Sarapiquis Rainforest Lodge

Quirky place with separate traditional style ‘huts’ with rooms. The rooms were very spacious. Ours had air on (jaguar), not sure if all of them do but we didn’t really use it. Had a very large double and single bed. Pool is lovely with infinity edge and waterfall. Tip - take water shoes with you, the floor in the pool is really rough. Saw lots of pretty birds and toucans in hotel grounds. We were part of a tour group and the breakfast and dinners were buffet style and good variety. They were a bit naughty at stopping replenishing things if they felt a lot of people had eaten, even if well before closing. Bar prices weren’t’t too bad considering you are in the middle of nowhere, $8 for generous g&t. A fridge and coffee machine in room would have been good. Our room had a really dodgy back door opening onto verandah. Had to virtually kick it down to get out, which scared a few birds away! We didn’t complain as only there 2 nights and we got used to it but was a bit of a nuisance .

After reading some of the reviews I was concerned about staying here, however we had an excellent 2 days. Yes the rooms are quite basic but they are clean & the shower was quite powerful with hot water. The evening meal was good - we had chicken in a mushroom sauce day 1 & steak in a delicious red wine sauce day 2 - both were very good & the accompanying chips were fabulous. Breakfast was sufficent although not a huge choice - fruit, scrambled egg with sausage, rice, plantain. I had a freshly cooked omelet this morning. The pool is small but again fine for a short dip which is what most people want. Yes it has a rocky surround but this is not a problem. Towels are available from reception. The staff have been excellent - very helpful when my husband had a problem with his phone. It has a fabulous location with toucans & howler monkeys seen in the gardens. It is a 10 minute walk from Dave & Dave's excellent wildlife park (see separate review), next door to Tirimbina Lodge where a lot of the trips take place - we did an excellent Chocolate tour from there. We also got a taxi into Sarapiqui for a boat tour along the river - again we had an excellent guide & saw lots of wildlife. Overall we have had an excellent 2 days here & don't agree with many of the previous comments. The hotel is only a 3*! Our only complaint was that the website does not advertise the available trips - this would make it more popular with potential clients.

Room was ok but dark. There was literally nowhere to put anything in the bathroom … no shelves … no hooks. Why not? Generally not clean … As with many hotels in CR, the reception areas and gardens are far better than the rooms. This needs a serious amount of money spent on it.

A lovely pre-Columbian style hotel immersed in the Rainforest wildlife. We had excellent views to the rainforest canopy and saw Howler monkeys and Toucans from our room. The room was comfortable, spacious and had air conditioning. Breakfast and dinner was good and the staff were friendly. The Tirimbina Nature Park was accessible from the hotel and we enjoyed an interesting night walk.

On arrival, we went to the extremely small swimming pool for a look around and immediately saw three or four Toucans, monkies and various other birds in the natural surroundings. The rooms were OK, quite dark and cold stone floors. The bathroom was tired. There was good Air Con and a hairdryer in the room. Breakfast was lacking in choice. No nice bread or cheese, only sliced white bread. There was the usual rice and beans, sausages and omelets. We had two evening meals, the first was just OK, the second included what my husband says was an incredibly good beef steak. In the hotel grounds, there is access to La Trimbina Nature Park. We did an organised night walk there, which was very good. We also had a wander round on our own the next day. Good place for nature, not so good if you like good breakfasts or nice bathrooms!

I would not recommend this hotel. The ambience is nice if you are looking for a staying in a rainforest experience. But other than that, the food is awful. They had no water and they don’t even apologize or make you feel like they are sorry for it, how can we make it better attitude. You will not find ice anywhere. The staff is nice but they obviously give you the smile, I can’t help you attitude so you are SOL. Worst buffet breakfast, drinks, fruit… The rooms without ac are muggy, smelly, and hot. Don’t expect to have a good night sleep. I would recommend going somewhere else so you don’t have to go through the feeling of get me out of here.

We as a family of three (my two sons and I) stayed for two nights and had a wonderful time, staff is very friendly and breakfast is great. The pool is absolutely stunning. Rooms are spacious and the beds are very comfortable. Would come anytime again.

Oh dear what a let down this hotel was. Whilst I can forgive the darkness and quirky rooms due to the building style, it was so uncared for. The write up in the room was all about its values yet the constant dripping water in the shower was not attended to. The archeological site and botanical gardens advertised were run down and the gardens didn't really exist! No facilities to make a drink in the room, or anywhere else and they charged 1$ for hot water! The food was adequate but such limited choice. The staff were pleasant and seemed to be doing their best.

This hotel is not good. Our ensuite sink only had one tap which was cold, no hot water and no plug. The shower tray didn't drain leaving you standing up to your ankles in water and the tiles were disgusting. The toilet had rusted bolts holding it to the floor and when we arrived there was a dead and drier up large cockroach type bug on the floor. The room smelt fusty with patches of damp on the ceiling and walls. Towels were almost worn out and no longer white. The door to the shared veranda would not lock as the top and bottom bolts were damaged and when reported to reception they said the maintenance guy had gone home but would look at it in the morning. In the meantime they sent the security guard to check it, he went away to get tools but never came back and next day maintenance did not come either leaving us with a room that we could not lock. Food in the evening was reasonable but breakfast was abysmal, a small selection of fruit and cooked beans/meat, no yoghurt, granola or cereals. The botanical garden is overgrown and the museum is closed. The pool is small and nicely situated but surrounded by rough gravel which is difficult to walk on bare footed and carries into the pool.