Laguna Lodge

We came for our honeymoon in January (a little delayed in this review)! It was our first stop in Costa Rica and what a welcome to the most amazing country it was. Incredible location, lovely staff, eco friendly and facilities/food was great. Highly recommend the kayak trip, we saw some incredible things on our outing. The boats to and from the hotel were great! Thank you for a memorable stay!

Beautiful Lodge in the jungle of Costa Rica! Accessible only by boat. Three delicious meals per day included, excellent and friendly service. Every group has a dedicated guide that makes sure you are getting the best experience possible. Definitely take the tours that are included in the price of the lodge! So much to see and so much wildlife!

We loved this place. Accessible by boat through canals, flanked on one side by the river and the Caribbean on the other, surrounded by forest and the most amazing wildlife, we highly recommend. Attentive and helpful staff, delicious meals with great selection, fun excursions, we loved the two pools and the outdoor bar space on the river. Seeing turtles laying eggs at night on the beach with a guide was so special! The breakfast lunch and dinner buffets were yummy with lots of choices.

We were one of only two direct bookings, as this lodge is predominantly used by tour groups. This isn't an issue, as the lodge is set-up to cater for both, but it is noticeable at certain times of the day. The cabins are basic, but comfortable, and you should consider ear plugs and eye masks if a light sleeper, but its simplicity is part of the magic of staying amongst nature. Meals are buffet style with breakfast offering eggs, fruit, pastries and hot items and dinner offering a salad bar, meat and vegetable items, plus dessert. For most, you won't have time to sit by the pool as you'll be out on tours, but there are only a few loungers available, which are a premium when there is leisure time. We did a tour with the lodge and one from the village, which we had pre-booked before our arrival. The morning boat tour with the lodge was very enjoyable, as our guide was great at spotting birds, crocodiles and monkeys and we were back at the lodge in time for breakfast. For our twilight walk from the village, we used the path from the lodge that runs between the beach and hotels and is approximately 45-minutes. This is useable in the day, but lighting is poor making is less of an option after dark. We were told about boat taxis from the village, approximately $5 p/p each way, but didn't use one, so can't comment on availability or reliability. Overall, we enjoyed our 2-night stay here and have fond memories of all the wildlife, plus sitting on the beach for sunrise and enjoying drinks on the bar terrace for sunset.

The transfer to the lodge was a little chaotic at the docks and getting your luggage to your room. Set on the beach but you are not encouraged to sit or visit the beach. 3 meals a day included in buffet style and all very bland. Nice bar area but not cheap. Rooms very basic and beds not comfy. Pool area and main areas all a little tired. The tour guides where good but we felt the organisation could have been better. We could have been split into languages so we didn’t have to listen to the translation and for to ask questions. Really surprised this didn’t happen and would have made the trip more informative and enjoyable.

The environment here is second to none. We were boated in from the inland port which is a little hectic but falls neatly under the category of organised chaos. Our guide Mario was excellent throughout our stay. Always on top of things and always positive in his outlook and approach to concerns that guests had. The accommodation falls short of modern standards. Basic yet comfortable. I struggle to sleep in the heat but actually the fan was sufficient during our stay and the beds were comfortable if lacking in pillows. The tours are great because you’re in a great environment. We did both the 5.30am tour and the 8.30am tour. The 8.30am was included in our package but the 5.30am was an extra and cost us around $90 as a couple. Given they’re basically the exact same tour it was rather expensive and unnecessary as an extra cost. I enjoyed the buffet style meals but it might not be for everyone. Given the amount of people on site, and the group tour style set up, it would be prohibitive to feed the masses in any other way. The food was always tasty, fresh and varied enough. Thought the pasta station was a nice touch. Being veggie we had no problems with the food here. Sunset at the bar was really nice and the beach behind was enjoyable too and quiet. Really good spot to see some stars on a clear night. Wildlife is phenomenal, so many birds, lizards, monkeys just on site let alone the surrounding jungle. The flora on site is immaculate and really well looked after. Credit to the staff. Only reason it’s 4 not 5 stars is the basic rooms and I felt the “extra” tours were over-priced. Would still thoroughly recommend.