EcoAmazonia Lodge — Hotel in Las Piedras

tldr |pros: |you are in the Amazon an amazing place like no other . The meals are generously portioned. ||cons:|timing is inflexible making you feel rushed during some activities and bored during other times |the guides are cavellier with safety||Feels like: a school trip|but at least there is alcohol||the details ||we spent 5 days and 4 nights at Eco Amazonia. the reason we chose this lodge was the location and generally positive reviews. ||First note you can only bring 10kg/22lb in luggage. you will need a small carryon size bags - if you don’t have one the lodge will provide you with a small duffle bag on loan. Large luggage remains at the Puerto Maldonado office in a supposedly secure location. you will be picked by the company bus and a guide. ||Upon arrival at the lodge we were greeted with a drink of coconut juice and Mr Percy gave the instructions of how things would be done during our stay. i was a little surprised at how rigid the programme was and i was expecting some flexibility, but that is not the case. So be prepared for a very rigid schedule. ||The lodge itself it quite rustic and basic but on theme with this experience. It is clean and tastefully decorated for the most part. There is some artwork that show indigenous people so if you are sensitive about viewing the human form in a state of minimal dress this could offend you. ||Amenities are limited and consistent with remote location. There is limited wi-fi, that can only be accessed from the lobby area at specific times of day. Bandwidth is minimal so think email and text messages only. ||The meals are a mix of buffet style, and 3 course set menu. Breakfast time is determined by activity but is any of 5.30/6.00/6.30, lunch is 13.30 and dinner 19.00. The buffet had plenty of food, but has limited options if you have dietary restrictions - you might end up eating a lot of bread or rice but you won’t starve. The set menu is very restrictive and there is only one option - in our case the main course contained an ingredient I am allergic to, and there was no alternative dish available. The service is quite poor, meals or courses are often forgotten and everyone in the group is not served at the same time. There are no snacks available between meal services, no vending machines etc. So i recommend bring a lot of snacks. I did find the|breakfast options a little weird - several types of cake are offered, while the “dessert” at lunch and dinner was usually a single slice of fruit such as pineapple or watermelon. ||There is a bar to purchase alcohol and soft drinks but again limited open times and expensive. You can byo but you can’t refrigerate it. Any extra snacks have to stored in special boxes in the public area and can not be taken to you room. You should have your personal snacks in some sort of lockable distinctive container because other guests do steal snacks. Also you will find your snacks get moved around - not sure if this is staff or other guests. ||There are abundant common areas so you can easily find a private nook. there is a pool table, foozball and ping pong. the main common areas are not mosquito proof as evidenced by the frequent feathered visitors - sparrow to pigeon sized birds can be found looking for crumbs in the reception, bar and dining room. ||the rooms are basic - beds are comfy and adequate blankets are provided. there is a lock box in the room. technically the rooms are mosquito proof so they don’t provide bug nets but there are lots of gaps in the wood panels that let the mozzies in. the doors do not latch properly so you can not lock your door securely. which was a little nerve wracking having 2 teen girls in their own room with no way to secure the room. i recommend bringing a door lock of the type that jams under the door if you are concerned about security, traditional hotel latch security bars won’t work in the type of locks on the rooms. to be honest if someone wants to break in they can just push the flyscreen in as there is no glass on the windows. the rooms have a ceiling fan but no ac. there are no drinking glasses in the rooms so bring your own. ||the bathroom is small, clean, with a shower, toilet,sink - no bath. there is limited hot water. Try to have you shower between 5-6 am to get the most hot water. towels provided are basic hotel quality. the cleaning staff are quite anxious to get their job done so don’t be surprised if they are banging on your door at 7.00 am to change the towels. which is ok if your activity starts at 6.00am but not if you were hoping to sleep in.||there is a pool - again supposedly mosquito proof but plenty of gaps and holes for the mozzies to get in. it does have a full roof so you don’t have to worry about sun burn, but this means the water is very chilly. ||Lighting in both the guest rooms and common areas is quite dim so if you have visual limitations you need to bring your own torch/headlamp. ||Access to the lodge is by small boat and there are many stairs around the lodge so this is not an ideal location for people with mobility issues. there are no accommodations for disabilities. ||Each day your tours/activities have been pre selected by the lodge, there are no choices and you have to stick with their schedule. You will be told when you will have to be at breakfast, who your guide is and the activity. There is a strict 5 minute “grace” period in these times. if you are later than 5 min to your meeting point they will leave without you. Also the groups are larger than ideal generally consisting of 12-16 people but it would be so much better if the groups were 6-8 people. All though there is an itinerary based on your package the lodge mixes up the order and changes activities without notice so you have no real idea of what you are doing until the night before which makes planning challenging. And as i have already mentioned there is no flexibility in the schedule so if you are unwell you can not reschedule any activities on free days/afternoon ||The guides generally have limited English but some spoke French and all spoke fluent Spanish. The guides obviously have very strict timelines to stick to and rush you to complete each activity. There is limited opportunity to take photos, you can not stop to take a drink or re-apply sunscreen / bug repellant or you will be left behind. i found myself frequently running to catch up to the group because i had wanted to take a photo. Also try to place yourself at the front of the group so you have the best chance to hear the guide as they do not repeat themselves and they do not show points of interest again. This is important because you are required to be single file and may not step off the trail. This is one of the reasons the group size would be better if smaller. on one tour (monkey island) our guide was at the front of the boat and we were at the back. Our guide didn’t wait for us to get off the boat (which can only be done one by one in order) before he had taken off with the part of our group that was in the front of the boat. We were able to join the second group making for a total of 18 people. This meant we were left at the end of the line without the chance to see the monkeys as the guide at the front of the line had bananas and all the monkeys were sticking close to him. Also on our trip to lost lake i am fairly certain that if it wasn’t for the fact our boat was late|picking us up our guide would have left people behind. This was a 12km hike/paddle and some people were slower walkers than the main group and ended at least 5 minutes behind. The guides never did a head count once during our activities and never checked to make sure all guests were safe and accounted for. This was a surprise as everywhere else in Peru we travelled the guides were excellent and showed great concern for guest safety. Guides at other sites were always telling us “slow down, take your time, be safe”. At eco Amazonia the guides were constantly “ vamanos, vamanos” even if you were clearly injured/unwell/had mobility issues. i watched older people for who the getting in and out of the small boats was a little more difficult being rushed instead of being given a helping hand for balance. These folks were hardly disabled just older with less balance and otherwise perfectly capable of doing the hikes. ||we did the following activities - caiman cochita - steady 20 min|walk to small pond. Guide provides a small amount of information along the way about local plants. watch caimans and birds at the pond for about 20 min before returning to lodge. no chance to take photos on the trail but you can at the pond. |lost lake - a 6 hr hike and paddle starting at 6.00 am, with a 15|min boat ride to and from the start of the hike. it is a fast paced march through the jungle and you have to paddle the boat on lost lake yourself. you should not do this activity if you can’t walk rapidly for|2-3 hrs without a break. There would great photo ops if you don’t mind running to rejoin the group when they leave you behind. |gamitana river fishing - a short morning about 3 hrs on a small boat on a narrow, well shaded river. relaxing and pleasant with plenty of photo ops. we didn’t catch fish but we saw more wild life on the activity than the others. |monkey island- a fast passed walk|through the jungle, the guide lures monkeys with bananas. if you want to see the monkeys you need to place yourself at the front of the group and be able to take photos while walking. |Apuvictor lake - another relatively short activity, 2km fast paced hike to a small lake and viewing tower, short boat ride and then fast paced walk back to lodge. Took about 2 hrs. ||Animals you will likely see at this location - agouti, macaws, hoaztin, small song birds, caiman, turtles, many butterflies, 3-4 types of monkeys.||Animals you probably won’t see - anaconda/other snakes and lizards, capybara, coati, sloth, jaguar, rhea, tarantulas, amphibians of any kind, deer, tamarins, kinkajou, tapir. ||on the last day you are required to depart for airport at 8.00 am regardless of your flight time. this means if you have a late flight (ours was at 5.20pm) you will be stuck most of the day in the tiny airport of Puerto Maldonado that has no facilities - there are bathrooms but no places to buy food/drink. i suggest a good book and lots of drinks/shacks. ||note smoking and vaping are permitted in all areas of the lodge, rooms, grounds and during activities. ||overall i would rate this as good option for people who want a quick taste of the amazon and don’t mind being on a very rigid schedule, but are also capable to taking care of their own safety and security. This is not a location for people who|want to see a lot of variety of wildlife, learn about indigenous culture or are passionate...

Whatever expectations you may have - this place is incredible and a once in a lifetime experience. I’d rate it 10 stars out of 5.

It’s a hotel in an ecological preserve and you can book different length stays and go on different adventures based on the stays you book.

We were unsure what to expect but hoped to see the Amazon, and my god, we did. You will too. All the staff were incredibly friendly- Juan was our guide and one of our main points of contact (along with the awesome manager Hembry). Juan spoke fluent English and French along with the native languages.

Each day had a new adventure, delicious food, and incredible sunsets. More on that below.

When you arrive by boat (it’s an hour and a half boat ride on the beautiful Amazon {Madres De Rio }) you’re greeted by the manager and staff and get a delicious fruit juice drink. They grab your bags and show you to your room.

The facility is a main building with reception, bar, and dining room. It’s large and comfortable to hang out at. They also have various games. They also have a pool. They have nice walk ways going off in every direction that will lead you to your cabin, places to relax, and even a botanical garden.

The rooms are “bungalows” - they have some instructions/ rules but they’re geared to keeping insects away. For instance - don’t have opened food. It’s to keep the ants out. The jungle is not far away. The rules are common sense so no big deal.

They serve 3 meals a day - if the times seem odd - it’s to help facilitate the excursions. They like to go early in the morning to avoid the heat, which makes sense. Every day we had a different meal and they ranged from really good to omg excellent.

Excursions - one of the big attractions is monkey island. I didn’t think it would be that cool but wow I was wrong. 3 different types of monkeys on the island and they all were unique from each other. It was great to interact and watch them. They were very friendly to humans and loved our tasty bananas.

We went to multiple other places - Apu Victor, lost lake, a lagoon, a Chanel, 3 or 4 different hikes. Along the way the guides will stop and point things out, help you spot the animals, etc. they really know a lot about the flora and fauna.

I will forget everything we saw so this is just a partial list - Capybara (they’re running around every in the Eco Lodge gardens), black spider monkeys, howler monkeys, squirrel monkeys, brown capuchin monkeys, white faced something monkey, a sloth, lizards everywhere, white and black caiman of all sizes. We saw so many birds - Macaws, Parrots, king fishers, black herons (they’re awesome) and my favorite- the Hoatzin.

One night they even took us out on the boat at night to spot caimans and look at the stars and milkyway. It was impressive- we saw the Southern Cross among others.

They have nice paths in the jungle so you wont be needing to cut your way through with a machete or anything but it’s still real and you’re in the middle nature preserve with nature everywhere. You’re in the jungle.

I will be telling everyone about this place. The sunsets were beautiful, it was amazing to learn about the ecosystem, we met amazing people, and had the experience of a lifetime.

If you see this - book a trip. You won’t regret it.

PS - we went in May and it was HOT. They have a water filing station open all day or you can buy ice cold water from them. The lodge plus the rooms have fans to help cool you off. I don’t do well in the heat but was able to handle it just fine.

I saw another reviewing saying staff were rude - I can only speak for our time there but we witnessed some extraordinary customer service- they switched up a meal upon advance request, and when someone skipped the night excursion because they were feeling well, and Juan found out, he made sure to invite her to the next place. Hembry was also wonderful to work with, super friendly, and incredibly...

The most disappointing trip ever.

The issues started on arrival at the office in Puerto Maldonado with Veronica (who we booked with) blaming us for miscommunication instead of resolving the situation. We arrived at 6 am on a night bus from Cusco, the lodge was fully aware due to prior communication, Veronica had told us that there would be a staff member waiting to pick us up from the bus terminal, at no point did she say we would have to wait until 1:30 pm to take the boat to the lodge. Despite being asked multiple times if the transfer was included. They made us wait in the 'packing area', with no aircon and did not offer us water. When we complained and said we were not made aware, Veronica simply stated that it was miscommunication on our part and that we should have clarified beforehand. No apology, no solution, and no complimentary water or snacks to say sorry. After 4 1/2 hours of arguing in the heat, we were finally put on a boat.

However, the largest disappointment was the 'excursions' and their authenticity. On the first day, we were taken to 'Monkey Island' where we witnessed the 'guides' handing out bananas to the tourists to hand feed the monkeys. Not very eco for an ecohotel. The monkeys then proceeded to grab plastic water bottles and even knew how to open them. - incredibly sad that this is something they know/are used to doing. This behaviour continued during other excursions and included feeding chicken to Caimans to get them to surface for photos and poking the same tarantula holes to make them come out. The trails were well marked and it seemed like we were on a conveyer belt, walking the same 10km loop. There was no room for requests. Such as more time looking for larger animals such as sloths, capybaras or particular birds. We also requested to see the sunset from the small island 100m across the river and were told no, despite all boats being free.

Although the 'guides' were very kind and friendly, they were not guides. They had a huge lack of knowledge of what we were seeing. Whether it be a tree, plant, animal or insect. When asked questions, they could not answer. One day, we took a trail and the trees had been marked with ribbon, written on the ribbon was the name of the tree. The guide could be seen reading the label before telling us about it. They were also not able to communicate efficiently in English, meaning that my friend and I had to translate to other group members.

In addition to Veronica being incredibly rude and taking no accountability. The bartender was seen to be very rude to guests and the receptionist / director was dismissive of all complaints / suggestions.

The food was bland and repetitive. The same food every 2 days. Pork, beef or chicken in a sauce with rice and yuca. And a very rushed dinner service, they are grabbing your plates before you can finish.

No value for money. Wasted potential. No sunset view. Such a shame as the hotel is in such a great spot. The only positive...