Olman put together a great trip plan for our 25th anniversary, delayed honeymoon, 55th birthday celebrations

Costa Rica | Mar 17 - Apr 7, 2023

The hotel was very nice. I only wish we had more time there to explore the grounds and the trails. The food was very good, the staff was friendly, and the room was very clean.

The hotel was nice and the trails were well-maintained. Walking on the hanging bridge over the river was amazing! We saw poison dart frogs and learned how cacao is processed.

LOVED the treehouse room!! We were in the furthest treehouse from the lodge, and being old and out of shape it made getting to the treehouse a challenge, but it was worth it! We loved the outdoor shower option. It rained one day we were there, so we spent the day in the treehouse listening to the rain. Coming back from dinner, we had bats circling under the tree house catching insects. The next morning, they were under the eaves of the treehouse - very cool! The staff was super friendly and accommodating.

I liked having an individual cabin, but the room had a slightly moldy smell when we entered. We turned on the air conditioner to moisture removal mode and the smell cleared up. The restaurant was very nice and the food was delicious. We only walked part of the trail because we did not see many birds and it was very steep.

It was convenient to walking trails and we saw monkeys on the premises. The food was good and the staff seemed friendly. The air conditioning unit was being replaced in the unit next to ours, so a breaker appeared to trip repeatedly and we lost air conditioning. The repair staff made sure our air conditioner was working before they left for the evening.

The hot springs with the mud were interesting. Unfortunately, the hot springs got very crowded and the walk from the lockers to the hot springs was very long. The rooms were very nice. We tried all the restaurants and were pleased with the food. The staff was very friendly.

The hotel is right on the beach and is away from most of the other hotels and restaurants. It was easy to walk down the beach to get to the busier part of town. Breakfast was delivered to the table outside our room. We were next to the pool, which was convenient. The hotel did not have a restaurant, but there were several restaurants nearby.

It was nice to be able to watch the birds at the feeder while we were eating breakfast. Also, the menu explained the local sources of the food we were eating. They also had products for sale made by local artisans. The room was spacious and airy, but very dark at night. Maybe we should have brought a nightlight.

The grounds of the hotel are very nice. We were in the treetop room. The room smelled of mold when we first entered. The other treetop room was closed (presumably for repairs). The room was showing its age in that the floor sloped and the ground could be seen between the floorboards. I enjoyed the private patio, but the floor was badly scraped by opening and closing the patio door. The staff seemed friendly and the restaurant was good. We did not use the pool, but there appeared to be several hot tubs available. The walking paths were easily accessible.

This is a very nice hotel. They have a variety of activities for all types of guests. We went to walk the Monkey Trail, but part of it appeared very steep and not well-maintained. We got to the scenic overlook, but could not continue because a tree had fallen over and was blocking the path. We enjoyed watching the antics of the monkeys. We experienced massages in the spa. The staff and the experience were wonderful and extremely relaxing. Breakfast was very crowded and seating was difficult one day. I appreciated that there was an adults-only pool. Unfortunately, the pool bar was in the family pool. The room was very nice and the patio was a nice place to watch the sunset.

I enjoyed the grounds of the hotel with the water, paths, and fish ponds. Most of the staff did not seem happy or friendly. Breakfast was unimpressive and we arrived 15 minutes early and were ignored. The paths were slippery, despite the rocks for traction, and I fell while going to our room in a light mist. The paths were also slippery when completely dry. The trail was not well-maintained and went sharply up a mountain in a series of switchbacks. The gift shop, where we were supposed to be able to buy glass water bottles, had a disappointing lack of merchandise. The nightly hot water bottles were a nice touch, but they arrived too early. By the time we went to bed, the bottles were merely lukewarm. There was a note to take short showers because the water was heated by natural gas. I waited longer for hot water than actually showering.

We stayed here one night before leaving Costa Rica. It was the Easter week holiday, so nothing was open near the hotel. We ate lunch in the restaurant while waiting for our room to be ready. It was OK. We both ordered pizzas and the bottoms were not well cooked. The room was nice, but nothing special. A noisy party arrived late in the evening and I could hear everything they were saying, so the walls are not well soundproofed.

The walk through the jungle and over the hanging bridges was a strenuous trip. It was raining by the time we finished the walk. We were expected to immediately then transition to ziplining and be able to climb to the platforms. We decided that ziplining in the rain did not sound like fun. Instead, we were able to exchange our ziplining tickets to be able to see the sloths, the butterflies, or the reptiles. It seems like we should have been able to do more than just one activity.

The waterfalls were beautiful and I am glad we went to see them. I wish I knew better to expect so many stairs! I don't think we made it to all of the waterfalls. I enjoyed seeing so many hummingbirds and lunch was very good.

The hot springs were wonderful and I am glad that only a limited number of people are allowed to visit each day. The hot springs were not overcrowded. We were able to visit all of the pools and had a wonderfully relaxing experience.

I felt like an outsider on this trip. We were not really greeted at the dive shop, we were not offered wetsuits like other guests (not that I wanted one, but still, it's the principal). It seems like the guides on the boat were more concerned with those going scuba diving than those going snorkeling. Once in the water, the snorkeling guides did not do much as far as guiding. It would have been nice to have some idea of what kind of fish we were seeing as we swam. Plus, a lot of the other swimmers were oblivious to what was going on around them. I had adults swim into me multiple times. It would have been more understandable if it were a child, but it was adults! The second time we were in the water, a girl was stung by a jellyfish and wanted to return to the boat. The guides pushed the group out into deeper water, away from the jellyfish, but we were just waiting in the water for the boat to come back around to pick us up. They had no way to signal the boat for the girl who had been stung.

Great location for a bird walk. We were able to see lots of new birds.