Tortuga Lodge & Gardens

Our stay at Tortuga Lodge was simply wonderful! The staff was incredibly friendly, attentive, and accommodating—we felt well taken care of from the very beginning. Our room was bright and welcoming, featuring a high-quality bed and mosquito protection in both the living and bathroom areas—perfect for the rainforest setting. The food was of high quality, always attractively presented, and served à la carte. A special highlight: non-alcoholic beverages and one massage per room were included. The massage was deeply relaxing and soothing! Each day, we could choose two activities. Highlights included visiting the village of Tortuguero, an exciting kayak tour through the canals, a boat trip into the national park with fascinating wildlife sightings, and an adventurous night walk. The entire property is very well-maintained and offers its own hiking trails, where we encountered various animals during our night walks (see pictures). The journey to the lodge is an adventure in itself but absolutely worth it. Since the lodge is only accessible by boat, the approximately 1 hour and 15-minute ride through the breathtaking nature of Tortuguero National Park was already a unique experience, offering first glimpses of the diverse flora and fauna. Conclusion: If you love nature and are seeking an exclusive, relaxing atmosphere, this is the perfect place for you!

Unique lodge set on the canal in the Tortuguero National Park. An impressive start to our trip to amazing Costa Rica. The journey to and from The lodge by boat is an adventure in itself but all superbly managed by the hotel. On our way we saw monkeys and crocodiles. We were met on the dockside with a cocktail from the friendly and enthusiastic staff who could not have done more for each of their gusts. The room was huge and thoughtfully equipped with everything you may need. We had a huge terrace from where we could see and listen to the sights and sounds of the jungle. We had a swinging bed and comfy rocking chairs to watch the amazing wildlife. The swimming pool offered welcome relief from the heat but the rooms are equipped with aircon so you could cool down after a days hike. Breakfast, lunch and dinner was included and all the food was fresh, beautifully served with a good choice. We joined many of the activities on offer all led by knowledgeable and interesting guides.

We had a wonderful two night at Tortugua Lodge which our travel agent highly recommended. We stayed in the Miss Perla suite which was a touch on the small side but very manageable. All of the meals were outstanding and of a high calibre. Service was excellent. Highlight was the 6 am two and a half hour boat ride of the river where we spotted many wildlife. Manuel our guide was excellent at spotting and hearing what would appeal to those on the boat. Highly recommended. We also did a night tour with Bernardo who was so knowledgeable and able to point out many strawberry dart spiders. It was a magical experience!

My husband and I were very excited to stay at this place. But the lack of communication from this hotel, we couldn’t even get to the property. Nobody answered when we tried calling tons of times. Very unprofessional and rude service when they did answer. Wish my experience was different because we loved our trip to Costa Rica otherwise.

Among the worst customer service I've experienced from a hotel. During the booking process we received practically zero check-in information, aside from a phone number and an instruction to check in before 6:00 PM. On check-in day we got very delayed on the road to Tortuguero due to a bad accident. By the time we arrived at the dock we had missed the last shuttle. My wife and I tried calling the number we were given for the hotel in our confirmation email many times, but no one ever answered. When we finally found a working number we got an automated message that it was outside of working hours so they could not respond. By then it was around 6:00 PM, and this is a hotel. We lingered near the dock for a couple of hours trying to get in touch and work out a way to get there, but never could. In the end we ended up driving to San Jose and booking a last-minute room. We canceled our plans in Tortuguero and essentially scrapped that leg of our trip. As you can imagine, this was not the way we wanted to spend a day of our trip, and we were very sad not to spend the intended time in the National Park. We reached out to hotel management the next day. Their response was, in a nutshell: Sorry, you booked through a 3rd-party (Capital One), so we can't help you, and there's nothing we can do. It's simply a no-show. Better luck next time. So that was our experience. We can't speak to the quality of the resort itself or the people working there. I'm sure they are wonderful. But their management company, Boena, leaves much to be desired. I would be very careful when interacting with this property.