It's not just a hotel - it's an adventure, it's a living zoo, it's your base to discover everything that this country has to offer. It is the exact opposite of your miserable every-day life. Get down here!

From the outset, this one was going to be different - the road ended and guests on the transfer mini-bus (which had already driven through an actual stream) disembarked and witnessed their luggage being carried on to the front of a speedboat. No pier. Wading ensued.

A short boat-ride later and you arrive into a beautiful emerald lagoon, where freshwater meets the sea and thankfully, your boat meets a pier. A short walk from the pier is the welcoming wooden lobby/restaurant/bar, as well as Coco - the resident dog. The next bit is important - rooms are up a VERY steep gradient and steps that are even steeper. If you are unfit, it's unlikely you are considering this trip anyway - but you really have to know whether you can do this.

The rooms have glorious high wooden ceilings that ensures no need for a/c - the fan and air circulation does the trick. Here's the really fun bit - no glass in the windows. Just (secure) mesh. So once dusk falls, you can hear the forest in surround sound. It is like camping - but in a hotel.

The setting of this place is truly stunning; lagoon, ocean, forest. The wildlife is endless. Toucans, bats, monkeys, bloody huge lizards, crocs (one in the waters of the hotel where you go canoeing and dock from the transfer..!), stunning birds of all varieties - one person is alleged to have seen over 80 species of animal/birds in one day here. The tours can be pre-booked and include snorkelling (take motion sickness pills for any trip that require a boat out) and day and night safaris. This is the one area of Costa Rica where the jaguar definitely roams - so you never know....

Monteverde and Arenal were great, but this was the wildlife and forest highlight of the trip - it surpassed those locations for beauty and variety. You can go into the forest, or into the little town (found some bars there) or take the trek to the beach past leaf-cutter ants and tarantulas, along with a wobbly bridge over the croc lagoon that looks straight out of an Indiana Jones movie.

The guy in charge, Brad, is great company and runs the business with not just the welfare of the guests front of mind, but also with a solid commitment to eco-tourism and his staff.

Food was good - they accommodated every dietary need (and our group had plenty) and the chef made himself available to talk about dishes. The food is served communally - guests swapped travel stories/plans and made decisions about the next day's activities. Cocktails from the bar were wonderfully refreshing. Again - no windows (or mesh) in this area - just spirited conversation, humidity (lots of that) alcohol if you wanted it - and mother nature. Appetisers were served ahead of dinner, tacos, guacamole, that sort of thing.

No TV in the comfortable rooms (thank goodness) and wifi is in communal parts only. One thing Brad could do is have wifi in the rooms, especially as the communal areas are so steep to get to. Wifi is great for planning, sorting out photos, putting up beautiful pictures of your holiday on to fb to annoy friends, that sort of thing. Having it in the rooms would help.

I hugely recommend this lodge-style hotel for its breathtaking location, great tours, and good service. It's a big operation and the owner has done a good t job building this up to what it is, so get on down there and experience the real Costa Rica.

This was indeed a perfect vacation, a special one for us celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary. We flew into Drake Bay on a lovely clear day, enjoyed the quick boat trip over (water shoes or sandals are recommended as your feet will get wet), and were happily greeted with a cocktail and orientation before going to our gorgeous room, a suite. Lunch was fabulous, as was all of the food we had in the five days we were there, and it set the tone for the vacation. All the guests, from all over the world, were congenial, interesting, and shared a respect for the environment, so it was fun to join them for meals and tours. We still had plenty of time on our own to kayak, hike in the area, and lounge around. We did the night bug tour, which was well worth it, as well as the bird walk one afternoon. Our big tours were Sirena Station and the mangrove tour and both were great and we would highly recommend them. We were thrilled that there were no mosquitoes, but the staff members told us the bats take care of them. There are screens but no windows, which assures that you hear the wonderful noises of nature, including nearby howler monkeys as well as birds. Best of all, the staff members were perfect-- friendly, gracious, and so professional. We had perfect weather the whole time we were there, with just a little rain, always at night.

My wife and I spent 4 nights at the end of our 2 week Costa Rican honeymoon at Aguila de Osa. First off, we had booked our stay here close to a year in advance and Gilbert in reservations was extremely helpful with any questions I had, and also provided pictures of rooms, etc. We traveled in early-mid December, and had excellent weather while we were there with only a couple hours of rain on our final day. We had a package which included 2 tours, Cano island and Corcovado park tour (San Pedrillo station). They are very flexible in allowing you to change tours and just pay the difference. We upgraded to the Sirena station park tour which I think was a great call, as we were lucky enough to see a tapir within 10 minutes of getting off the boat. The other tour we did was the mangrove tour which was also great, although we saw similar animals to our tour through the canals of Tortuguero. For both tours we had Carlos for our guide who could not have been better. His excitement and enthusiasm for nature, and his great personality made the experience incredibly memorable.
Now on to the hotel itself. When pulling up to the hotel for the first time, one cannot help to be overcome with goosebumps. It is breathtaking - located in the bay adjacent a beautiful serene river. We were warmly welcomed by the staff, and given a quick orientation and a welcome smoothy. I cannot say enough about the staff at this place. I cannot remember all their names, but all of them are incredibly friendly and helpful. They seem to really enjoy their jobs and want you to have a great time. I never got any impression about tipping as the previous review mentioned. We were told at the beginning that we could leave a tip at the end of our trip, and if we wanted a certain person to have the tip to write it down specifically, otherwise the tips are split amongst the staff. After that, the word "tip" was not mentioned again. After the orientation they provide a nice, fresh lunch and show you to your rooms. Like previous posts have mentioned there is a climb to your rooms which is fairly steep, but we found it fine. Certainly you don't want to keep forgetting things in your room, but we didn't find it was a big deal. We had the Junior Suite near the top of the hill and loved it. It seemed very private, with it's own private deck with stunning views of lush gardens and the bay. The bed was comfortable, although I found it quite hot at night. The fan is not centered over the bed, so my half did not get much of a breeze. The only complaint about the room was that the bathroom could use some updating, and we did have quite a few ants in there. Otherwise, no bugs to speak of in the room, which is amazing considering where you are.
Every evening appetizers are served at 6pm which were much better than I expected. The fresh ceviche was amazing, as were the other things they cooked up (skewered meats, dips, etc). Meals every night consisted of fish caught earlier that day and another meat. All were 3 courses and every meal we had was amazing. We stayed at 3 other hotels on our trip (two 5 star hotels), and this was by far the best food we had. Chef Dixon was awesome. If you like fish, order it every meal - you will not be disappointed.
Kayaks can be taken up the river which is amazing. I truthfully cannot think of a more beautiful environment to kayak. Monkey were seen each time we went out, along with birds, and jesus christ lizards running on water right in front of us.
We could not be happier with our stay at Aguila de Osa. I hope one day we can revisit this amazing place. The whole Osa peninsula is a pretty amazing place.
If you're considering staying here - DO IT!

My husband I recently spent four nights at Aguila and loved every minute. We stayed in room 11 which I highly recommend as we had a great view of the rainforest and some water as well as lots of privacy and a great deck. The property is wonderful, they have a large open area where meals are served that leads to the dock. You have a great view of the water and Drake Bay. The only thing that surprised me as it was not quite as remote as I expected. They are quite a few other small hotels in the area and when we went to Sirena Station there were quite a few other people there (maybe 40). This is not a ton of people but more than we expected. We kayaked, hiked to Cocolito beach, went to the Sirena Ranger Station, snorkeled near Cano and went on the mangrove tour. We saw tons of monkeys, crocs, macaws, sloths, among others. The staff is incredibly helpful, warm and accommodating. The food is great and snacks are also around. My one suggestion is if you take the Cano snorkel trip take dramamine first, the water is ROUGH. I would not suggest Aguila for those who want 5 star luxury as there is no a/c and you do have to walk up fairly steep hill, but for those who want something off the beaten path this is it. It is very comfortable, the food and service are great and you definitely feel like you are getting away.