Lapa Rios Lodge by Böëna

It was fabulous. Food excellent, staff really friendly and location amazing. I really liked the tours into the rain forest that were available. All excellent - would like to go back. It was amazing hearing the howler monkeys, and seeing macaws setting off in the mornings.The hotel was at the top of a valley down to the sea overlooking and part of the rainforest

What a place! Set on the Osa Peninsula up high over looking the caribbean. Short flight from San Jose. You'll be picked up in Porta Jimenez. Great service, grwat staff. Lots to do. Hiking, day on the beach, guided tours. Lots of wild life. Very tranquil. We would definitely recommend Lapa Rios to all nature lovers.

Vacation Family This is honestly the best place we’ve ever been to! It’s luxurious and stunning! The lodge is enveloped by the jungle with breathtaking vistas and superb accommodations. It is respectful of its surroundings and thus never crowded. It’s truly the best refuge our family has ever enjoyed. We first came here in 2003 for our honeymoon and have dreamed of returning since. Our daughters now agree that this stands as the premier holiday for our family. My youngest has celiac disease, but the staff was incredibly accommodating and thoughtful. Staff went out of their way to make the same stunning food for her. The assurances from staff about cross contamination definitely put us as at ease. Every meal we ate at the lodge was stunning, all baked in house. All juices smoothies and more are made with local produce, never store bought. The chef’s creations are works of art, both beautiful and delicious. This was an elevated dining experience, and when we had excursions, they packed amazing picnics for our group. We cannot recommend this experience enough to others. It is a splurge worth every penny! We told the boat tour and saw 8-10 humpback whales today; countless macaws, toucans and many other special birds; the night tour with Frank and other tours with Jeffrey were AMAZING!!! And let’s not forget to mention the incredible food!!! I almost hate to write this many good things because the Osa Peninsula is remote and not so touristy. But Lapa Rios deserves the highest praise for being the best stay of our lives.

We spent 2 full days at Lapa Rios. First day we waterfall hike with the hotel guide Edwin. Great experience walking through the primary rainforest, ending with a swim in the falls. Second day we went to the Corcovado reserve by boat, again with Jeffrey one of the hotel guides. we saw 7 humpback whales, tapir, pigs, sloth, coaties, ant eater and loads of birds. The hotel guides have a passion for this location and wildlife that is really authentic. The hotel accomodation is really impressive as you are in the canopy. We sat the pool and saw loads of monkeys, coaties, macaws, the list goes on. This isn't a hotel to laze around in. The lack of air conditioning at night isn't a problem at all but it is humid and a real jungle experience. The food is good. Some great, most is good. But the coffee is excellent, as are the cocktails! And all the staff are authentic, passionate, offering great service, some stories and help.

The only reason that we gave four out of five stars was because of the dinner food. The breakfast food was very good. Fresh fruit, very good omelettes. The lunch food was decent, but was hit or miss. Unfortunately, the food at dinner was not good at all. Unfortunately, the pasta and pizza were awful. The flavors were off with most dishes. The dinner food was very disappointing, and we struggled after trying almost everything on the menu finding something that we like to go back to. That being said, the rest of the hotel was great! First of all the service and people were outstanding! Gabriel and Sandra were really wonderful and shared their stories and we looked forward to seeing them at meals. There were several hikes that were offered. The guides were excellent. However, we found that there was a lot of repetition with the hiking in regards to things we were seeing. The best hike was the Osa Trail. The beach experience was amazing! When you want to go down to the beach, you let the front desk staff know an hour before and they pack up two lounge chairs, and a cooler full of whatever drinks you would like. We got fresh pineapple, puréed, and watermelon and water and they bring you down in a truck , it’s about an eight minute drive and you sit on the beach and walk the beach. they come pick you up whenever you want. It really is an extremely relaxing experience! The location is very very remote. We stayed there for seven days. If you want to get away from Everything , this is the place. There are no TVs. Nothing to do at night. No one is ever at the bar. No people watching. The Wi-Fi is very good But we did not use it a lot of the time. It did take the whole day of traveling to get there. The room was beautiful. The view is incredible! The outside deck that you have has an outside shower and loungers. Coffee is delivered to the room at 6 AM daily. The only drawback was that the screens that enclose the room are a little bit bigger so you get a lot of tiny bugs in the room while you are sleeping and there’s no mosquito bedding above your bed so that was disappointing. Just as a disclosure there is no AC, we did not care because the breeze was amazing. In February you definitely don’t need AC. if you are a foodie, you will be disappointed. If you’re just looking for decent food, you’ll be OK.

Reception/concierge staff never look up from their laptops and the entire place felt a bit underwhelming, service-wise. Other places in Costa Rica are levels above this place. The ‘Inclusive’ tours were disappointing e.g the sunset bird tour took place on the main road into the lodge making it difficult to take photos due to passing traffic. Hotel food was ok but nothing to write home about. On the plus side the bedrooms were nice and the views excellent.