"We absolutely loved our experience at lapa rios lodge. If I could give this place 10 stars I would! You get your own private villa right in the jungle. It was amazing! Our villa we got, villa 17 also featured a private plunge pool. We went on many different excursions such as the Waterfall, Beach and Night Jungle Hike. The room featured 1 king bed and 1 small daybed as well. The restaurant, Brisa Azul was incredible as well! The negative though is that it is a bit of a hassle to get there because we are from Myrtle Beach and you have to ride in like 6 different planes to get there and back. The only bad thing that happened was that we did get robbed of our iPads and iPhones and such but the manager made it right and overall, it was a great experience!!"

"Being at the heart of the Lapa Rios private reserve of over 1000 acres was an amazing experience. The guided walks are really informative and fantastic for appreciating the landscape and the wildlife all around. From the efficient welcome at the local airport, to guides, hotel and restaurant staff - everyone is warm and enthusiastic about this location and ensuring you have the very best experience. We had a very spacious room with fabulous views towards the Pacific and a terrace to watch monkeys and parrots nearby. Excellent and healthy choice of food - the best we experienced on our trip. We stayed for three nights but could have stayed for longer as there are so many wildlife walks you can do across this enormous reserve, including to the ocean bays."

"Lapa Rios gets a SPECIAL call-out in terms of both a uniquely luxurious place to stay, and one that's remotely located in the Costa Rican wilderness. From the staff to the guides to the elevated canopy walk to your private room, it is a surreal place to enjoy nature. Our package included all meals and activities (there is a large weekly "menu" of options), and the lodge provides all the adventure gear you might need - professional grade rain ponchos and rubber boots, umbrellas, walking sticks, and even high-powered flashlights for their night walks. The guides are all super knowledgeable and carry spotting scopes for wildlife. Ask for Frank - he's the BEST; a local, he's 100% knowledgeable about the wildlife and is a fierce advocate for nature and how sustainably the lodge operates. Did I mention all their water is locally sourced from a spring, and that the majority of their electricity is sourced from local solar panels and a series of microturbines driven but a local river? We were only able to do a few of the many activities offered (mostly nature and birding), but they offer catered afternoons on the beach, a waterfall trek and swim, and then can help cater off-property activities. We never left the property - there was really no need to. Make sure to get up at 0445 and venture the hotel grounds at 5 am - troops of monkeys every day! The 1,000+ private natural preserve they own offers everything you want to see: sloths, monkeys (howler, white-face, squirrel, and spider!), macaws (scarlet and green), parrots and parakeets, coati, toucans of most every type (less the keel bill), iguanas, and even the "Jesus Christ Lizard" that can skim across the water. Night walks include snakes (vipers), owls, bats, tarantulas, frogs (red-eye), scorpions, and the ever-present leaf-cutter ants. The facility is wonderfully and uniquely constructed, so much so that I am already planning on returning with my grown children to experience perhaps one of the last corners of the globe that still belongs wholly to nature. I can't speak highly enough of Lapa Rios. Some pro tips: do the all-inclusive rate for the best experience. Ask about the room assigned - the higher the number (there are only 17), the longer the walk and more vertical climb you'll have; it is quite a drop to room 17, something equivalent to 225 stair steps. Also, room 7 is immediately adjacent to a small housecleaning hut which unfortunately shares a bedroom wall and window, so it was quite noisy with slamming doors and dishes in the afternoon. The hotel, when this was brought to their attention, immediately fixed the issue for us though - kudos to the staff."