We stayed there just for 3 nights but we really loved it. The location is just perfect. Walking distance to Corcovado park and walking distance to the nicest beach on Drake Bay. The place is run by Tico familly and they are just great. They had a great person working for them Katia who was always there to answer all our questions and help. The best thing is that they have horses for 10$ an hour!!!!!!!!!!Also, they rent snorkling gear and organise tourse. The cabinas are not the nicer but everything else is just great.

One needs to experience this place for what it is. The Amaya family has lived in this area for over 40 years and were more or less pioneers opening up this new territory(much like to old homesteading laws back in the last century of the US opening up the west). It is a very interesting story if you can get it out of a member of the family. The resort is part of the old family farmstead(which goes up to the higher land off the beach behind the the resort). In fact the entire beach used to be owned by the Don Concho who gave most of it away to relatives(who sold it in the most part to Americans), the local chuch and the school(which are still on the families old land with a new church now being build on anouther parcel of Don Conchos land that used to be a pasture for the horses). The area around PMP is still undeveloped with no roads or electricity...everything needs to be brought in by small boats from Sierpe that need to land on the beach(very expensive and a bit scary).

The family is truely an experience and the area around PMP is to die for lovely. There are birds of every type for the birders(I am not one), excellent cheap sport fishing with whales and dolphins to keep you company, wonderful places to hike in every direction, monkeys everywhere..etc

As there is no electricity other than a generator that runs at night where is no hot water or AC or TV's in your rooms...but you are in an area that if it had roads, electricity etc would be something else...which is what you can find anywhere.

My husband and I travelled to Poor Man's Paradise this July with two other couples. We knew it would be rustic with cold water showers and no A/C, but we weren't expecting to be so moved by the experience. Highlights were being followed by a wild scarlet macaw down the beach, dance parties (self-organized) in the bar at night, eating tuna sashimi, and the millions of stars (and the Milky Way) that you can see on any clear night. We all LOVED it!

That being said, I can understand how some people wouldn't like it. You have to approach it with the attitude of doing as much cool stuff as you can, talking to everybody you meet, and having a good time. If you are someone who needs organized fun, TV, spas, etc -this is not your place.

BUT if you love the outdoors, seeing amazing birds and wildlife, becoming part of an extended Costa Rican family, drinking Imperials while salsa dancing in the bar, and a little skinny dipping - you might just love this place too.

The Amaya family that run PMP are a great cast of characters: Pincho is the older brother and boss - his most common facial expressions were "inscrutable" and "bemused".

Consuelo -the sister and nature guide. She is a talented photographer and knows many interesting stories about the plants and wildlife of the area. She may seem a bit aloof initially, but keep trying and you can win her over pretty quickly. When our husbands went skinny dipping one evening, she came up to us (the wives) shaking her head and told us, "they will die". And then walked away. We just laughed, they didn't die and we teased her the next day for being so melodramatic.

Sammy is a player, ladies! He is one of the younger siblings and he takes groups out surfing, snorkeling, and on nature hikes. My friend said he looks like Usher. I don't know about that, but he is cute. And a good dancer. Ask him to show you the sea cucumber if you go snorkeling ;)

Johann in the dining area and Pablo in the bar waited on us every night. They made sure to learn our names and favorite drinks and never forgot to make vegetarian options for my husband.

We found everyone to be very accomodating and flexible. They are a small family-run establishment, so there are limits on what they can do, but if you are flexible and there to have a good time, I'm sure you will. It's up to you, if you are fun and outgoing it will be a good fit.

Tips: bring Febreze -our clothes would get wet hiking or swimming and because of the humidity they never really dry out. So bring Febreze to freshen and enough changes of clothes that you will feel comfortable.

Buy some snacks in Sierpe in case you get hungry between meals -there isn't really any otheer option, but we appreciated having some sodas and chips on hand in the afternoons.

Wear bug stuff - you will get an array of interesting bumps and itchy spots. So far, none of us has had to get anything removed, extracted, or cut off!

If you are heading to the Drake Bay / Playa San Josecito area of Osa, do yourself a favor and skip Poor Man's Paradise. We were lured in by their lower rates and website photos, which, as it turned out, greatly distort reality.

In a word, this place is a dump. For $120 per night, my girlfriend and I got a shabby cabin on stilts with peeling linoleum flooring, a view of some tin shack, electrical pipe curtain rods, and a shower that was nothing more than a chunk of PVC tubing with an elbow joint (not even a shower head). This place would be 'rustic' if it was 1/3 the price. But at the rates they charge it is nothing less than a rip off. We were so disappointed we cut our trip two days short.

In addition to the place being a total dump, the folks running it are rather unfriendly. We encountered the oldest brother (and boss) Pincho in the bar one night and found him to be rather egotistical and somewhat confrontational. It was bizarre to say the least.

Besides the brother there is an older sister who organizes the tours. We felt intimidated by her and she seriously would try to pressure people into taking their tours. When we elected to hike alone to Corcovado (only two hours and a beautiful hike), she seemed offended, and when we encountered her on the trail in Corcovado she was downright rude to us. We elected to take the boat back with those people on her tour and she charged us 10 bucks a head. However, despite paying 20 bucks for the 10 minute boat ride she refused to allow her younger brother, the boat captain, to give us a cold soda. She spoke to him in Spanish (we both speak Spanish) and told him that we couldn't have one as we weren't on the tour. I'm paying 120 bucks a night for a room I wouldn't pay 15 bucks for on the mainland and they can't spare a 50 cent soda? Give me a break!

I would strongly urge you to spend a little more money at one of the other places in this area of Osa...this place doesn't deserve your stay.