Blue Banyan Inn — Hotel in Naranjito

This is a review of only the Kids Saving The Rainforest tour. I applaud the conservation work, particularly their work with the power company to make aerial walkways for sloths and monkeys. I applaud their work in rehabilitation of injured wildlife. However, I worry about them keeping a private zoo without proper consideration of their animals' welfare. Here are two examples: There is a hawk which cannot see to catch prey, and because of this, mice are killed daily to feed the bird. It seems nobody has thought whether it is better to euthanase one caged hawk or kill other animals daily to keep it alive. Another example is a macaw with a beak which is basically useless. It tried to fly away, so the charity clipped its wings. Now it is imprisoned by the charity, and seems stressed at feeding time when its meal is raided by the local wild monkey troupe. Is this the life for a wild animal who could survive another 50 years? The tour by a volunteer suffered from anthropomorphism, giving human characteristics and emotions to non-human species. which emotionally charged everything she said. The only reason for the tour is to see a sloth close up. Not a good reason. This may or may not be true, but it suggests that this is not a true research establishment,...

We did the full day volunteering experience. For $100 US each my daughter and I did the tour and then volunteered in the afternoon. The two hour tour in the morning was quite good, very informative, and we learned about the history of the animals that are taken care of in the sanctuary. Then it was time to volunteer. The volunteering seemed extremely disorganized. In the heat of the day, my daughter and other kids were recruited to dig holes to create a new enclosure. The enclosure was for goats and chickens to help feed the animals. Then we had lunch, after lunch, the kids were sent to the kitchen to prepare food, but since other people were already there, they just sit around and watched or dug more holes, while the other people made the food. They then got to hand the person feeding the animals the food, and then wash the dishes. my job was painting, plastic jugs to entertain the animals. I think someone else was asked to rake leaves. It was a less than a satisfying experience. The staff was not overly friendly, at lunch volunteers and staff kept to themselves. They were supposed to be swimming at the end of the day, but it wasn't really offered, we did not have swimsuits and...

We just returned home from a 7 day trip to Blue Banyan Inn and no one was ready to leave! We were a group of 9 friends from Louisiana that had the most amazing time. The staff from beginning to end was top-notch. They guided us in our decisions of activities and was able to secure our plans on the days we wanted. The entire property is beautiful and well-maintained. The food and drinks were amazing and so refreshing! We all had our own cabins and it was only a few steps to the dinning area where we had many good nights making such wonderful memories that will last a lifetime! We stayed busy during the day going to many places that the area has to offer. We all looked forward to coming back to Blue Banyan Inn and relaxing by the pool it was a great way to end each day! We...