Cacao Huasi - chocolate classes, restaurant and sunset cocktails — Local services in Cahuita

Please do not go here. Part 1

With a heavy heart I have no choice but to share my experience at Talamanca Chocolate. I have been here in 2022 fora 1 day training and have just done 3 weeks as an apprentice of Ancel’s.

There are so many things that went so awfully I am going to try my best to write this in a way that is true and fair.

Hygiene This is the most awful unhygienic place I have ever stayed at, I am completely disgusted at how Ancel expects students to live. I have lived in the jungle of Peru for 5 months. So living in the jungle is a not new for me. But!! This accommodation was just traumatic!! We were given a bucket to wee in at night, which is For jungle life and I have weed in a bucket at night in Peru. However, the bucket that was given to us was dirty on the inside and mouldy on the I was so upset that I left the bucket outside and weed and something else and cleaned it during the day.

Answer did not guide me on how to clean The communal area or my bedroom. This is her responsibility as a teacher Allowing students from around the world to come and stay with her to guide us. Jungle living is specific and you need to take care of. Your clothes, shoes, books, et cetera because of the humidity and damp. The way the communal area is set up is just the worst Experience ever. It was dirty and dusty and mouldy. She had a cleaner come every Saturday to clean the kitchen, but they didn’t clean the bedrooms Or shower toilet area. So the mould damp grew on clothes, books shoes, et cetera when it didn’t need to. Yes, this does happen to your clothes and books, but you learn how to look after them if you are taught how to properly from someone who Live lives in the jungle. Ancel did not teach me this.

The damp was so strong In my room that at times it was hard for me to breathe in the bedroom. The communal area where there is a sink and cook Was so unhygienic and gross that I never cooked in there or sat in there.

I was given damp, mouldy smelling pillows and sheets to sleep on when I first arrived.

The washing machine For the three weeks that I stayed there nor did Ancil make it easy or guide us how to wash our clothes. The other apprentice and Started to go to the Laundrette because our clothes started to smell of damp damp dog and mould and people were giving When I would go out to yoga or out into town.

There is a lot of debris around the land itself sleep, There is a bed on the ground that has gone mouldy just a lot of debris that needs to be cleaned and cleared and just feels dirty when you’re walking around.

There are chickens and dogs on the property. The chickens don’t have a coop so they just walk around and live amongst the plants and sleep in the trees. The issue with that is the chicken fetus it’s very unhygienic and can cause infection If you get there poo into a cut or wound. Also because they don’t have a coop, they walk around and particularly go around the area where the students sleep so they. Clutch Night long, very, very close to where you’re sleeping and it can feel like they’re in the room on your Head clucking which is extremely hard if you want to get a good nights sleep.

Ancel has four dogs that are part of the area where the students live two of them are Rottweilers and they sleep on top of one of the rooms in the student area. With that is the dogs bark all night long and if you’re staying in the bedroom in near the communal area the bed shakes at night and so it can be Scary and can take some getting used to, but also wake you up on and off all night so you don’t feel rested during the day. Underneath where the dogs sleep at night time Another bedroom With two bed’s. The issue with that is that the dogs being Rottweilers and very big dogs would stand up and bark all night long less and at times would give them CBD for animals which helped to calm them down.

My nervous system was absolutely wrecked while staying for those three weeks at Ancel’s at...

As I am unable to respond to the previous review, I will respond here. You said: "...the couple were [a] no show and as they did not reach out to me privately explaining their experience, they did not receive a refund." We called. You acknowledged that you turned off your phone, and to this day you never called us back. That is why we reached out to Expedia for support and fully explained what happened. And our contact information is on our booking and also in your call log. A phone works both ways. We called. You did not. But you have time to respond to us online when we're calling you out publicly and warning others about our negative experience dealing with your company. Clearly you don't care about ALL of your customers, only about protecting your reputation. Additionally, if we passed your location twice, as you claim, or if you saw us (since you claim you were right there...), why didn't anyone come out to help us, instead of letting us struggle for 20 minutes to climb a hill that you're now saying we did not need to climb? So it is AGAIN unclear as to why we were denied a refund. We are clearly not from the area. We were following Waze, as was recommended by the Ticos we met on the trip. It's a shame we were unable to take part in the activity, as we did read your good reviews, but to still mischaracterize us as "no-shows" is telling. You know the full story. We did not choose to miss the activity, however you're choosing not to grant us a refund. Your responses at this point are simply performative. And your note about the chocolate tour we ended up going on instead was shady. They were absolutely fantastic. Just say that you want to earn money for doing absolutely nothing, because that's exactly what this situation boils down to. It shows a lack...

Avoid, avoid, avoid. My family was on vacation in Costa Rica and booked an activity with Talamanca Chocolate on March 19th, 2023. We called the venue the morning of to give them a heads up that we were traveling with small children. They made no mention of difficult terrain or any other potential cautions for us to be aware of as we are not from the area. When we arrived near the destination, it was only then that we discovered that the activity was located at the top of a steep hill and was inaccessible by car. We spent about 20 minutes trying to climb the hill, both in the car and on foot. It was not only risky but potentially very dangerous to even attempt. We also called the host/venue, but no one answered the phone. When we arrived back at our hotel, we immediately requested a refund, as we were not able to do the activity due to the previously described circumstances. The listing for this activity made no mention of the inaccessibility of the location, and if it had or even if the hosts had told us when we reached out to them, we would not have booked with them, as this is not the only chocolate-making option in the area. Cacao Trails - Museo de Cacao is just down the road, more affordable, and is actually accessible and offers amazing customer service. We've reached out to Talamanca Chocolate through Expedia several times to request a refund, and all requests have been denied. I believe this host's 24-hour cancellation policy takes advantage of tourists who are not familiar with the area, and who arrive unaware of the...