although this also means you get the noise from the river traffic which surprisedly for us continued after dark.

However, the room we stayed in (ground floor by reception) was very dark and dank, there were fans available

Our room was a little dark & noisy next to the kitchen.

Bring dark colored clothing for the turtle tour.

but when we arrived in Tortuguero we realized that it was dirty, dark, and smelled terrible.

Bring dark clothing as light clothing scare the turtles back to the water.

Otherwise, the rooms at the groudfloor are small, very dark and sticky.

Beyond the village in one direction is the Sea Turtle Conservancy’s research station.

Once we got off the boat a gentleman that worked at the info centre gave us directions to Casa Marbella which was just down the dirt road a bit.

Breakfast was good, rooms are clean and comfortable (some have AC and some don’t).

The room was very clean, with very good air conditioning, wifi and a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast was served.

Rooms are clean, breakfasts are satisfying, coffee is plentiful.

Rooms were clean, good air conditioning and very central.

The room was very clean and the maids did a good job of coming into the room while we were on a tour or at breakfast to clean up.

Showers hot and towels come in some awesome creations  and rooms are very clean.

Rooms are clean, cleaned every day and the towels are original folded.

The rooms are clean, simple and quite lovely.

It was very reasonably priced and the room was clean and airy.

The towel sculptures in the rooms are wonderful, they have plenty of fans when it's hot and the rooms are spotlessly clean.

The rooms were so clean and the bathroom was nicely updated.

Lovely clean rooms with plenty of fans, helpful reception staff, amazing towel sculptures!

The rooms are clean and very nice, we loved the breakfast and the chairs on the terrace with canal view.

The room was clean and OK and the fan helped to keep IT somehow Cool.

The room was clean with a large bathroom.

but very clean rooms and a great price and a great lounging area right on the river.

Casa Marbella has very cosy and clean rooms, even hot showers.

The Casa Marbella is near these landmarks: Tortuguero National Park, Sea Turtle Conservancy, Sendero Cerro Tortuguero, Tortuguero Tours - Adventures close to Nature, Tortuguero Adventures, Tortuguero Eco Experiences, Roots Tours, Tuanis Tour Tortuguero, Costa Rica Roots Tours, Tortuguero Infocenter Tours, Tortuguero Native Tour Guide, Casa Cecropia, Hugo Tortuguero tours en français, Tortuguero Tours, Tortuguero Green Tours, Tortuguero Natural Tours, PEDRO TOURS TORTUGUERO, trips nativos tortuguero, Erik Tortuguero tours en français, Tortuguero Sport Fishing, Agalychnistours Tortuguero, Tortuguero Tours, Tortuguero Info, Mawamba Lodge Twilight Tour, Aaron Tour's Tortuguero, Hotel Cabinas y Tour Aaron Tortuguero, Iglesia de Tortuguero, Tortugueros, Tortuguero National Park Costa Rica Tours, Cariari Tours and El Zota Biological Field Station

This hotel is just the right place for our family--we've graduated from backpacker hostels and sleeping in bus stations,

Casa Marbella

dark

station

direction

sea-turtle-conservancy

Some of the outdoor areas where you can walk were impassable due to the amount of water.

but due to the bugs, unless you are immune to them, you will need to spray yourself.

but the photography was horrible due to a sky that was very overcast as we boated down the river toward the village.

but since they must import everything due to their remote location they may occasionally be out of something.

After a 3 hour trip from San Jose which passed very quickly due to the very talkative guide, unfortunately whose name I cannot remember.

Our only disappointment was that the walking trails around the lodge were flooded and not navigable due to heavy rains - that's on Mother Nature and climate change, not the Tortuga Lodge and staff.

You can borrow boots, a walking stick and a map of the garden and go explore :) I complained a lot due to my room not being what I had paid for and was after some time very well compensated.

Due to the early arrival of our plane (scheduled by the lodge)  we found they essentially double booked the room on the first day of our 3 day stay.

We should have been informed of this before booking as we feel we lost some of the experience due to this disturbance.

Meals were well cooked even if the choice is a bit limited for which the hotel makes mention of due to the remoteness of location and availability of ingredients.

Due to the food for dinner "only" 4 points and not 5.

We travelled to the lodge by bus and boat which takes a longtime due to the low water level of the river

This is not a great area if you are wanting to spend time on the beach and in the water, due to Bull sharks in the Northern Carribean and Crocodiles in the river.

It is situated in the rain forest; if you are lucky enough to be able to make use of the trails (due to the amount of rain) you will see much.

I caught a 100 pound Tarpon due to the expertise of Captain Eddy Brown on his Bull Shark fishing boat.

We were wondering what it would be like as they apologized in advance on the menu for the limited choices due to location and challenge with getting supplies to the lodge, well no need to apologize as there was not one thing that we had that we did not enjoy and the presentation was up to any 5 star hotel.

but I think that was largely due to Sunday traffic which was lighter than other days.

Getting there:
We drove from Central Valley to La Parvona, it took longer that Google suggested, we aimed for the 1:30pm boat which we found left at 1pm - apparently this can vary due to water levels so definitely leave plenty of time!

The restaurant has some of the best food we have ever eaten served by very friendly staff.

The food was superb and the terrace at the restaurant is beautiful and peaceful right on the canal banks.

The food was superb, some of the best we have had in Costa Rica.

Great food, incredible location, comfortable no frills accommodation combine with staff that really know to put their guests front and centre.

The food was incredibly delicious, and we could all relax and just enjoy everything, knowing that we were in such good hands.

I would go back instant for the food and hospitality!

We enjoyed having lunch at El Patio and visiting The sea turtle Conservancy.

The food was incredibly tasty and the restaurant was gorgeous!

The food was excellent - every meal was well thought out and the staff were thoughtful enough to remember my daughters silly fruit preferences

The Lodge's food is some of the best I have ever had at any hotel/resort even in much more populace areas.

The food was excellent, best we had in our whole 2 weeks in CR.

I will think about the food for many years to come!

Food is sublime … just love this place and would highly recommend to anyone planning a trip to Costa Rica.

but particular thanks to Zulay in reception, Bernardo, one of the guides and Martha and Mykal in the restaurant who all contributed to a memorable stay

Not only did this hotel have a great restaurant (top food and great service), a wonderful setting on the river border and a beautiful forest behind the hotel where we spotted monkeys,

If you're vegetarian or vegan - not a problem; if you like to eat dessert at lunch and dinner - NOT a problem.

though and chose to get a water taxi to/from the village for a couple of meals.

The rooms were spotless clean  and our cleaner was always cheerful and helpful.

The rooms were very clean and well appointed and the WiFi was top notch.

The rooms were spotless, the pool was incredible and the food… I don’t even have words for how good it was.

The rooms are immaculately clean, perfectly screened, the tap water is filtered and the towel arrangements are a delight every day!

Rooms were clean and comfortable, recommend you stay on second floor as you can see so much wildlife from your room.

Very good food, friendly staff, very clean rooms, you can see a lot of animals from the terrace, good value for the price, pick-up was also good from San Jose.

The room was clean and the wifi excellent.

The rooms are very clean and well guarded against any animals getting in!

The rooms are clean, the cleaninglady does a very good job and the shower was the best we had during our stay in CR.

The room was very clean, a good size with 2 x double beds, which were very comfortable, an  ensuite bathroom, and a sitting area.

Throughout our three night stay the food and service  were fantastic; the staff were extremely helpful and efficient; our room was immaculate and the surrounding jungle stunning.

Our room was clean, comfortable, and spacious.

The housekeeping folks create amazing art from the towels when they clean the rooms and the rooms themselves are clean and comfy.

The Tortuga Lodge & Gardens is near these landmarks: Tortuguero National Park, Sea Turtle Conservancy, Sendero Cerro Tortuguero, Tortuguero Tours - Adventures close to Nature, Tortuguero Adventures, Tortuguero Eco Experiences, Roots Tours, Tuanis Tour Tortuguero, Costa Rica Roots Tours, Tortuguero Infocenter Tours, Tortuguero Native Tour Guide, Casa Cecropia, Hugo Tortuguero tours en français, Tortuguero Tours, Tortuguero Green Tours, Tortuguero Natural Tours, PEDRO TOURS TORTUGUERO, trips nativos tortuguero, Erik Tortuguero tours en français, Tortuguero Sport Fishing, Agalychnistours Tortuguero, Tortuguero Tours, Tortuguero Info, Mawamba Lodge Twilight Tour, Aaron Tour's Tortuguero, Hotel Cabinas y Tour Aaron Tortuguero, Iglesia de Tortuguero, Tortugueros, Tortuguero National Park Costa Rica Tours, Cariari Tours and El Zota Biological Field Station

In Tortuguero, we recommend visiting the Sea Turtle Conservancy Museum, with show rooms and an interesting video about the Museum, its activities for the conservancy of the turtles and general information as well about the national parks in Costa Rica and their mission.

We did the interesting Wildlife Boat Tour and Tortuguero Village and Sea Turtle Conservancy trip.

I also enjoyed the tour of the town and the sea turtle conservancy.

The lodge also provides access to a variety of activities including kayaking, nature tours, the Sea Turtle Conservancy and others we heard about from other guests.

We went on a number of tours, some of which were included - bird watching, kayaking in the canals, visit to the Sea Turtle Conservancy and teaching English in the village school, one was at extra cost - tour to the turtle nesting sites in the national park.

-Tortuguero town with Norton: we went to the sea turtle conservancy.

I will definitely return to this lodge next time we visit Costa Rica!!!

Canal visit … turtle 🐢 giving birth.. magical.

Tortuguero is absoletely a gem to discover and Tortuga Lodge & Gardens is definitely thé place to recommend if you visit Tortuguero.

We will definitely stay there again on our planned return visit to the area.

We highly recommend 2-3 nights at the Lodge if you are ever visiting Tortuguero.

While we didn’t visit during turtle viewing season we completely enjoyed our stay.

If you’re looking to be in the heart of Costa Rica, and truly on a adventure vacation come visit Tortuga Lodge!

To be clear, we would visit here again in a heartbeat - just a couple of things to have proper expectations set!

If you are thinking of visiting Tortuguero, treat yourself to Tortuga Lodge. .

Monkeys came to visit in the trees right outside our room.

Also visited Tortugero village which is a nice little place with shops, restaurants, colorful graffities and nice people who are proud to show their school, kindergarten, hospital and community place.

Despite terrible weather when I visited, I would strongly recommend the Tortuga Lodge.

Make sure Tortuguero and Tortuga Lodge on our your itinerary if you visit Costa Rica.

We saw a full nest of baby Green turtles make their scramble to the ocean; efforts to protect nesting turtles on the beach are a special aspect of any visit to this lodge and Tortugeuro village.

We had a wonderful visit here this month and saw more wildlife in a few days than in the rest of our 3 week trip.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit, being able to check many items off of our animal sighting bucket list with the excursions we booked with the front desk.

We kayaked, watched turtles laying their eggs and return to sea, caught Tarpon, visited the village, hiked the jungle, and did a boat tour.

The staff could not be more helpful even setting up the appointment and accompanying us to town when my son had to visit the doctor and sorting us out with ground transport when the flight was cancelled.

Tortuga Lodge & Gardens

restaurant

visit

The lampshades were mouldy from the damp and the fan did little to help.

The rooms are basic with only a small fan which does not help when the heat and humidity is so high.

Hoever, note that it can get very hot and humid and there is no aircon in the room.

The fan is old and makes too much noise at night.

The only downside to the property is the lack of air conditioning.

It is a green hotel, which means in this case that there is no air conditioning,,

The rooms are rustic, no aircon, no tv, limited wifi - and for me, that was absolutely perfect here (because I wouldnt want tv etc.

But it really is unfortunate that there is no AC.

The accommodation is basic, 2 small double beds, a ceiling fan, safe, and basic bathroom

No air conditioning which I see as a necessity in this climate especially after a day out in the jungle

The only drawback was that there is no air conditioning

but clean and tidy and does the job - as stated elsewhere, no a/c but fans.

Although this is an eco-resort (no A/C) it is bearable because it rains so much that the temperature doesn’t stay too hot for too long.

but it was extremely hot in June so lack of A/C was a discomfort that we Houstonians definitely felt!

So,there is no air conditioning or hair dryers.

Obviously there's no air con as it's an eco lodge

Very basic rooms, without A/C and it was steaming hot while we were there.

Then on the boat he was again giving loads of bits of info as well helping us spot wildlife on the journey in.

Mauricio, our boat captain, could spot the smallest of creatures from miles away.

The hotel is very simple and rustic inserted in the middle of nature with exclusive access by boat.

Trip by boat around rainforest canals, trip to tortuguero village and kayaking through rain forest canals.

Spent 2 nights at the lodge making in a number of boat rides to see local village and wildlife.

The only way of reaching the property is by boat, and when we were leaving, the boat ride took well over 2 hours in the heat.

We flew in and a staff member was waiting for us at the airstrip and took us by boat to the dock, just a minute away.

Getting to the lodge is great fun (by boat), as are the excursions.

The motor of the boats scare away the animals and you wont see as much as in kayak.

I like being on boats and on the water and it was kind of a cool thing,

We also went on a boat tour and a hike at the Cerro with Jainer and Chito.

You get to see a lot of wildlife and trips on the boat were quite enjoyable,we did one with Jason and another one with Luis, they were quite good at spotting wildlife!.We went for a night walk with Carlos to try and spot some baby turtles, and we got to see them, so cute!

Reachable by boat, the anticipation of where you will land is rewarded by a great lodge.

The boat trips are good and we saw lots of wildlife.

Boat trip to get here taking in the sights and scenery was really nice

Boat ride through the canals was brilliant.

All your meals are included because you literally can’t go anywhere else except by boat.

Peaceful getaway no noise was from passing boats and birds.

Basically the price was for the boat to and from.

The trip back on the boat was thrilling as the water was racing and logs blocking the way.

The wall between the rooms was so thin you could hear the neighbor breathe!

Ocean current is dangerous to swim in and dangerous animals in lagoon.

However during our second night a storm hit, and a big tree fell on our next neighbours lodge.

I removed a star for this and also for the construction of the lodges which don’t allow for privacy or sleeping if you’re next to loud neighbors.

The lodges were extremely basic, beddings were uncomfortable and you can hear everything from your neighbors.

though (you can usually hear your neighbors next door) and there are no glass windows instead just windows mosquito net .There was 1 night that we had no electricity for about 2 hours which also impacted the running water.

The downside are the rooms have paper thin walls so you can hear everything your neighbours do or say!

And the windows were just mesh with shutters, so it sounded like our neighbors and those outside were almost in the lodge with us.

although there is a beach there it is not recommended that you swim (too dangerous), and, for us,  the dark sand and mist on the beach was not nearly as appealing as the pools.

The beach is a bit of a non event no facilities on the beach and the sea looks dangerous.

Be aware it is dangerous to swim in the sea here.

No glass in windows therefore little privicy or protection from noisy neighbours.

The rooms are quite dated and the walls between the standalone cluster huts (4to a cluster) are paper thin so if your next door neighbours are noisey then it can be hard to get a quite time here.

We were told that it is too dangerous to walk into town.

You will have thin walls and so best to introduce yourself to your neighbours on the covered wooden verandah upon arrival!

Unfortunately, it's too dangerous to go into the Caribbean at this location, so you can get your toes wet,

There is no hairdryer and the lodges have thin walls so you can hear your neighbors .

All of the activities were sort of booked last minute, and one of the guides said shady things like ".

So that you can go and walk on the beach, and search for turtles on your own, without having to go on a boat ride first.

It’s very unique in that it takes a van ride and then a one hour beautiful boat trip up the canals to get there.

You can only reach it by boat and the nearest village is about 5/10 minute boat ride away.

Access to the lodge was a 1 hour boat ride.

We didn’t do this as the early morning boat ride was enough.

Included in the room rate is a visit and tour of the village and a mid morning boat ride where your guide will point out lots of wildlife. There are also 3 other tours you can pay for, an early morning boat ride (highly recommended

We were picked up at our hotel by our guide,Sebastian.He was with us for the next 2 days.Sebastian was wonderful,entertaining, and very passionate about his job.Getting to the lodge was an adventure.It is a long boat ride

Whilst its a long journey, boat ride to get here it was well worth it.

We didn’t mind too much as the ride on the river was beautiful.

Nothing in the vicinity of the hotel, the village is a boat ride away.

It takes about 1 hour and ½ by boat to reach it (amazing and enjoyable ride)

Location:
Excellent away from everything, say hello to peace and quiet.

The pick-up schedule in San Jose was a little hectic and time consuming and the bus ride into the boat landing was quite long and bumpy.

After a 4-5 hour drive/boat ride, this needed to be good and it didn't let us down.

We had to ride on long boats and travel through the jungle where we saw alligators, lizards, birds, parrots, monkeys, sloths, turtles, and so much more.

The boat ride in had lots of wildlife and the boat captains were great at spotting things.

Day 2 began with a boat ride to Tortuguero National Park.

Boat ride to the river for bird / animal watching was very interesting.

The cottages and rooms was clean and spacious with rocking chairs on the covered porch.

Rooms
Clean and a bit cramped with two full size beds

I found the rooms to be neat,clean & roomy enough.

The rooms were clean and the shower was outside, screened of of course from other clients.

Check in was easy
Room was spotless
Decent shower with hot water
Comfortable bed and good linen
WiFi not quite good enough to reach room 55
Beautiful garden and fabulous beach (not too safe to swim)
Food at this hotel was excellent and the staff were nice, too.

+ professionally organized tour
+ good solid quality, clean rooms, bath rooms and guest area
+ good fresh food esp. from excellent grill
+ great location in lavish garden with both, laguna and beach side access
+ friendly restaurant staff and guides
+ good safety equipment (boats, life vests) and waterproof gear

what is missing for higher ratings
- restaurant at its capacity limits
- solid

The rooms are VERY clean and you can tell the maid service takes pride in their work.

The rooms are clean and good enough for a one or two night stay.

The lodge rooms were clean and decent, there was no AC,

We really enjoyed our stay here; staff were welcoming, clean rooms and food good!

The rooms are clean and the food (breakfast, lunch and dinner) was good!

Rooms are clean and comfortable with a rustic feel (all wood construction) with good amenities.

The lodge has blocks of wooden eco lodges that have a little verander with locally made rocking chairs outside  the room was clean, bed comfortable and the toilet and shower were unfussy

On the first day we were taken to the nearby town to walk around for 1.5 hours.

walk on beach to town for great pizza at budah Cafe.

After the jungle the boat takes you to the tortuguero town so you can experience the culture and see how people from the area lives and you can even get a drink

The lodge does a wonderful job of arranging the tours to town and of the canal that were included in our stay package.

Just down the lagoon from the town of Tortuguero, Laguna Lodge offers understated comfort in private rooms built around a well cared for park-like area that includes a lovely swimming pool.

Now that we knew our guide the rest of the trip was great and he always made an effort to come and talk to us after that and make sure we were ok.

Town-
We paid the $45 to take a taxi into town, which was cool.

although the tourism keeps the town going, we felt uncomfortable being there with children.

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