Hotel & Lodge Reviews

As a lover of travel, it amazes me how many people have moved here from the States or other countries, just settled down in one place, not exploring this exciting natural world of adventures called Costa Rica! My first 5 or 6 years I traveled somewhere different nearly every month! Since the 2021 Covid and my cancer surgery with radiation therapy, I have had to decrease my travel, but it is still my favorite activity/hobby in Costa Rica coupled with my love of nature and nature photography which for 10 years has been mostly what my blog is all about. I usually blog about a trip daily during the trip and continue sharing photos for the next week or two afterwards. So my most up-to-date reviews of various lodges and hotels will always be my blog. You can subscribe to an emailed version. But friends have asked for these hotel reviews, so here goes! I have visited too many for this to be short and simple. And I think that for most people, going to the linked photo trip galleries will give you the best impression of a place. Afterall, “A photo is worth a thousand words!” 🙂

Disclaimers & Explanations

  • Birding was my main focus the first 6 years or so, thus birding lodges and national parks and reserves known for birding make up the majority of these reviews.
  • And Nature is still my main focus on all trips, except the ones to San Jose. Butterflies have become a new focus equal to birds for me now but I also love waterfalls, sunrises, sunsets, landscapes, plants and literally all of nature but I include birds or butterflies on all trips.
  • I choose places where I can best photograph nature and NOT for the price or type of rooms or food. Thus there are a few very expensive hotels on this list and they are the ones I have to spend fewer nights in, 🙂 but I find most are worth it for the nature experiences there. The two most expensive that I love are El Silencio Lodge in Bajo del Toro and Xandari Resort in Alajuela. Hint: They both cut their prices greatly during the rainy season, about half! I am poorer than probably most retirees living here, so I have to be careful. But I’m also at the end of my life and leaving an inheritance is not one of my goals! 🙂 So if I consider it worth the price, I’ll pay it! 🙂 I am not including specific prices here because they change and it depends on type of room you want, the time of year and number of persons. I mostly travel solo.
  • Lastly, I am not a beach person! Thus not many of these are on beaches, where I prefer to walk than swim. My favorite is a quiet, tranquil beach on the Caribbean Coast named Hotel Banana Azul. I also liked Hotel Punta Leona near Jaco which was good for nature photography and has two beautiful beaches though it is more expensive and the nearby Villa Caleta even more expensive but with the best sunset views in Costa Rica.

I’ve decided to arrange the hotels & lodges by my own 5 divisions of the country or regions, my labels and not the official regions! For people in Atenas, “Alajuela Province” and the “Pacific Slope” are the two closest areas to us, with the “Inland Caribbean Slope” as close as some of the Pacific. They are NOT in order of preference but with more recently visited on top of each list. The number in parenthesis (3) is how many times I’ve been to that hotel or lodge and within the review I link to the photo galleries of each trip I made there. The area or region page has just a summary and a link to each hotel in that area, so you can work from this page unless you want to focus on just one area.

MENU

  • ALAJUELA PROVINCE or North-Central Costa Rica
    • Maquenque Eco Lodge & Reserve, Boca Tapada, San Carlos, Alajuela (5)
    • Arenal Observatory Lodge & Trails, Arenal Volcano National Park, La Fortuna, Alajuela (5)
    • El Silencio Lodge, Bajos del Toro, Alajuela (3)
    • Xandari Resort, Alajuela, Alajuela (8)
    • Chachagua Rainforest Hotel, San Ramon Canton, Alajuela (1)
    • Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Resort & Nature Reserve, San Ramon, Alajuela (1)
    • Celeste Mountain Lodge, Tenorio Volcano NP, Alajuela & Guanacaste (1)
    • Arenal Manoa Hotel, La Fortuna, Alajuela (1)
  • The CARIBBEAN SLOPE or Eastern Costa Rica
    • SOUTH CARIBBEAN
      • Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón (7)
      • Almonds & Corals Tent Hotel, Manzanillo, Limón (1)
      • Bribri Yorkin Indigenous Reserve, Limón (1)
      • Cariblue Beach & Jungle Resort, Puerto Viejo, Limón (1)
    • TORTUGUERO NATIONAL PARK
      • Tortuga Lodge & Gardens, Tortuguero NP, Limón (1)
      • Turtle Beach Lodge, Tortuguero NP, Limón (1)
      • Laguna Lodge, Tortuguero NP, Limón (2)
    • INLAND CARIBBEAN SLOPE
      • Guayabo Lodge, Guayabo Nat. Monument, Turrialba, Cartago (1)
      • Tapirus Lodge, Braulio Carrillo NP, Limón (1)
      • Selva Verde Lodge, Sarapiqui, Heredia Province (2)
      • Chalet Orosi B&B, Orosi & Tapanti NP, Cartago (1)
      • Rancho Naturalista, near Turrialba, Cartago (2)
  • The PACIFIC SLOPE or Western Costa Rica (Guanacaste is separate)
    • Villa Lapas at Tarcoles & Carara NP, Puntarenas (2)
    • Hotel Savegre, San Gerardo de Dota, San Jose Province (3)
    • Macaw Lodge on hill behind Carara NP, San Jose Province (2)
    • Esquinas Rainforest Lodge, Piedras Blancas NP, Golfito, Puntarenas (2)
    • Playa Cativo Lodge, Golfo Dulce & Piedras Blancas NP, Golfito, Puntarenas (1)
    • Hotel Cristal Ballena, Uvita, Puntarenas (2)
    • Bosque del Cabo Lodge, Osa Peninsula, Puerto Jiménez, Puntarenas (1)
    • Villa Caletas, Jaco, Puntarenas (1)
    • Monteverde Lodge & Gardens, Monteverde, Puntarenas (1)
    • Punta Leona Hotel, Jaco, Puntarenas (1)
    • Si Como No Resort, Manuel Antonio NP, Puntarenas (1)
    • Danta Corcovado Lodge, Los Patos Ranger Station, Corcovado NP, Puntarenas (1)
    • Tambor Tropical Resort, Tambor Bay, Puntarenas (1)
    • Aguila de Osa Lodge, Drake Bay, Corcovado NP, Puntarenas (1)
    • Cerro Lodge, Tarcoles, Puntarenas (2)
    • Los Campesinos Eco-Lodge, on mountain east of Quepos, Puntarenas (1)
    • Mariam’s Quetzale Cabinas, San Gerardo de Dota, San Jose (1)
    • Rio Chirripó Lodge, Chirripó NP & Cloudbridge Reserve, San Jose (1)
    • Trogon Lodge, San Gerardo de Dota, San Jose (1)
    • Villas Rio Mar, Dominical, Puntarenas (1)
    • North Beach Hotel, Jaco, Puntarenas (1)
    • Lookout Inn, Carate & Corcovado NP, Puntarenas (1)
    • Luna Lodge, Carate & Corcovado NP, Puntarenas (1)
  • GUANACASTE
    • Hacienda Guachipelín, Rincón de la Vieja, Liberia, Guanacaste (1)
    • Rancho Humo, Palo Verde NP, Nicoya, Guanacaste (1)
    • A Flamingo Beach Hotel, Flamingo Beach, Guanacaste (1)
    • JW Marriott Beach Resort, Guanacaste (1)
  • SAN JOSE City
    • Holiday Inn Morazán Park, San Jose, San Jose
    • Adventure Inn, San Jose, San Jose
    • Hotel Autentico, San Jose, San Jose
    • Hotel Barcelona Palacio, San Jose, San Jose
  • PANAMA
    • Tranquilo Bay Lodge, Bocas del Toro, Panama (1)
    • Radisson Summit Rainforest Resort near the Panama Canal (1)
    • Gamboa Tropical Resort, Gamboa, Panama (1)
    • Caravan Tours Hotels & Beach Resort, Panama, including the above Gamboa Tropical Resort, my favorite.
  • NICARAGUA
    • Hotel El Convento, Leon, Nicaragua (1)
    • Hotel Real La Merced, Granada, Nicaragua (1)
    • Montibelli Lodge & Reserve, Ticuantepe, Nicaragua (1)
    • Reserva El Jaguar Lodge, Jinotega, Nicaragua (1)

For similar kinds of travel sort of nearby, see my travel pages on Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama with the last two overlapping the above reviews adjacent to Costa Rica.

Happy Travels! — ¡Buen Viaje!