Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge

Loved it. 120% rating! -Family of 5 (mom/dad, and kids 15, 12, 6) -Hazel is a great leader; she creates a family feel w/staff, very positive energy -Guides and staff are nice and smart! -Amazing home cooked food 3X a day -Awe-inspiring nature and wildlife

A wonderful spot of nature. A special place, private paradise. Much work to establish since the 80ties. Sustainable energy, waste, water and food management. Great hospitality and engagement by management and staff. Relaxed atmosphere. Wonderful open rooms and open air bath room. Own comfortable terrace. Bed with mosquitos net Not many there. Quite some activities. Excellent food, even for vegetarians ;-). Open Air restaurant platform allows interaction with nature... and other guests.

This resort prides itself in sustainability. They even offered an excellent tour of their sustainability program. The staff were exceptional and the resort has a family feel. When we were there the maximum number of guests was about 13. The showers in the rooms are open to the rain forest with half walls, which allowed a few critters to visit. Lodge rooms are open to the forest during the day and close with folding screen doors at night. The resort is located on a private beach with chairs. The water is calm, warm, 82 degrees, and clear to allow swimming. Some fish seen, but no coral. There are hiking trails through the rainforest around the lodge. They were muddy since it rained in the evening for all 3 nights we were there, but sunny in the day. This was dry season. The lodge has black rubber boots that can be borrowed to hike which were comfortable. Also large umbrellas are in every room. We wore long sleeves and insect repellent, but overall biting insects were not a big issue. We took their river kayaking trip which was excellent. They took us to and then up a river in a motor boat and then we kayaked down the river with the current. Lots of water bird and a tree boa were seen. Lots of birds and squirrel monkeys are on or near the property.

This place is great! The lodge and accommodations are lovely. There are hikes through the jungle and the marine life was amazing. just walking out on the pier we saw a wide variety of sea life. The food was outstanding and meals are served at a long table where you interact with the other guests from all over the world. The staff was super attentive and we give a special shout-out to Oscar. A smart and knowledgeable young man who grew up in the area. He lead birding tours and was our fishing guide along with a captain. while fishing one morning, Oscar and the captain, Harold, spotted a turtle. as we motored close to it they quickly saw it was two turtles that were all wound up together in fishing line. They spent 20 minutes hanging over the boat while holding the turtles and getting them freed.

Our stay at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge was the highlight of our visit to Costa Rica. The Lodge takes a relatively small number of people and provides genuinely warm hospitality - they make you feel welcome guests in a lovely home. If you are interested in the Costa Rican wildlife, and in eating freshly cooked, delicious, relatively local food - this is the place for you! The lodges/rooms are set into the forest, so you are surrounded by wonderful plants and animals all the time. There are well-maintained trails that give you miles of walking through wonderful ecosystems. Gardens provide havens for huge numbers of butterfly species and humming birds, and the beach the ecosystem is different again. Everywhere chilled water is available to fill your water bottle, a real bonus in the hot, humid climate. The rooms have silent, effective ceiling fans which mean the lack of aircon is no problem - in fact you really get the sense of where you are staying, rather than being observers from cool rooms. We slept really well there. The meals are served at a communal table unless you request otherwise - we weren't sure about this until we experienced it. The variety of interesting people we met and chatted to, from so many different countries, was an added bonus to the whole stay. All of the staff - from the guides to the bar staff, the gardeners and the cleaners - were welcoming and were all knowledgeable about the wildlife - sharing sightings of animals from frogs and hawks to bats, snakes, humming bird nests and puma! If you are looking to sit by a pool and then retreat to an air-conditioned room, then this is not the place for you - but if you want an amazing experience of time in the Costa Rican rainforest with all it has to offer in terms of hospitality and biodiversity, you will love it here. Nicuesa will always be a cherished memory for us, and we will return to visit them again!