If you are looking for a lodge that is remote and wonderful, this is definitely the find of the penisula! The owners emailed me before the trip, assuring me of the road conditions to Puerta Jimenez and assuring me of all the wildlife we would see. Boy, did we ever!!! Scarlet macaws right outside our balcony, sloths, monkies, all kinds of birds. It was fabulous!

Daniel was absolutely great, as was his wife who returned to the resort just shortly before we left. They picked us up in their Land Rover (definitely do this if it is raining at all) and gave us the largest room in the lodge. Open windows, great breezes and wonderful views of the ocean. I had stayed in Drake Bay before and never cooled off. Here, due to the location above the ocean, it was breezy and wonderful. The beds were comfy, the staff was wondeful, and the food was plentiful and great. My only suggestion is to bring a flashlight to walk after the sun goes down and a light to read by.

My friend did the zip tour to watch birds and animals in the morning. She said it was the highlight of her week. She loved it. The guide has been educated in wildlife biology and is a wealth of information. His name is Gerraldo and is wonderful. (I am not sure about the spelling of his name... sorry. ) All the staff is friendly and helpful and will do anything for you. I hear the waterfall repelling is great, but the guide was ill the day we were going to do it. One of the other guests said it was not that difficult to do if you are in shape.

This resort is not as expensive as Lapa Rios, but in the same forest with the same view. It includes food when you price the package. It might seem high at first, but it is not. You will love it.
Give them a try. I think you will be planning a return trip!!!

El Remanso is a peaceful oasis in the middle of the rainforest. It is not the most luxurious place but the cabins are spacious and clean. The owners are very helpful and friendly. My husband and I went on a very long hike and the owner was very nice about giving me bandaids for my blisters! The meals are not gourmet but the food is fresh and good. It was nice having drinks before dinner with the other guests but then having your own table for the meal. It was very hot, as to be expected, and slightly uncomfortable sleeping at night as the cabins are open air. The owners should install ceiling fans, although they may be trying to conserve energy. Also, as you are in the middle of the rainforest be prepared for big bugs in your cabin and being awoken by howler monkeys very early. The beach is wonderful and totally deserted. You can't swim in the ocean because it is too rough but there are waterfalls nearby. It is a pretty steep climb down to the beach. We didn't mind as we like to hike but others might.

My husband and I were looking for a peaceful vacation spot where we could enjoy birding and wildlife so we chose El Remanso in the Osa Peninsula. What a treat! We stayed at the Casa Poniente which had a lovely view of the rain forest and ocean.

The El Remaso staff was very accomodating and went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed. We felt very welcomed there. At one point one of the restaurant staff, who happens to have an excellent eye for birding, brought us to a great birding spot on his free time.

The accommodations were nice and well kept. The rooms had big open windows but we had no problems with bugs. There are amazingly few mosquitoes! The rain forest is surprisingly noisy and we were able to view a variety of birds, monkeys and other wildlife right from our room. We awoke to howler monkeys every morning!

The restaurant was peaceful and romantic and the food was delicious. Drinks are an additional cost and we paid $3 per smoothie. They were worth every penny. The restaurant staff was wonderful.

We went on one guided tour and the naturalist was very knowledgeable and friendly. We also tried the zipline which had a great view of the canopy. The breakfast wasn't great however and the containers and flatwear where stained and wet which was a bit unappetizing.

The rest of the time we spent hiking on our own or driving the dirt road towards Carate. I highly recommend renting a vehicle. The roads are rough and you will have to drive through several steams but the views are fantastic! We attempted to swim in the ocean a couple of times but the waves turned out to be too powerful so we gave it up.

Overall we had a wonderful time and plan to visit El Remano in the future.

I own a travel agency and visited El Remanso for 4 nights during a two week stay in Costa Rica. I was amazed with this property. We stayed in the La Vanilla Cabin, which is closest to the water and completely open on the top level. The cabin was beautiful, every little thing in there was done well. I have traveled to many jungle lodges and fully expected that in the open air cabin, we would have a problem with insects. We did not.

I was delighted to see that the ambiance in the restaurant was the same as the cabin, very romantic, very peaceful. The lighting is great, with candles and some white tree lights. The food was above average and the service was outstanding. They had a few decent wines on their wine list and for the remote location, seemed very reasonable. I thought the sodas were a little high at $3 a drink and the mixed cocktails at $7 also seemed a bit steep by Costa Rican standards. Again, this could be the location of this place.

We made some changes in our trip while we were at the lodge. I thought the managers and the staff went beyond the call of duty to assist us in making these changes.

We drove into El Remanso from Quepos (An area I do not recommend) and arrived around 8:00 in the evening. I would strongly suggest to anyone driving into El Remanso for the first time to do it during daylight hours. The roads are pretty rough and some streams seemed high. We had no problems returning during the day, it probably took us 30% less time.

The grounds around El Remanso are beautiful. We hiked many of their trails and found interesting things on all of them. I enjoyed a trail that involved mostly walking in the stream the most. We brought our own rubber boots which I would suggest.
We used the boots everyday, may be different in the dry season. I thought the guided excursions were a little pricey in comparison to other places we stayed. I believe the zip-line only had 2 platforms, which if you have done this before, would probably be disappointed. I am sure some of the tours are great but we found plenty to do on our own. The ocean was a little too rough to swim when we were there and think it would be for kids anytime.

We had planned on using El Remanso as our base for exploring Corcovado. I think La Paloma in Drake Bay is better for this. The trail to get to one of the main ranger stations in the park to camp is long and a little boring. Unless you just like to hike long distances, I would take a boat in fro Drake Bay and then camp and hike from the station. However, we thought the drive from El Remanso to Carate(last town before Corcovado) was great. We saw a number of monkeys, macaws, etc... just on the drive.

I think this property is the best in the area for people looking for a little privacy, great service, beautiful rainforest and absolutely amazing accommodations