Lapa Rios Lodge

This resort is probably one of the coolest and more unique places I will ever stay in my life. The location is just unbelievable. It was an experience that I will never ever forget. Sleeping to the sounds of the rain forest, the outdoor shower, enjoying coffee in our bed wrapped in mosquito net. Just SUPER cool. With that being said this property has SO MUCH potential but they fell short so many times in our short 3 day stay there. For the money that we paid for this resort it should have been a flawless amazing time for two extremely easy going people. Sad to say - the staff/execution of things need some work. If you plan to stay at the Lapa Rios you are going to need a 4x4 rental car or arrange for some kind of pickup/transportation. If you do plan on renting a car I would suggest that you do so only if you are very comfortable driving. You will be driving on very rough terrain, across streams that may be high if they have had rain, across narrow bridges without sides and going up some seriously steep hills. I love driving and found the 30 minute bumpy drive really fun but I can see how some might be miserable. Corcovado National Park hike is a MUST. They offer tours right through the facility but they are insanely inflated. Maybe we weren't the right clientele for the Lapa but just consider your options. The included food menu was really wonderful and if you are a normal person without a lot of dietary restrictions you are going to be living the good life!! The location has its own self guided trails and some beautiful waterfalls that you can walk down to. All in all it was an amazing experience and we have great memories from staying at Lapa.

Prior to arrival the staff at Lapa reached out to ask about our dietary needs for dining since food was included. We brought to their attention that I was vegan and my husband was vegetarian/gluten free. We expected to have a prepared planned dining experience because of this. We did not. When we arrived at dinner our first night no one had any idea that we had dietary restrictions at all. They were able to create a special menu for us on demand but it made us feel really uncomfortable. The food was great but each night we were limited to one thing. Which - for the money we paid in my option was a waste. I would have went without the food included if that was an option because we basically threw our money away. We lived off chips and guacamole. The first morning I requested coffee and breakfast before a hiking tour. It never showed. I had to leave at 5:45 that morning and never had my morning coffee or anything to eat which made me pretty frustrated. The staff was nice but just clueless and kind of unorganized. Two nights that we were there they never turned off the pool lights. I heard guests complaining about how bright it was and how they couldn't sleep and had to turn them off themselves. We didn't have this issue but it was jut a string of weird things like this that just left us really unamused and annoyed. It is the most expensive hotel I have ever stayed at and to feel like you were totally riped off afterwards was just a very unsettling feeling. The last morning before check out we decided to go on the self guided path to take some photos and enjoy the property one last time. We asked the front desk if my husbands sneakers were okay and how long it might take us. He said it might take 20-30 minutes. He didn't mention that there are two trails and that one of them seems to never end. We got on the long trail thinking it would loop around (no maps or anything were provided) and it did not. We were gone for 2.