I was last august with my girfriend and a group of friends.

I had been the year before in Venezuela and thought it was being similar, a hotel in the middle of the jungle.... Completely wrong!

It seems a resort, planned to be beside the swimming pool the whole day. you've got some excursions but that's only for two hours the rest of the day... in the swimming pool.

The organization is quite strict, you've got 45 minutes to have lunch then you have 30 minutes to rest then you have an excursion for 2 hours... You cannot be on your own. If you like it ok, but if you dont you get a bit bored.

This is the most expensive hotel in the area but the rooms are just four walls and a bathroom that's all.

It's true that they've got beautiful gardens but you're in the middle of the jungle!!!

Besides we're stolen in the hotel and the director didnt help us at all! we missed more than 1000$ in total (300$ per room more or less, we're 5 rooms) but they gave us excuses such as you've complained after 10 hours and things like that. Amazing!

I wouldn recommend this hotel...

I cannot express how disappointing this place was. Before we arrived this was the stop we were looking forward to the most on a three week trip to CR. The whole place seemed like one big attempt to get you to hang out at the pool and buy drinks (not included). The schedule is essentially a couple hours in a boat looking for wildlife, 3-4 hours back at the hotel then another couple hours in a boat then back to the hotel. The food was terrible and it felt like the lodge had been catered by a high school cafeteria. This place sells itself as an ecolodge...but it charges $200++ a day to put you into a blisteringly hot, filthy, bug infested room. When we got in the room our sheets were dirty. When I mentioned this to the maid she told me that there was nothing they could do because "they all are." Btw, we are by no means "spoiled tourists" this was a big splurge for us. This place is for tourists who want to sit by the pool, drink beer and stay as far away as possible from the real Costa Rica. If you like spending $200 a day for food from a high school cafeteria, a dirty 100 degree room with a bunch of tourists, this is the place for you.

What a place - at home with nature - excellently run introduction to the tropical rain forest for townies

Superb enthusiastic guides who engaged everyone at a level we could understand - and saw amazing wild life.

From green turtles burying ther egg to caimans, monkeys, crocodiles, all manner of birds, frogs, butterflies, iguanas etc - the list is endless

Good local food and reasonably comfortable

An unmissable part of a vacation in Costa Rica

We enjoyed the Mawamba experience but it's one of those things where you have to do it once but probably won't again. The bus and boat trip in and out is long. It's neat to see things and take in the banana plantation but I would recommend doing this on only one leg of the trip and flying the other. As for the lodge itself, Mawamba does not guarantee you a room with a double bed. When we arrived we were assigned to a room with 3 single beds to our dismay (as this was a romantic getaway for us). The manager at first said there were no other rooms but later found us another one with a double bed. It's truly a lodge with thin walls and only screens and shutters on the windows so you can hear everything your neighbors are doing (bad if your neighbor snores). We didn't realize we would be assigned to the same group and tour guide for our entire stay and have the schedule laid out for us. You must eat and go on the assigned activities at scheduled times with the same group of people. At first this turned us off but it turned out to be a good thing. You had the opportunity to get to know people of all different origins and ask them about their countries, customs, etc. We met some great people while at the lodge! The boat tours were neat. Being allowed to walk through and meet people in the town of Tortuguero was very special to us. They were so welcoming! The jungle hike was just ok. We had a large group (about 20 people) and it was hard for all of us to take full advantage of the tour guide's knowledge as there were many points we missed what she was showing or couldn't hear her. We were envious of the smaller groups we saw at the lodge. The restaurant food seemed to vary. Some meals were excellent, others just mediocre. It is a buffet (pronounced there as B00-FAY) so you eat whatever they serve. The staff was friendly. The grounds were beautiful and we loved the 3ft. iguana that came to sun itself in front of our cabin. At first I was afraid of him but then I was fascinated when I realized he was harmless.