spirit of jungle lodge

The wifi never worked for us.
You need to bring your own shampoo, soap, and conditioner, there is nothing.
Also take into consideration that it is 45min to Samara on a bumpy gravel road OR 15min crossing a river. If you have a relatively high car and in dry season, you can easily cross the river. HOWEVER, during the rainy season AND/OR if the river is high, you can't cross unless you have a 4x4 car.

The last morning of our stay, there was no power which meant, NO WATER. We didn't get any heads up on the situation, we simply ran out of water. The power company was doing some work in the area and were told power would be restored at 2pm. So, there was information available, we just never got it. This is Costa Rica, the least a hotel providing services to their guests, would do is have an external power plant. It is a common experience in CR. GET A POWER PLANT. Especially, since no power means no water.
We were planning on having breakfast there, we couldn't because no power, meant no way to pay with a credit card. We were also criticized for not carrying cash. Also, if there is no water, it is doubtful to have clean practices for cooking breakfast. We left pretty fast that morning.

The owner was rude to us from the beginning. It is not due to cultural differences, he called us "pussies" to our face, for not wanting to cross a river with a sedan that was having some mechanical issues on our way there. So, don't expect smiles and welcoming vibes.

I always ask the locals if the beach is good for swimming and I like to get information about warnings regarding the water. We were not able to get any info from them.

A ways from Samara, but is that a negative??!!

Moustiquaires à larges trous, plusieurs petits insectes dans la chambre (araignées, moustiques) malgré les fenêtres fermées. Juste de légers draps pour s’abriller. Pas de linges pour la cuisine, pas de balai (mais ils viennent faire la chambre chaque jour). Joli table dans la cuisine, 4 chaises, mais peut accueillir 3 assiettes au plus.
La route officielle pour s’y rendre est longue sur un chemin imparfait en gravier. La route alternative proposé par l’hôtel (permet de sauver 15 minutes de/vers Samara) demande de traverser trois fois une rivière avec le véhicule. Une des traversées est à une profondeur limite et il faut un véhicule à haut dégagement, 4x4 idéalement. Ce chemin ressemble plus à un sentier de VTT, mais les locaux utilisent cet itinéraire car plus rapide.
Restaurant propose de très bon repas, mais c’est assez long et il se peut qu’après l’attente on vous dise qu’ils n’avaient pas les ingrédients pour le plats de certains membres du groupe qui devront recommander et attendre encore pendant que les autres mangent.

Nix!

I wish I had read the location directions better earlier in the day as it was difficult to locate after sunset. Plan to arrive during daylight.

L isolement de l hotel
Et la piste très mauvaise pour y arriver...

Ce n’est pas lié à l’établissement mais il faut le savoir: accès par longue piste uniquement !

El acceso.

The water in the bathroom smelled like Sulphur. The toilet seat broke on our last day. The pool water needed a shock treatment by our 4th day.

There is a huge gap between the outdoor areas (garden and pool), which are beautiful and peaceful, and the rooms, which are old and clearly outdated. The restaurant is good but very basic, and the rooms would benefit from renovation.

The Booking listing is somewhat misleading: the hotel is described as beachfront, but it takes about a 15-minute walk to reach the beach. In addition, the stated distance of 4 km from Sámara actually corresponds to around a 35-minute drive.

We also found the attitude of the older owner disappointing. Whatever feedback we shared, he laughed and didn’t seem to care. For example, we told him that our shower was not adequate, so we did not use it and ended up showering by the pool instead.

Slecht geslapen bed super hard, 🐜 die in overvloed op de kamer aanwezigwaren, hoort natuurlijk ook wel bij de jungle. Onze kamer was groot zat keukentje voldoende keukengerei aanwezig maar er was maar 1 stoel en geen tafel om aan te zitten. Buiten stond een tafel maar die werd gebruikt om de vogels te voeren...

Alles super