Playa Cativo

Playa Cativo is a secluded retreat reachable only by boat, with abundant wildlife on the property (many birds —guan, mot-mot, red-rumpled tanagers, various flycatchers, yellow-headed caracara, scarlet macaws etc — plus coati, anteaters, peccaries, agouti, a puma if you’re very lucky, etc). The villas, each with their own plunge pools, are lovely. The food is excellent. Our main waiters/helpers, Alonso and Mike, were terrific, extremely attentive. A great getaway.

We visited five locations in Costa Rica and each thought doubt this was the best. The OSA Peninsula is beautiful, nature on steroids! We’ve been all over the world & this is one of the few places we would love to someday go back to.

We had a wonderful experience at Playa Cativo Lodge, we were grateful to have an air conditioned cabin. We stayed for 5 days in July 2036 with our family of four (our children are 9 and 6). From the moment we arrived by boat we could tell how special it was, so private and secluded and special to be in the middle of the rainforest. I don't claim to be a bird watcher but immediately there were so many beautiful birds and animals to observe around the hotel and one of our best experiences was the nature hike in the evening where we spotted red eye tree frogs, spiders and snakes. Our guide was so knowledgeable, even when peppered with questions by our children! Mike served us at dinner and was exceptional. He is kind, attentive, aware of every detail running the hotel as well as speaking fluent English, Spanish and French. Alonso was a fantastic server who really connected with our children and and both Mike and Alonso went above and beyond to make this special for our family. They knew our names, they got to know the children and helped us all to relax. The food was exceptional. In no particular order we loved the whale watching tour, meeting the friendly chickens at the farm, hiring paddle boards and kayaks, visiting the mangrove swamp by kayak, swimming in the pool, hiking to the waterfall, playing board games during happy hour and the nature hike.

We had a wonderful experience at Playa Cativo. The rooms are cleaned thoroughly twice a day, the pools are really nice to cool off a little in the afternoon and the activities are all amazing. The service is exceptional. The staff do everything they can to make your stay the best and they are really flexible in the menu and the planning.

This place is like a small paradise! We had a lovely stay with lots of activities (wildlife and wellness). The food is absolutely delicious and the staff super kind and helpfull. Could recommend it to anyone!