We stayed at Tortuga Lodge for a couple of nights on our honeymoon, taking the option of upgrading to the Penthouse for $67 per night. Given how similar the various lodges in Tortuguero appear when you read the reviews, we wanted to emphasise how much we enjoyed our stay at Tortuga lodge.
Booking was easy - through the Costa Rica expeditions website - and both the private bus transfer from our hotel (just outside San Jose) to the lodge and flight back to San Jose were included. If you have the chance, taking a flight either to or from Tortuguero is well worthwhile, as the scenery is beautiful and the journey is much, much quicker (and less bumpy!), although our guide and driver on the way out were both knowledgeable and helpful, stopping to point out scenery and wildlife during the journey.
Tortuga lodge itself is set at the Northern end of the lagoon in a large secluded area of gardens, with several trails from the property through an area of rainforest. There is plenty of wildlife onsite or nearby. We saw poison-dart frogs, toucans, lizards, bats, a sloth and an iguana during our stay (not to mention all the other wildlife we saw in the National Park). Our package included a river tour on a small motorboat, which was surprisingly good for wildlife spotting - I expected all the animals to run for cover as soon as they heard the engine - but I would also highly recommend a kayak trip down some of the smaller canals, which the lodge can arrange.
The Penthouse suite occupies the entire floor of one of the buildings at the far end of the lodge, with polished dark wood floors and furniture, several huge beds with surrounding drapes, a small lounge area, and two bathrooms. There are also two balconies; one facing the lagoon and the other the gardens, with hammocks and rocking chairs. Gorgeous and v. romantic.
One of the most surprising things was how well cleaned the room was, with almost no bugs to be seen inside despite the ever-present menace outside (take plenty of insect repellent, and/or make use of the free bug spray available at the lodge reception area!).
Another impressive thing about the lodge was the food. All meals were included in the package price, so we were expecting fairly basic food, but it was actually of really good quality, varied, and served proper 'restaurant'-style, with excellent service too. The lodge also has a pleasant bar area beside the swimming pool which it was nice to sit at, while sipping a pre-dinner cocktail. All the staff were friendly and keen to assist with any problems; our guide for the boat and kayak tours was especially good (?Ricardo).
I would heartily recommend Tortuga lodge and gardens - particularly the Penthouse suite - and would happily stay there again.
