Had a fantastic CR vacation March 2012. Our main goal was to go somewhere slightly less traveled with great chances to view wildlife. Didn't have enough time to travel around a lot so stayed the bulk of the time where we really wanted to be: Drake Bay. I picked Pirate Cove thanks to tripadvisor because it was more affordable then the other lodges nearby and it offers rooms with air conditioning.

My husband and I are used to the heat, being from Arizona in the USA, and were expecting it to be very hot on hikes and excursions, but somehow sleeping in the heat is just so much harder. I knew if my husband couldn't sleep it would ruin our hard earned vacation so I really wanted to find a room with a/c. Pirate Cove just added three rooms upstairs in the main building with a/c and we enjoyed it there. Personally, I would have preferred the bungalows as they have large private terraces and it did cool off very nicely at night anyway. But it was nice to have the a/c after a 6 or 7 hour hike.

The food and staff were all WONDERFUL. Did Corcovado Sirena station and enjoyed it. I was slightly disappointed to see only one species of monkey (spider) and no sloths but the Tapir was awesome and we did see several groups of spider monkeys and coatis. Our guide was Edwin or Edward and very nice. Without him I know we would have missed most of the wildlife. He knows what to listen for. Also snorkeled at Cano and it was nice, a little too cloudy to see far when we were there (just after full moon and high tide) but what you could see was lovely and abundant. Saw a humpback whale and calf on the boat ride there, spotted dolphins on the way from, and really loved watching wild scarlet macaws up close and personal at lunch near San Josecito beach. The macaws were probably my favorite thing about Drake, and I'm not really a bird person. The day we arrived we checked in and then went straight out to the wonderful beach steps from Pirate Cove and immediately 2 scarlet macaws flew right overhead! Great welcome!

One day we hiked on our own about three hours one way up the coast and that is a lot of fun too. Costa Rica has public trails following the coast which are a fantastic, free option for those like us on a budget. And Pirate Cove will back you a lunch. We didn't see any monkeys on that hike and I am sure we were just missing them. The advantage of having a guide is they know what to listen for to spot wildlife and we didn't. Still a lot of fun though, and the maccaws announce themselves so loudly even we could spot them. Also saw toucans which was cool.

I was hesitant to book a place with family style dining, not really my thing on vacation, but we turned out to really enjoy it a lot. Meeting like-minded travelers from all over the world and sharing stories of where they've been, what's worth the time and what's not, and enjoying great fresh food and cold cervezas was fun. Never had a bad meal either, and even though PC doesn't offer a menu of options, we were never disappointed with what was served. The staff was also extremely accommodating to those with dietary restrictions according to some vegetarians we met there.

Some very slight things I wasn't thrilled with: The hotel isn't far from the main dirt road to Drake town and the road was being worked on with big trucking equipment which we could hear, though not very loud, in our room. This sort of took away from the "jungle getaway from it all" feeling, but is neither the hotels fault nor a permanent problem. Also the air conditioned room, being new, smelled of wood and varnish, which coupled with the lack of terrace made me slightly claustrophobic. But I am sure this will quickly fade as the rooms are very new. And the solution is easy: walk downstairs and sit in the lovely open air dining room or better yet hang out on the beautiful beaches right out front. And we did have a nice view of the tree tops nearby out the second story window, which made for easy and enjoyable iguana watching!

All things considered, a GREAT place to stay and we would return anytime. Nelson was great and very accommodating, as well as the young Tico girl who worked there, I didn't catch her name. All the staff: cooks, guides, front desk/excursion planners etc were wonderful. PS thanks to tripadvisor, I was able to plan my whole trip to a country I had never been too with a language I don't speak and the whole trip went off without a hitch! I think that's really awesome and I want to give back by leaving my review for others to benefit from. Thanks!

Location is everything with this place, it's right on the beach and only a short transfer from the airstrip. The cabins have great views over the ocean and it's you can down by the water in less than a minute. We stayed on a full board basis and the food was OK, but didn't feel like great value. The nearest alternatives are a couple of miles up the road though so there wasn't much choice. Good selection of tours with excellent guides.

This review has been a long time coming, especially since I stayed at Pirate's Cove with my husband almost six months ago. Pirate's Cove will always be a special place for me because of their hospitality and phenomenal guest service.

It was my husband's 40th birthday, and I wanted to have a surprise birthday party for him, but we suddenly planned to be in Costa Rica at the time. Once we had our hotels decided, i chose Pirate's Cove for his birthday stay. When we landed up at PC on his birthday, I snuck into the kitchen to talk to someone about baking him a surprise cake. I told the kitchen staff about the birthday and told them I was willing to pay for the cake (because Drake Bay is sort of remote, I knew getting hold of a cake at such short notice would be hard). The kitchen promised me a cake.

That evening at dinner, Nelson guided my husband to a table facing away from the kitchen and the other guests. A little take aback, my husband quietly sat at the given seating. After the main course, I saw Nelson going around to the guests and whispering something to them. In a few minutes, the lights all went dim and out came someone holding the most beautifully iced birthday cake with candles. As my husband started saying he wished they would turn up the lights, the whole room started singing 'Happy birthday' as the cake came towards my husband. Shocked, my husband turned around and it took him a second to realize that everyone was singing for him!

Pirate's Cove made my husband's birthday a most memorable one. To have a room full of strangers sing for you and then come up and wish you is an amazing experience. The hotel also didn't charge us a penny for the wonderful birthday cake, saying they were just happy to do it! Added to this, we are vegetarian (no eggs even), and Pirate's Cove never disappointed us once. The food was cooked to perfection and with no fuss about our diet. And this comes from a traveler who carries tons of energy bars as a staple while traveling!

Talking of the accommodations, we loved every minute of it. We stayed there for 5 days, my husband went diving thrice, and became friends with the dive master. We went to Sirena with the guide, and every excursion was excellent. I had plenty of opportunities for photography, the staff was helpful in sweetly pointing out that small crocodiles sometimes come to the beach, so I could watch out for them :-)

I can't recommend this hotel enough. Loved every minute staying there!

We've stayed here on two separate occasions to take advantage of the excellent scuba diving at Isla Del Cano and for the tours to Corcovado National Park. The facilities are basic but more than adequate with large rooms in a resort located in a beautiful and romantic setting. The staff work extremely hard to enure your stay is a pleasurable experience plus, the meals are outstanding. Great value for price, I love this place.