even on our first day, we saw so many different birds and wildlife! The pool and the springs were a hit with the kids. The delicious food in the restaurant was very reasonably priced and my kid won't stop talking about their fish fingers. The staff is super helpful and flexible, and was always helpful with tours and accommodations. They even made to-go breakfasts for us in the mornings we'd leave too early for the included breakfasts! I appreciated the opportunity to have laundry done for about $8. The rooms were spacious and simple, but we didn't need more than that. It was great!

We saw lots of critters here! Monkeys, agouti, and the resident dogs and cat are a hoot. Great location right in town and close to restaurants (we liked Legado Monteverde, esp. the seafood plancha with Peruvian sauce). Breakfast buffet was delicious and varied. The rooms were clean and thoughtfully laid-out. Our suite was perfect for a family. Lots of hanging hammock chairs for the kids to mess around outside. Staff was helpful, especially Laura. Highly recommend!

Wow! We have done a bunch of riding tours in other places so I was expecting more of the same, but just for longer. We signed up for the whole day and I am so grateful! We learned a ton from Marvin about horses and it is so clear he loves them. They are so cared for and responsive, the easiest horse I have ever ridden—speaking as someone who only does 1-2 hour trail rides with a lifetime total of 10 rides and doesn’t consider themself a rider. Our kids have probably done 5 lifetime rides and they did great. I enjoyed the western style of riding (felt easier on my knees) and the horses didn’t have to wear bits. Marvin had lots of gentle and useful reminders for riding, and his English is much better than he gives himself credit for. The scenery was phenomenal and easier to absorb than on a zip line. The lunch was delicious and filling, nicely accounting for our pescatarian diets. We had time for the kids to scramble around and in a stream and the number of butterflies we saw verged on ridiculous. We were on the horses for almost 5 hours and we will be sore tomorrow for sure but everyone agrees it was worth it, even the kids. Advice? He will provide ponchos if you don’t have any (rain jackets are insufficient for keeping the saddles dry) and you don’t need to bring water because he will pack it. Bring stuff you can wear into the stream, or at least enough to stick your legs in. I probably should have worn jeans but I wanted to pack light, oops. I don’t wear contacts often but did for this trip and I am glad because some parts were very bumpy and my glasses would have fallen off. Definitely a highlight of our trip and we won’t ever forget this!

We've been on lava tube tours and other limestone cave tours in the US but this one blew them all away! Part of this was the structure of the tour and the cave setting (no guided trails) but a huge part of this was our guide. Marcus knew so, so much about everything. Seriously, I don't know if he has an advanced biology or botany degree or what. We mentioned not having seen a sloth yet (we were only 2 days into our trip) and not 3 minutes after we mentioned this, he located a sloth in the trees on the way there! He stopped the van, got us all out to look with his monocular telescope, let us ask questions and take photos, loaded us back into the van, and then found another one! That was even before we got to the cave. Marcus was great with our varying ranges of ages, fitness, and confidence going into this amazing adventure. We learned so much about the critters and the geology. He was encouraging and friendly, patient and passionate. We did this early in the trip and we knew right afterwards that topping this experience would be hard!

This view is amazing.

I really enjoyed this hotel. Upscale, classy hotel with good food and presentation. Small room but a cottage feel. Pretty grounds.

Our room was very nice. We had a tree outside our room that belonged to a sloth so we enjoyed watching her in her several positions. We also saw a howler monkey on our tree as well as a white bearded monkey. I liked that it had a kitchenette as well.

The hotel is located in a beautiful area and is a charming, relaxing place to stay. It is a little older but very comfortable. The service was wonderful and we very much enjoyed our stay. There were several nice touches including bicycles to ride around the beautiful property, and a bottle of wine in the room. The meals were very good.

Aguas Claras is one of our favorite hotels of all time. It is a small, boutique hotel located just outside of Puerto Viejo de Talamanca (which is great because the town can be quite bustling and busy). It consists of several separate bungalows surrounding a main area (with a restaurant, pool, and reception). The bungalows are beautifully decorated, spacious and comfortable with every amenity. The restaurant was phenomenal and we enjoyed breakfast and dinners there. The service was unparalleled--the concierge Nathalie was attentive and incredibly thoughtful. She helped us arrange several things including dinner in town and service from our rental car company to replace a flat tire. Other staff were equally wonderful. The hotel is a short walk to a beautiful, seemingly secluded beach. This hotel is a hidden gem and we could not recommend it more highly.

Amazing experience - but be sure to note that you are living "outside" for much of the time - and will likely want to bring your own food. The walk to the beach is spectacular.

Nice place, pool / bikes are great additions.

Wonderful guides. We didn't get to do the Pacurare but they made the best of if.

Loved their enthusiasm / knowledge and the story of how they are making a difference in their community. Will change how we choose/eat chocolate!

Super accommodating and encouraging staff - wonderful place for beginners to feel successful.

We found Hotel Costa Verde to be mediocre and, based on our room location, the opposite of a beach vibe. We were in the A block of rooms which is right on the road. It was really loud - lots of trucks and cars and people yelling. If your room is away from the street and near the beach, I could imagine having a different experience. We had two rooms A7 and A8. A8 was upstairs and had a sitting room, high ceilings, kitchenette, balcony with a far away ocean view + 2 queens and a bunk bed. A7 had the same bed set-up, kitchenette, and balcony but had really low ceilings and was dark and depressing. The top bunk in A7 was not usable given the ceiling height and fan placement. Both rooms were run down and dingy — rusted faucets, gross molding and corners, and bedding that could really use an upgrade — the A/C is run by a key so you can’t leave it on, the hot water is super unreliable, and you are supposed to use the same towels for pool and shower. The A block has its own cute pool but requires driving to the beach which, with little ones, is a hassle. Breakfast is made to order and was good — the other restaurants were totally overpriced for the quality — especially when you have such good food at local restaurants nearby. The staff was nice but not really service oriented — the overall experience was more “hostel” than “hotel”.

We stayed at Peace Lodge our first two nights in Costa Rica. No words to describe how lovely our experience was — every detail was thought about, from your name on tiles outside your room to the fire going and late night snacks waiting for the kids upon arrival. The rooms have natural indoor living gardens and jacuzzis in the bathrooms. The balconies have hammocks, jacuzzis, hummingbird feeders and the views are staggeringly beautiful. The food — at breakfast and in the restaurants was fabulous — and literally, any change or request was honored without an issue. One of our bags did not arrive and they opened the gift shop after hours so we could buy our son a few things!!! And the grounds are truly spectacular — the exhibits are small but lovely and the waterfall loop a truly perfect hike with kids on day one. Trout lake was also really fun — even in the rain :-) Just can’t say enough good things — it’s about the details — the staff were just absolutely extraordinary and we loved our experience.

The Springs, like Peace Lodge, gets the service aspect down 100%. They do not miss any details and are totally focused on making sure adults and kids have whatever they need to relax and enjoy. The property is big but they run you wherever you want to go on golf carts. We had two adjoining rooms (610-611) and they put my parents right next door without us even asking. The rooms are nice — not luxurious but spacious and super comfortable. The food was really good — again, nothing out of this world but really solid. The hot spring pools were a hit for everyone and the kids could be in the main one for hours. The large pools weren’t the cleanest which was my only issue but they are heavily used. There is a swim up pool vibe — fun, music, cocktails and so If you are looking for luxury or quiet this isn’t it. We did a lot of hiking and so only used the pools for an hour or so between or after excursions and so it was fine for us for these pop ins. Overall, a really solid comfortable choice for families or groups. If only adults, I would likely look for something a bit more unique.

El Establo was okay. We had two rooms — one was a duplex with two king beds (311), one was a standard room with two queens (204). The duplex would be good for kids but the stairs are totally open so not ideal for little ones. Overall the rooms were dark and rundown. Internet was really bad, hot water was limited, and definitely nothing luxurious about either room but both had nice balconies and lovely views — but no furniture to sit on. Breakfast was really good but the food we ordered from room service after a long day of hiking — pizza and rice stir-fry — was literally inedible (not an exaggeration) and very expensive. The property is huge — and pretty — and there are shuttles to take you everywhere if you don’t want to/can’t walk but the overall vibe is just super disconnected and impersonal. The service was odd — breakfast crew was awesome and helpful but then it took 3 calls and a personal trip to reception to get a room service menu or an extra blanket. There was nothing awful about it and since we spent most days on hikes and tours, we were fine to crash here at the end of the day but we also were not impressed at all. The location is good for views and walkable to butterfly garden and Valle Escondido and a quick taxi from downtown but if I return I would definitely try someplace else.

This was terrible! It is a 100 person boat with terrible blaring music and filthy conditions. The floors are gross after two minutes from all the people, spilled food, soggy snacks. Someone vomited and it wasn’t cleaned up for an hour. The food was nasty — packaged cookies and soggy fruit for snacks and awful large plastic cafeteria trays of rice and fish served to people standing in long lines for lunch. There was someone on a loud speaker saying look at this volcanic rock or that beach but no information worth listening to. There was a water slide that was open for an hour and “snorkeling” — which means they handed out life jackets and masks and said if you don’t know what you are doing, don’t go because we are far from a hospital (not joking). Honestly, it was terrible and dirty and we could not wait for it to be over.

High-end hotel. The food is pretty good, but pricey. We had all inclusive packages, so we didn’t have to worry about the price. Their sushi is not that great though. Best of this hotel is that you get to see the howler monkeys and coatis and other creatures close up. We took several tours to see wildlife and actually saw the howler monkeys most close up right on the trails of this hotel. It also has a nice beach. You can check out kayaks, body boards. There are also local tour vendors on the beach by the hotel, so you could do horseback riding, ATV type of things on your own. I would recommend this hotel.

I like the hot spring pools and the location of the hotel. The staff is great here too. The rooms are very nice as well. The thing we don't like about this hotel is the food is not great. Breakfast was included and it was pretty good. Lunch and dinner here in their restaurants are not great. We especially didn't like their Italian restaurant food. The dinner buffet was ok ($20/person, kids has a discount) for up to two times there. Then it gets pretty boring.

Great fun doing the night tour. Got to see creatures that are active at night. If you haven't done a night tour before, I would highly recommend it. Our tour guide was super knowledgeable and fun too.

Love this one! How often do you get to explore 15-million year old caves! I wrote a google review for this too. Highly recommend doing it at least once in your life.

The guide was nice, but there were hardly any animals we saw. I know there is a lot of luck envolved in these nature tours. It was fun seeing mangroves and monkeys though. We were able to see monkeys close up on our hotel's campus later. So if you want to see monkeys, I would still recommend this tour.

Got to see animals close up and learned a lot. The guide was fun and had a lot of stories to tell. We also did hands-on food preparation (cutting veges) and making fun fodd containers, and then saw them enjoy our prepared food. Kids loved it especially.

The water wasn't clear so we couldn't see any fish. It was fun being on the catamaran, but we've done it a number of times before. We saw one sea turtle on this tour. If you have done catamaran at other places, I would just skip this one.

A very easy walk in a well maintained park. Saw a lot of monkeys there. The guides were very knowledgeable. I would recommend this one!

I personally liked this low key tour. My kids also liked it. There is no factory here, just some trees. I think we just liked watching them making chocolate and us tasting chocolate. If you just want to do something less physically demanding, and your hotel is close to this farm, I would recommend it.

There are so many activities within the hotel and you will not experience a single dull moment. Immerse yourself in the natural surroundings and simply enjoy!

Very cute and quaint and the wildlife was impressive. The monkeys and birds were on full display. Breathtaking!

All staff was amazing (with the exception of one). We felt right at home in this cozy lodge. My son even made friends with the children of guests visiting from Germany. They communicated through Google Translate, lol. This was probably my favorite part of our Costa Rica trip!

The WiFi is terrible here. We couldn’t get a signal most of the time we were here. The pool and hot tub is nice. You have to make reservations to use the hot tub. The rooms are small and dated, but comfortable. The breakfast is a buffet and was the same each day. They would change out the protein, but everything else was the same. We loved the staff here! The restaurant serves delicious entrees for dinner. We didn’t have lunch there.

Gorgeous views of the coast! The staff is friendly and the property is beautiful. The walk to the beach was easy and we loved hanging out at the adults only pool with bar service. The free breakfast was very good! You ordered from a menu instead of eating off the buffet. Every morning we heard the howler monkeys and we saw a sloth and capuchin monkeys hanging out by the pool.

This lodge is charming. It isn’t close to town so it’s a hilly walk into the downtown area. Rooms lack air conditioning and it was quite stuffy and warm at night. We left the windows open but there wasn’t a cross breeze. I think ceiling fans would be a great addition. There’s no pool onsite, but we got to use the pool a Poco a Poco, which is very nice! I highly recommend going there to use their facilities. The room we were in was very small, but our kids were in a larger room. We were supposed to have a room with 3 beds for our 3 kids, but they gave us a room with only 2 beds. When we asked about correcting it, we were told our kids had to be in another building. We decided to keep them closer to us and the girls shared a bed. The food at their restaurant was the best we had on our trip. The breakfast buffet was ok but the food on their menu was delicious! The only other things was the water pressure in our shower was low. The water came out in a single steam and alternated between hot and cold temps. I would start the shower hot and while I was washing my hair, it would turn cold. Also you can’t flush toilet paper here. It’s a custom in many parts of the country, but I prefer to flush my toilet paper.

There’s no reception/lobby area. You check in at a tiny stand alone that looks like it was a security guard office at one time. After check-in, no one helped us with our luggage, which required us to go up an unpaved driveway. Upon entering our room we were hit with an extremely strong chemical odor. We went back down to the office, they told us they just finished working on the bathroom tile and paint, which explained the strong smell. They immediately switched our room to another which didn’t have an odor. We had a nice view of Tamarindo beach. The ac in our kids’ room never worked properly. It never cut the humidity or cooled the room down. We asked maintenance to fix it but it was never fixed properly. It was slightly cooler but still sticky and humid in the room. Breakfast orders need to be placed the day before and indicate when you want to eat. We never had the free breakfast because we didn’t want to plan what and when we wanted to eat the day before! The pool is very large and nice to swim in. There’s a hot tub, but the water isn’t warm at all! There’s also a pool bar. Fair warning: there’s a party every Friday night in which there’s an open bar for 2 hrs. It’s open to guests and they charge for the public to enter. The hotel provides earplugs to guests knowing that the loud music from the band and DJ go on until 2-3 am!!! It’s a great party if you plan to dance until the early morning. Not so great if you have an early flight out the next day.

Saw lots of wildlife through a telescope.

We didn’t care for the hike. It was boring and it rained on us.

It was a thrilling experience! We loved it!! Not for those who aren’t physically fit. Requires strong paddling and the ability to keep your body inside the raft. The rapids are rough and we saw other rafts turn over and people fell out of the rafts. Not recommended for young children under 13 yo.

We enjoyed the zip lining, but would skip the guided hike on the hanging bridges.

This was amazing. We felt like we had the whole rainforest to ourselves, and the guides made us feel so welcomed, safe, and comfortable.

Breathtaking views and hike.

Breathtaking views and amazing service from the staff on the catamaran.

We only stayed here for one night, on arrival in Costa Rica so we were somewhat jet lagged. The staff were very friendly and welcoming and the breakfast buffet was incredible!

Beautifully designed, clean and comfortable. Lovely spot, very near the beach where you can hire loungers, get a massage etc. Cosy little private pool area where I wiled away a morning reading in the hammock and watching the capuchins eating mangos in the tree above. Note that breakfast is not included (we thought it was), but there is a supermarket nearby and the kitchen is fine but fairly basic.

Beautiful gardens. Loved seeing all the hummingbirds from the bar. Bungalows were clean and comfortable. The steak was incredible but the rest of the menu not so impressive.

Great food, lovely rooms and pool area, incredible gardens. If you want to spot a tree frog, this is the place to go! Loved the hot tubs as I could relax in there while the kids played in the pool.

Lovely hotel, great restaurant, friendly staff and they were very accommodating with our request for a late check out. It's up in the mountains so quite cool and the pool is unheated, plus we couldn't find anything to do within walking distance. This was supposed to be our pre-travel pool day so we altered our plans and went into San Jose instead. Entirely our fault as we asked to stay here but with hindsight, we'd have been better staying closer to San Jose or the airport

A great opportunity to see lots of the wildlife in captivity that we'd be seeing in the wild later on. All seemed ethical (rescue animals etc) and well kept.

Franklin was awesome and extremely knowledgable. I wish he'd come on all our trips as I felt like there was so much we were missing through lack of knowledge! The hot springs were amazing. Really clean and well designed. Start at the cooler end and enjoy a cocktail.

Daniella worked very hard to spot all sorts of interesting creatures for us - we even saw some surprisingly active sloths in the trees.

Great experience, though we didn't spot quite as much wildlife as we'd hoped. The 'real' hot chocolate at the end was delicious!

Incredible zip lining over the forest canopy. The day started well but the rain set in half way around the course, followed by nearby lightning. We were separated from the rest of the group as we'd gone first and had to evacuate the course though the forest. The guides were very professional and we felt safe thoughout. They took great care of us and even lent their waterproofs to the kids (we were completely unprepared for a jungle trek in the rain!). I thought the kids (7 & 9) would have been frightened but they loved the adventure of it and it ended up being one of the highlights of the whole holiday!

Lovely park with lots of wildlife but busier than other areas so harder to see mobile wildlife

This might be the BEST excursion of all during our trip to Costa Rica! Gabriel was so much fun and so skilled at whitewater rafting that we immensely enjoyed our exciting, thrilling trip down the river and none of us fell out of the raft! John was our driver from the hotel to the meeting place on the river as well as taking us to our hotel after the whitewater rafting. He shared with us so much history and insights about Costa Rica that made it interesting and informative plus he was also friendly and fun.

Red Frog was amazing. The owners are lovely people, the rooms were spacious and comfortable, and the open-air living/dining/kitchen areas was an unexpected bonus. Their food was the best of our trip. They were nice to our kids (3 and 8) let us pet their cute dogs. What more could you want? The air conditioner didn't really work but we found we didn't need it; the fans were enough.

Beautiful cabins. They have everything you could want inside and porches too. The pines are lovely. We visited the herb garden and saw lots of animals. No complaints whatsoever, and it was a lot easier to manage young kids in a place like this where you knew they wouldn't bother anyone if they were noisy.

By far the fanciest place we've ever stayed. It's absolutely stunning with meticulously maintained and lighted pathways through the jungle - we saw staff working on them multiple times a day. The rooms are large and have everything you would need and our large porch overlooking the jungle & ocean with a hammock and lounge chairs was as good as it gets. I can't think of a single problem; it was a joy just to hang out here and watch all the monkeys and birds. The food maybe wasn't the best, but it was tasty and good enough for sure. It veered closer to resort territory than I'm used to and I definitely felt "catered to" - I do speak Spanish but folks here tended to reply in English, and there were a lot of menu items clearly for tourists. That's not necessarily a bad thing but it's not my comfort zone and I felt it was a little harder to connect with people.

These guys were absolutely fantastic. They were super sweet with our 3yo and 8yo (who had to ride with a guide each), showed us some great birds and animals, and were generally just great folks to chat with and learn from. We could have kept going all day. Everybody LOVED ziplining.

This tour was even better than I had hoped. It was perfectly paced which was really helpful with young kids. We got to look at the cacao trees and learn about them a bit, taste some cacao fruit pulp, and then follow the cacao beans through the fermentation, drying, roasting, threshing, and grinding process. We (well, the kids especially) were able to participate in several of these steps and we all got to eat plenty of fresh chocolate with various toppings at the end. The perfect mix of education, participation and enjoyment.

Nobody has ever been more passionate about bats and it was contagious. Great tour, tons of info. It was too slow paced for our kids (and maybe even too slow paced for the adults, to be perfectly honest) but I can't fault him for enthusiasm and I certainly learned a lot. Seeing the bats was pretty fun, although I was really hoping to use the advertised device that lets you listen to bat ultrasonic communication in an audible frequency and it wasn't available.

We had a great paddle (about half an hour or so each way) to a beautiful empty beach with a little waterfall. The guides were warm, friendly guys who brought fruit to snack on and were kind to the kids. Great experience.

It was a beautiful nighttime walk. The guide found us sloths, lizards, frogs, birds, and many insects, and there was some tasty fruit at the end. We got the sense that maybe he was a little tired of this night-time job, or maybe just tired of tourists, and I don't blame him for either, but the mood was a bit muted.

PROS - great location in central downtown San Jose - Customer service and staff were great and very helpful - The room was well stocked and prepped - Breakfast buffet was very good and enjoyable - The 5th floor and view from the top floor is really nice and wonderful CONS None

This resort is THE place to stay if you can fit it into your budget. AMAZING place PROS - BEAUTIFUL resort - Customer Service was absolutely amazing and the BEST. They took care of you from the moment you arrived to when you left - The food options and service at the pool was fantastic - The rooms are BEAUTIFULLY stocked when you check in - It is very easy to get around the resort - The staff is fantastic and they are very efficient in their work - The WIFI is absolutely insane. We tested it at various points in the resort and it averaged over 45 mb/sec which is MORE than enough for great video conferencing even - The restaurants and morning buffet is fantastic CONS - NONE We would come back here and stay in a HEARTBEAT. If you have the chance and dont stay here then you will be making a HUGE mistake

Overall. i think, objectively it is way too hyped. I would probably pick another hotel in the area to stay at if we come back again. PROS Property that we saw was quite beautiful Reception desk and staff are very friendly and helpful Food at the main restaurant for lunch was pretty good Bathroom in the room was well stocked and nice CONS - Wifi is SUPER SUPER poor. Measured it and for the rooms of 500-525 I was seeing at MOST 1-2 mb/sec. That's atrocious. You would think that they would setup wifi extenders at each building to boost their wifi signal but nope. i tested the wifi speed and uploaded the results to show for proof. The wifi at the resort in La Fortuna where we stayed before coming here was 45 mb/sec... more than enough for video calls and it was that speed throughout the ENTIRE property. - Fridge didn't work to keep things cool - The vents above the patio doors could not be closed so we had constant cool air coming in - Roach found - Property is huge and the roadway between sections is VERY poorly lit. It's VERY dark. - Main desk closes at 10p. Seriously???? - TV signal and TV picture for most channels was not even HD - The bathroom sinks are REALLY shallow. Because of this the water drains very very slowly because there's not a high degree of slope and it's very frustrating