Pacuare Lodge — Hotel in Pacuarito

After finishing our 7 day Costa Rica honeymoon, I wanted to reflect on Pacuare (where we started) for 2 nights. On arrival via white water raft, we were stunned by how beautiful it was and how luxurious the river view suites were (outdoor shower was amazing). However, we had a major bullet ant problem in our room which the staff did not seem concerned about - these ant bites are among the most painful and can cause a lot of damage.

Some of the staff were so friendly, specifically Gary and Luis. We loved the food and they definitely feed you too much! 3 course meals for lunch and dinner. The coffee was fine, but could be improved given Costa Rica is a coffee hub. In general, the excursions at Pacuare are so-so: you don’t have freedom to hike around and explore, you have to do a guided trip and it felt a little like an adult summer camp. We enjoyed our hike to emerald falls and our visit to a guide’s family, but they didn’t feel like super well thought out excursions, they were just on property amenities.

The major excursion and draw of this lodge is the white water rafting in and out. My husband already shared his review about the hiccup with white water rafting so I don’t want to belabor the point, but I do think people need to be warned. We were warned in our way into Pacuare by our amazing rafting guide Juan Carlos that the river was starting to get too high to raft due to a storm, so he recommended we raft the next day rather than wait 2 days for our free rafting trip on the way out. When we told the front desk this, her name was Emy, she assuaged our fears and said the rafts always go out and we shouldn’t pay for a rafting trip (which would be $125 a person if it is not a raft in or out of the lodge) and therefore we should wait for the raft out. Lo and behold, the day we left the river was too high, and the front desk did nothing to make things right for us - they did not book us on a different company’s raft, did not provide a $125 per person voucher or refund, or even a discount to be used in the future. Frankly, it seemed like they just didn’t care and didn’t want to accept responsibility for the lack of communication between the lodge and the expert river guides. This is a $1,000+ a night hotel which was by far the most expensive part of our honeymoon - we expected luxurious service and an attentive team to make it right. Instead, we received lack luster apologies blaming “nature” and “safety” - our issue was never trying to raft when it was unsafe, it was the lack of communication between the guides and the front desk of Pacuare. The key draw for Pacuare is the river and the ability to white water raft, so in my view, for this type of hotel and expense, they had ample opportunity to go above and beyond. Even asides from the rafting, the general attitude as we waited to be transferred to Bodegas de Pacuare (where our car was waiting to take us to our next destination) was a nightmare - the front desk was moving SO slow. Once we found out we couldn’t raft out, I wanted to leave ASAP to our next destination. The front desk said that if I was able to arrange for an earlier transfer with my travel agency, they would be able to take me right away. I had arranged the car to pick us up earlier, but we still did not leave the hotel for over an hour post-us finding out we couldn’t raft. We were literally just twiddling our thumbs waiting to get a move on. They told our travel agent that we were already on the way, when it was simply not true. The operations manager was also quite dismissive and we felt like all the warm welcomes we received on arrival was thrown out on departure.

Overall, Pacuare was going to be a 5/5 experience. Even if we didn’t get to white water raft out due to river levels, it STILL could have been a 5/5 experience if Boena and the front desk at Pacuare made it up to us through sincere apologies, attempts at resolution or even acknowledgement of fault. We have yet to receive that, and unfortunately we would not recommend this lodge for...

One of the most unique experiences you’ll have and one we will never forget. Highlights: *whitewater rafting to and from lodge is breathtaking and exhilarating; jump in water if offered! *breakfast in cafe on way to rafting such a unique experience. Nothing like fresh fruit, coffee and eggs from farm and from very kind people. *Lodge food is delicious, healthy and fresh (plenty of choices); wine and beer choices excellent. Smoothies were a bit. With respect to same menu, we stayed five nights and always felt like we had enough variety and were never disappointed *Wide variety of excursions. Our favorites (beyond rafting) were nocturnal experience, canyoning, bird watching and the hike over the mountain to Cabecar indigenous people (not for faint of heart, 1100 ft elevation and very muddy but worth it) *It’s hard to believe there is a spa, swimming pool and gym in the rainforest. All fantastic. *Staff and service amazing. Some of the kindest people in the world. All fabulous, and standouts were (wished I had remembered more names!) Ivan on the rapids (real pro), the kayaker too! Luis for nocturnal and all things Pacuare (he grew up there), Alonso the van driver for steady driving and patience, Dennis for his expertise and calm demeanor, David (Baby🤣) for his fun spirit, Cesar, Pino and Eric for their expertise and fortitude, Randall for his hospitality, the cooks for their Michelin star worthy food, and lastly the concierge staff as we watched them from afar juggle lots of guest demands with grace.

Tips *Bring Tevas and hiking boots. And maybe another pair that will always be dry for dining. For all other things that are muddy, boots provided. *Nothing ever drys! We used laundry service twice as we were there six days. Bring plastic bags for wet clothes to pack back. *I wish I had brought more cash for tips. Ran out and applied tips to names and put on credit card at end, would have preferred to give money directly. *bring zoom lens for capturing up close pictures and binoculars (we forgot ours in bag left in hotel storage) *bring water containers, we did not and could have used them *About Linda Vista Homes: Be careful - If you are walking up and down to restaurant, wear hiking boots with good treading as it is steep and slippery. Otherwise call for a pick up. You can hear howler monkeys from those homes in early morning or afternoon. Pretty cool. We had two boys with us in the room on day beds (20, 17) and they were comfortable. Very private setting and comfortable overall. Lots of areas to chill. You will need ear plugs if the noise of River bothers you. I liked it, but too much for my husband. Surprisingly, there weren’t many bugs or mosquitoes. Could have been the time of year. *Ideal stay likely 3-4 nights. We don’t regret 5, but 4 would have been enough. *Try to book excursions for your stay once you get there. May get booked up if you plan day by day. Particularly for hikes, canyoning *we stayed at Hilton Garden in San Jose night prior. Beautiful views, great value and very clean. On way out, stayed at hotel Grano de Oro which is quaint and top notch dining (we had a nice Christmas eve dinner and service terrific). It is a bit more expensive but worth it for our needs given holiday *We brought Abbott labs covid virtual testing with us given 1 day requirement to get back to USA. Took 2 hours to get all four of us done. Bring a laptop for ease of file upload and virtual videoconferencing. Or do in a lab in San Jose if not a holiday. Or airport.

Merry Christmas to all Pacuare staff. Thank you so much for a memorable experience. You’re the...

Our stay at Pacuare Lodge was a unique experience filled with many positives – but also one significant downside that prevents us from giving a full 5-star rating. This hotel was meant to be the highlight of our honeymoon.||Transfer & Arrival:|The transfer to the lodge was perfectly organized. Our driver was already waiting for us, very friendly, and drove safely – a smooth and relaxed start to our jungle getaway.||Room:|We stayed in the Garden Lodge Trogon, which is spacious and offers both an indoor and outdoor shower. A special feature is the use of mosquito netting instead of glass windows – allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the sounds of the rainforest at night. We found this to be a unique and calming experience.||Grounds & Pool:|The entire property is beautifully maintained, clean, and seamlessly integrated into the natural surroundings. The pool is a great place to relax between activities.||Food:|All meals were à la carte with changing starters, mains, and desserts every day. The food was of high quality, well presented, and accompanied by complimentary non-alcoholic beverages. Dietary preferences were taken into account with care.||Activities:|I took part in ziplining (6 lines), a night walk, and rafting (as part of the transfer) – all well-organized and professionally run. Due to her pregnancy, my wife could only join the night walk – all other activities were prohibited for her.||Service:|The staff was friendly and attentive throughout. A special thanks to our guide Angelika – her warm personality and dedication truly enhanced our stay!||Main Criticism:|Unfortunately, there was one situation that left us quite disappointed.|My wife is six months pregnant, very fit, and we had been excited about doing 1–2 nature hikes – something we had explicitly discussed with our travel agency beforehand. We were aware that ziplining and rafting wouldn’t be an option for her, but based on the information we received, hikes should have been fine.||However, on the first afternoon, we were unexpectedly called in by the lodge manager, who informed us that my wife was not allowed to participate in any hikes – citing insurance concerns and slippery paths due to recent rain.|Despite having signed a waiver of liability and possessing both international health and accident insurance, no individual assessment was made.||As someone working in the insurance field, I can confidently say that a properly insured lodge should not require a waiver in the first place. And if you do shift the risk to guests, you should also allow them the freedom to act on their own responsibility.||The conversation felt formal and lacked a solution-oriented approach. In general, we believe we are capable adults who can assess our own risks without being overly restricted.||Across our entire 2.5-week Costa Rica trip, this was the only one of six hotels that outright denied a pregnant guest from hiking – despite her being able to kayak, hike in the jungle, and snorkel with sharks and giant turtles elsewhere.||Conclusion:|The lodge itself, its location, the food, and the service are truly special and worth experiencing. If you have no health restrictions, you will likely have a fantastic time. For anyone else, we strongly recommend clarifying beforehand what is and isn’t allowed.||Since Pacuare Lodge was the most expensive hotel of our trip and intended to be the highlight of our honeymoon, we can only give 3 out of 5 stars. We sincerely hope that in the future, special situations will be handled more individually – which would elevate the experience to a...