El Remanso Rainforest Lodge

We had a wonderful stay at El Remanso. We stayed four nights so we had three full days. The staff is great, every one from concierge to wait staff to guides. Our villa was comfortable and situated so it felt more isolated than it actually was. It was spacious & open and the walls are half screens with a double-door that opens up the whole place to the expansive deck. From our deck we saw a dozen bird species, had three species of mammals walk by and a monkey showed up in a tree. In the distance we had a great view of the Pacific. Coffee and tea were delivered before dawn each morning so we could sit with a drink watching the jungle come alive. The villas are spaced out so there is a lovely walk to the restaurant and lobby. All meals were in the restaurant which is a beautiful, open-air, well-designed platform looking over the rainforest to the sea. The breakfast menu has about ten (?) choices. Lunch and dinner menus are each about the same size but alternate by day. The food was universally tasty with interesting flavors and well presented. We found ourselves chatting with other guests in the restaurant and occasionally joining others for meals — it is that kind of atmosphere. We found ourselves sharing the resort with others who appreciated nature. We enjoy nature, especially birds, and we appreciated the trails on the property. We decided against any off-resort activities and were glad we did. Staff tour guides were excellent. They helped us find and identify many great birds. The guides were amazing. Some can do bird calls that are indistinguishable from the actual birds. We like birds but are also generally interested in nature and the guides responded by giving tours that were much more than birds. Notably, we did see the red-capped manakin moonwalk. You don’t need to reserve the resort’s activities ahead of time but it is good to look them over before you arrive because scheduling your activities is something you do upon arrival. We did the forest walk, the morning garden bird walk, the night walk, and the river walk. On our own we hiked to the beach (400 stair steps each way). We also did the sunset drinks halfway to the beach. The resort is really well managed. Staff are consistently friendly and helpful. The facilities are well maintained. Often a manager will cruise through the restaurant talking to guests to get feedback on how their stay is going. There is a lot of attention to getting details right. While fairly expensive, you get a lot for your money as nearly everything is included (alcoholic drinks are a notable exception): food, on-site activities, transportation to and from the airport. and coffee & tea delivered before dawn. The place is in the rainforest and provides a simple luxury that we appreciated.

Very relaxing beautiful lodge. Great food. Knowledgeable staff. The hiking was excellent birds and wildlife at every turn. Even the ride from and back to the airport was an amazing experience. Very private clean room with pool and outdoor shower to cool off.

We thought El Remanso was exceptional. It was our final destination and we had enjoyed so much of what Costa Rica has to offer but here you were able to experience something special. They take good care of you, always asking if there’s anything they can do and going out of their way to make your stay better. The location is exceptional, you are immersed in the jungle and its accompanying soundtrack. The deluxe villa is wonderful and the sunsets are magical.

A fantastic immersive rainforest experience. We spent 5 nights, and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Everything from being picked up to reception, room, food, service was excellent. The guides were keen to share their knowledge, and we even had some interesting presentations in the early evening, to provide more context to the conservation, ecology and environment. The wildlife was magical, the shows put on by the spider monkeys and white faced ones on the site - were wonderful, the birdlife and other 'creepy crawlies' added to the atmosphere.

Fabulous lodge beautifully located in the rainforest on the Osa Peninsula. The authentic rainforest experience - no lawns or manicured gardens here. Your villa is amongst the trees (with monkeys and birds at eye level) with the natural lie of the land giving you impressive views of the ocean. Stunning sunset views from the bar/restaurant and Happy Hour encourages you to enjoy them! We were in Costa Rica for 3 weeks and this was, by far, the nicest place we stayed. Excellent guides (Edgar in particular but all the guiding was very good). This isn’t a wildlife park or a 5 star city hotel - the wildlife has to be looked for on jungle walks (not difficult but require mobility) though you may be lucky and wake up to monkeys around your villa, a toucan on the tree in front of your balcony, scarlet macaws flying past your villa several times a day. There is plenty of wildlife here and we loved waking to the Dawn chorus of howler monkeys and insects/frogs and birds. The accommodation is very luxurious for a jungle location- beautiful villas, well appointed whilst keeping to a sustainable ethos. No air con (the fans are great), no water bottles in your room (the tap water is drinkable and there are places to fill your personal water bottle so please pack one!) Hairdryers a waste of time here as the humidity means that your hair will not stay straight anyway! I packed rechargeable straighteners that failed miserably to tame my hair for long. No teeny toiletries - full sized bottles of really nice products were in the shower room. No facial tissues or cotton pads so bring your own. They really are trying to be sustainable here. Bring ear plugs and eye masks if the lack of curtains and glass windows troubles you, but you will miss so much - settle into the rhythm of waking with the monkeys, enjoying the coffee delivered in thermos flasks to your door, watching the day begin. And go to bed when the forest goes dark. It is part of the experience. We weren’t troubled much by mosquitoes - the breeze, fans, netting and lack of standing water meant we didn’t see as many mosquitoes as we expected and our non DEET bug spray kept them at bay. But we wore long sleeves at dawn and dusk the first few days to check if we would be troubled. The restaurant/bar area is stunning and the food is extremely good. Yes there is a 2/3 day rotation but each menu has several items and everything was well presented and delicious. We are vegetarian and had the best meals we had in Costa Rica. As vegetarians we lacked protein in many of the places we stayed but fared much better here. They coped well with my gluten intolerance too. Staff here in general were willing to please - lovely team in the restaurant in particular. Remember this is an isolated location run off grid and what they achieve is really excellent. We were asked at least twice a day if everything was ok - were we happy? Did we have a good activity? Did we need anything. Reasonable reques

A truly amazing location that lived up to its reputation as one of the world’s top ecological hot spots - superb wildlife - first class guides - lovely private bungalow amongst the forest with views of the setting sun over the Pacific Ocean - great food & excellent service - woken each morning by howler monkeys in the surrounding trees - we’ve just returned from 2 weeks in Costa Rica & the 4 nights at El Remanso were the highlight of the trip. Craig&Sue