Oxygen Jungle Villas — Hotel in Bahía Ballena

We have only travelled out of the country one other time and we stayed on the resort the whole then||||The Oxygen Jungle Villas is like a dream. It is surreal. The drive up the mountain was not as bad as people say. If you have been off roaring in any capacity, it’s a piece of cake. Everyone staying at Oxygen Jungle was driving a small SUV with AWD (not 4x4). It’s a rocky dirt road with some bumps. ||||You show up to the villas and it’s quiet and soothing. You don’t really see the villas from the parking lot. We were met by an employee who took our bags to the front desk. The view as soon as you walk through the “door” is breathtaking. The employee at the front desk was incredibly nice and professional. She walked us through all of the amenities and walked us to our room. The room was a game changer. Like, something you see on movies. We’re more like Holiday Inn people, so this was a different world for us. But wow. The view, the jungle sounds, the room. All amazing. The only little thing was that the shower was up and down with the temp. But whatever. It’s paradise. ||||I don’t know if we enjoyed our stay the way most people do. We signed up for as much as we could. We singed up for the a day tour of Corcovado State Park with Pacific Expeditions (set up through the Hotel). It was awesome. Plain and simple. The hotel had pre-ordered breakfast waiting for us in the morning. The drive was short. But the tour. The tour was an hour boat ride to the park. We saw a group of dolphins. We got to the park and everything was well explained and we were on our way. Our Guide, Greivy, was the absolute best. He’s funny, he makes you feel comfortable, safe, and above all he is responsible. He truly cared about the environment, the country, the animals. All of it. He made sure we enjoyed our experience but also that we were educated. We were incredibly lucky to see a Puma, a Tapir, an Anteater, a monkey , a crocodile and a few others. We had lunch at the park, went swimming in the water fall and saw HUMPBACK WHALES on the way back. Couldn’t have asked for a better day. ||||It was so great we signed up for the night tour that’s actually at Oxygen Jungle. Yes, the hotel is in such an amazing place that tours are held there. The night tour was with the same guide, Greivy, and his wife who is also a certified guide. They were again, incredibly knowledgeable and made the hike fun. We saw a lot of what you would expect to see in a jungle at night. Spiders, snakes, and a sleeping hummingbird? It was straight up amazing. You 100% have to take the tours if you have a chance. ||||We then went to the room, cleaned up, and went to dinner. Not only has Oxygen Jungle figured out the perfect location, but they also hired the perfect staff. Our bartender, Hazel, made the best cocktail I’ve had in years. The Spicy Jungle. Then Omar led us to our seats and served for the night. We ate there 3 nights and it was 10/10 every night. By the time we left Omar was a friend. He made the stay the highest possible standard and made it as great as it could possibly be. Wish he had an IG or something so we could be friends lol. ||||The next day was went to do snorkeling with the same company, because they’re that good. It was as great as you’d expect . We ate, we swam, we got sea sick. It was awesome. Just take motion sickness meds if you aren’t used to it. It’ll be fine. ||||We took one night to try another restaurant, Omar recommended when we asked, La Parcela. It was great, had amazing ocean views and a monkey that was watch people eat lol. But it wasn’t Oxygen Jungle. ||||We had drinks as a cool spot with great music called Fisticuffs and it was really cool. They had multiple food vendors, a great band and cheap beers. It’s also right down the road from Oxygen Jungle. ||||Our last night was much more relaxed with a Spa day, which I have never done but the Spa at Oxygen Jungle was so amazing that I will start going. We had some time at the pool and drove around and explored. We stopped at BM groceries for fruit and a few shops. That evening we played dominoes on the patio, listened to the jungle sounds and ate dinner. ||||All in all, it was a life changing experience. Greivy was the best guide anyone could ask for. Omar is the best in the business. I feel awful for not remembering the woman’s name at the front desk but she did everything to ensure we had everything we wanted and needed. ||||So suggestions: rent a car. hit up Pacífic Expeditions and do the day tour. Hit up Greivy and do the night tour. Eat fruit. Listen to the jungle. Feel like...

We liked our honeymoon stay at Oxygen and have no regrets about staying here. We likely will not return on our next trip to Costa Rica, however, as we found better overall value from resorts at this price point elsewhere throughout the country. Full summary below: The views from the dining/bar/pool area are fabulous (however note that you can only partially see the whales tale and you cannot see sunset). Everything is kept very clean. Food was some of the best of our trip – hats off to the chef. Overall, most staff was very pleasant and helpful, though some members of the concierge team really stood out (I believe Douglas is the name of the front desk individual that really went above and beyond to ensure we had a good stay & Anna for food/bar service), while others gave the bare minimum of effort throughout our stay. We also had a maintenance issue (no hot water) – the concierge individual mentioned above (Douglas?) responded quickly and efficiently and it was resolved within an hour. Power flickered at least 8 times during our stay, but all were resolved quickly. The rooms are designed simply with modern touches to truly highlight the nature surrounding. Beds/linens are exceptional. The area for luggage storage was crammed for 2 people so note that if you’re traveling for a few weeks, you’re going to be tight for space with truly no place to unpack (no shelf or drawer space). The initial ocean-view villa we received was right next to the parking lot which had a lot of traffic, constant loading/unloading noises & even some staff who looked to be hanging out/drinking. This didn’t align to the “Soak in the sounds of nature from your private jungle paradise” claim on the website. Fortunately, the team was able to move us to an alternate room after our first night and this was MUCH better. I’m giving 4 stars because for a hotel at this price point, you expect a high level of service and it often felt like this is the type of place where you are nickel and dimed. Here are a few examples: yoga was quoted at $47 per person (WHAT?!), no special welcome in celebration of our honeymoon (other hotels gave wine/champagne, flowers, etc. - instead they had a package where you could pay $90 for this), nothing included from the minibar. It does appear they made some improvements from previous reviews and now include breakfast in the price of your stay. In one instance we actually wanted to pay the hotel more $ and asked if they’d be able to pack a picnic lunch for us. I was told that they could but we wouldn’t be able to order until Noon on the day we wanted it which kind of defeats the purpose of packing a picnic lunch (seemed strange because later on we were able to preorder breakfast for our departure day so I anticipate this is just an instance where certain staff members were only willing to engage in the bare minimum service). We enjoyed the spa experience immensely, though we never got the “taste” portion of the 5 senses which seemed like an oversight. Many other small oversights like that -for example our first room was missing the welcome book with times for dining, excursions, etc., our dinner reservations weren't scheduled, the time of our massage was changed without notice despite email confirmation. Overall, it was a good stay but we experienced at least 3 other properties in Costa Rica that were great at or below this...

To say that our stay at Oxygen Jungle Villas was incredible would stand as a genuine understatement. From the moment we arrived, and as cliché as this may sound, we were treated like absolute family. The private, boutique and bespoke nature of the entire experience was represented all throughout. As we stayed in the Ocean View Villa, the cleanliness, and comfort of the sheets along with our bed, coupled with the overall size of our villa perfectly matched our expectations. While being situated in the heart of a jungle certainly introduces exposure to various insects, the team at Oxygen did everything they could to make our stay as comfortable as possible. Despite the fact that my partner and I experienced a stomach bug early into our stay, the staff, including Anna, Leydy, Luis, Jason, Douglas, Bryan and Henry continually checked in on us and provided remedies that made the remainder of our stay just as exceptional as our initial impression upon arriving.

Prior to booking the stay, I did quite a bit of research in discerning whether or not a rental was necessary. While I initially opted for the airport pick-up, I am truly glad that I opted for the rental instead, as it introduced the opportunity to visit and explore Uvita whenever we wanted. The notion of “walking up” to Oxygen would be extremely difficult, as it entails a 2.5KM+ trek up a mountain road that has inclines up to 45 degrees — this is certainly something you do not want to walk up unless you’re looking to return with quads the size of a Roman God. Therefore, I would highly encourage an AWD rental, as it would introduce far more freedom in exploring what lies beyond the beautiful villa. We booked a ’22 Hyundai Tucson AWD through Adobe Rent a Car, as recommended by the Oxygen team and the experience was as smooth as can be.

As for the tours, I can say that we were extremely impressed with the quality of them, as they fell in line with the professionalism harboured by the Oxygen experience. We opted for the Mangrove Tour on the Sierpe River, the Bird Watching Tour, the Don Emilio Coffee Tour, along with the Jungle Delight Spa Experience and all of them were phenomenal, to say the least. The quality of tour guides, professionalism in correspondence, and overall experience were nothing short of exceptional.

Notwithstanding the quality of tours and accommodation, the food experience was also quite impressive. The multitude of fresh smoothie and juice options, coupled with what seems to be a brilliantly creative array of alcoholic beverage options blended brilliantly with the overall setting, vibe, and boutique experience Oxygen strives towards fostering.

Conclusively, our stay at Oxygen has made us fall in love with both Costa Rica along with the magic that the small, energetic, and lively town of Uvita offers. We not only look forward to returning within the next year, but we also would like to express our genuine appreciation for the truly sensational experience we received from the team at Oxygen, including Douglas, Henry, Bryan, Jason, Luis, Anna, Leydy and Carlos. If you’re looking for a private and intimate getaway mixed with the opportunity to explore and adventure in a geographical region recognized for unmatched biodiversity and nature, I would highly recommend a stay at Oxygen without...