Ocean Forest Ecolodge

Overpriced for what it is.
Manager extremely rude and unhelpful.
We booked a trip for 336 USD. The manager failed to book the trip or give us any information. We lost a day and when tried to discuss this with the manager, her response was extremely rude and she tried to put blame on us. Other staff members were horrified by her condescending tone and behaviour.
As a result we decided to change hotels before the end our our stay.
We moved to Bahia Drake where the staff were much more helpful.
Dinners cost 25 USD and lunch 20 USD - very overpriced for a plate of lentils, but there is no option to cook food yourself so you have no choice but to eat there.

Limitation des horaires de restauration

We were 3 people.
We spent more than 3 weeks in wonderful Costa Rica. Unfortunately, here the
food is a major problem, specially since the place is secluded.
Breakfasts are quite minimal and not satisfying.
Dinner costs 25 dollars per person with no choice at all, you don't know what you're going to get.
We had a dinner on our first night which was inedible. Pork with a bone and full of lard, covered with quite hot sauce which later we realized that it was Mexican chocolate mole. We returned our plates full and went to sleep hungry and disappointed.
Quite inadequate to a place in such price range and level.
We asked if there's anywhere else we can dine nearby, got a negative answer, however when we hiked around, we found the Sunset restaurant about 7 minutes walking where we had wonderful lunch and dinner there to our choice, with excellent atmosphere for less then 75 dollars.
We felt deceived.
Also since there is no car or vehicle access, we had to pay extra 30 dollars coming and going (total of 60 dollars) on top of the accommodation for carrying our luggage from our drop off point.
Also gave a feeling that we are taken advantage of.
Bottom line excellent stay because of the location and the place but with some major issues that the place has and should be correcting to stand up to its pretensions.

Unsere Fragen an das Hotel über Booking.com wurden erst spät beantwortet, das könnte schneller sein.
Wenn man das Hotel aber direkt über die eigene Website anschreibt, gibt es sofort alle Informationen und Links zu Ausflügen und Transfer.

I Should have been picked up at the beachfront but no one was there, so I walked on the beach side but that was a little inconvenient and took me more than 45min because I didnt know that was a Path next to the beach. That would have been good to know! The Path is easy to walk!

The nature and wildlife are very beautiful, but it’s absolutely not worth the price. We paid €500 for two nights in a beach bungalow, which honestly isn’t worth even half of that amount.
The owner/manager wasn’t present and not helpful at all over messages. We got a payment link through an Australian bank, over €50 was taken just in transaction fees and no one mentioned this before. On top of that, they charged us an additional €50 for dinner that we never even requested, and it took them two weeks to refund that money.
Everything felt very disorganized, and you are basically pressured into booking meals with them every day.
The room was not clean and there was no hot water.
Honestly, a big disappointment. The staff were very kind, and the camp atmosphere itself is nice, but everything else gets a big zero.

Wij hebben Ocean Forest geboekt op basis van de beoordelingen, maar onze ervaring was helaas zeer teleurstellend. Op meerdere essentiële punten klopt de werkelijkheid niet met wat wordt gesuggereerd. Er is geen warm water, wat vooraf nergens duidelijk wordt vermeld. De wandeling vanaf de boot naar de accommodatie bedraagt minimaal twintig minuten, en deze wandeling moet voor iedere excursie telkens opnieuw worden gedaan, via het strand. Dit maakt alles onnodig omslachtig en belastend.

De zogenaamde luxe strandhut is in werkelijkheid zeer klein en absoluut niet luxe. De accommodatie is extreem basic en staat in geen verhouding tot wat wordt beloofd of verwacht mag worden. Het wekt de indruk dat de oorspronkelijke plannen en ambities veel hoger waren, maar dat het project nooit is afgemaakt tot het niveau dat wordt gecommuniceerd.

Wat het extra teleurstellend maakt, is de houding van de eigenaresse. Waar het contact in eerste instantie prettig was, sloeg dit om in een afstandelijke en zakelijke, soms zelfs onaangename benadering. Er was weinig sprake van echte gastvrijheid of meedenken. Met meer investering, eerlijkere communicatie en een betrokken gastvrouw zou deze plek potentie kunnen hebben, maar op dit moment vinden wij de ervaring de prijs en verwachtingen niet waard.

Doppel-Bungalow sehr hellhörig, Preise für Abendessen sehr hoch

Also 1. Ist die Kommunikation richtig schlecht. Sie schreiben bei Fragen sehr lange nicht zurück oder sehr unfreundlich.
2. Wir sind per Boot angereist. Dort angekommen, stand niemand da um uns abzuholen(wie eigentlich versprochen). Somit liefen wir 15 Minuten über Stock und Stein durch den Wald ohne dass jegliche Beschielderung angebracht war.
3. WICHTIG ZU WISSEN: DAS ZIMMER KANN NICHT ABGESCHLOSSEN WERDEN!
4. Keine Fenster, es ist alles mit so Netzen geschlossen, was dazu führt dass es sehr laut ist in der Nacht.
5. Bett sehr sehr unbequem, keine Klimanlage nur einen alten Ventilator der sehr laut ist und nicht verstellbar ist.
6. Lunch kostet 20 Dollar und Dinner 25! Du kannst aber nicht auswählen was du essen willst. Also wenn man pech hat, hat man auch keine andere Auswahl. Geschweige denn von sonstigen Getränken ausser Wasser.
7. Zimmer wurden nicht sauber gemacht nach der 1. Nacht.

Ich schreibe sehr ungern eine schlechte Bewertung aber ich denke man muss überprüfen wie man da die Sterne vergeben hat. Unsererseits war es ganz sicherlich kein 3 Sterne Hotel höchstens ein Hostel. Für den Preis den wir pro Nacht bezahlt haben ist es eine Frechtheit. Wir reisten vorher ab und verloren somit auch noch unser Geld.

Une petite chambre ne possédant pas de table ni de chaise, Il n'y avait pas d'armoire. l'eau pour la douche est froide. Nous avons mangé 2 fois à midi ( très simple rien d'exceptionnel, sans dessert, ni fromage , presque identique les deux jours ). il manque un bar ou un service pour des cocktails.
le petit déjeuné est à améliorer. Un basse saison les restaurants servent le minimum

The lodge is difficult to get to. We decided to drive and had to make two river crossings. Recommend taking the boat or float+taxi.

While the staff worked wonderfully with what they got, I guess the owner needs to recalibrate place & situation. We had a 25sqm room under the roof (which obviously heats up during the day) and one small wall mounted ventilator - I get the ECO, but why save on ventilators? Even the breakfast/dining area doesn't have a ventilator - why?? Why ruin such a beautiful setup by saving on the tiniest investments? The food was very basic, not bad, but boring. Could easily be memorable, just not up to date with Costa Rican standards. Remoteness vs. status quo is not an excuse for these prices. Three nights for a family of three for 1000$ is illusional...

Überhaupt nichts. Das Team ist unendlich bemüht und die Natur einmalig. Selten so eine tolle Unterkunft erlebt.