Visited Shawandha for the first time, had heard for years about the place!
The owner is great, she makes sure you are comfortable and enjoys speaking with guests.
The staff are very friendly, Argelis is amazing! Lots of information on the area.
The grounds a great, they have a beautiful pool and lots of animals come onto the property.
The bungalows are close to roads but really at night there is next to no traffic.

What makes this place unique is the special care that has gone into the design.
Each bathroom in the bungalows is different and tells a story.
The restaurant is palm thatch and has a very high roof, very relaxing the atmosphere at diner is beautiful.

The rooms are spacious, comfortable beds and the patio at each bungalow provides a great place to sit and chat in the evenings.

Recomend this place for sure, but as most lodges in the caribbean the aim is to escape, there are no phones in the rooms or television or radios. Not a problem is you want a break but maybe not for everyone!

Since we live in South Florida, being on the beach was not as important as being in the jungle and, while the beach is close, the jungle is all around you at Shawandha. The staff were exceptionally helpful and the rooms while not elegant, fit the location and were quite comfortable. After many trips to Costa Rica, we always enjoy hearing the howler monkeys in the morning and late afternoon. Now if someone could just feed that neighbors hound so he didn't bark so much, things would be just about perfect!

We visited Puerto Vieja and lucked in to booking a night here and fell in love with the place. Designed by the owner some 19 years ago it is a wonderful retreat into gardens with beautifully planned cabins throughout. Quiet, serene, and a 5 minute walk down the trail to a fantastic beach to swim at. The cabin design and wonderful gardens and trials are difficult to imagine being 19 years old...I wish we had known and taken a week in this marvellous cabin. Great food and service of course...but what a little piece of paradise she's carved out in the Caribbean.

we really enjoyed our stay here surrounded by the jungle plants and saw a 2 sloths and some agoutis and the swimming pool was great--the howler monkeys are your alarm clock and the birds around all day.
we only eat at the restaurant once as the bill was a bit of a shock--we eat at some local restaurants with good food for half the price as the hotel has to charge taxes etc which pushes the price up/ the breakfast was excellent. and was included.
one problem was the lack of furniture in the rooms and only fixed hangers in the miniscule hanging area and the lighting was so dim it was impossible to read in bed.
the madame manager kept an eye on everyting that was going on and this was reflected in the standard of cleanliness and service.