Name: La Cusinga Lodge
Address: Km166 Costarena Sur, Alfombra, Alfombra, Alfombra, 58000, Costa Rica
Rating: 9

Smoke-free property

Garden

Terrace

No elevators

Reception desk

General

Room service

Family room

Rooms

Concierge services

Services and amenities

Breakfast

Restaurant

Breakfast/lunch to go

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet access

Internet

English

Languages Spoken

Hiking

Picnic area

Recreation

Free parking

Parking

Event facilities

Business

Family/Kid Friendly

Kids

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Temperature control for staff

Personal protection equipment for staff

Extra decontamination measures

Temperature control for guests

Personal protection equipment for guests

Individually packaged food

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

At the cottage

Palmar Sur Airport

Buenos Aires Airport (Costa Rica)

Drake Bay Airport

Quepos Airport

La Cusinga Lodge

Alfombra

We had a wonderful 3 night stay at La Cusinga Lodge, starting from being met in the parking area by Mabel, the welcome alcohol free cocktail and the friendly waiting staff.  

Our room was very large (Trogon) with a inside seating area and huge balcony.  The bathroom walls and floor are all lined with pebbles, very "flintstonesque".  It was my birthday during our stay and the lodge put fresh flowers in our room and decorated the bed with rose petals.  We ate in the restaurant for breakfast and dinner every day and the food was excellent with plenty of choice and big portions.  

The hotel also has a beautiful yoga platform but sadly they did not have a teacher available during our stay.  The pool is a short walk away from the main hotel and is very private.  There are also walking trails on the property to waterfalls where you could take a refreshing dip.  

Whilst here we did a whale watching trip (sadly nothing spotted as we were on the cusp of the right season) and a self guided trip to the Nicoya waterfall which was busy but great fun.  

We would return to La Cusinga Lodge in a heartbeat.  

Lovely first stop in Costa Rica

This was our last stop in Costa Rica and we spent 6 wonderful days and evenings:). We were with younger children (5 and 9), so we did really spent 3 full days on the premises enjoying the pool, the poza and the beach. 
The positives: the location is breathtaking and well kept - sunsets are like a magical moment, the pool is cool, clean, secluded in the nature and large enough for several children to play (there were more families at the time). The Poza (natural pool was as well a unique experience to have on the premise), the beach is a hike down and up on stairs - the hike itself is not an issue if not for the heat - as the lowest tides were around noon. Take water lots of water and sunscreen- better wear rag shirts. The beach is wonderful really really a must, the walks on the property are ok - again do them very early morning. 
Our rooms - we had Rana and Toucan were above the reception and they have i think the best views although they are not very luxurious - we loved them and I would take them again especially with children around. The other rooms are more in nature and they dont seem to have such an “ocean view” but more nature immersed. The restaurant is a gem - i think we tried everything and everything was great - i wouldnt know what to recommend actually. The cocktails are as well an experience- i loved Jungle Passion and my husband Michael’s Mai Tai but try Ginger Aracari it was specially spicy. 
But the best were the people - and the cate for details

Wonderful stay! Highly recommended

by far our worst experience ever. And we have traveled the world and quite a few hotels. I would tend to rate the hotel as a rip off. For a higher price the „eco“ lodge is  being used as an excuse for poorly designed rooms,  bad shower and toilets and lack of good bedding. How can you sleep with 30 Celsius and wet pillows… I’m fine with monkeys howling and hearing the waves. But wet bed, no. And when trying to get things better service was poor and agressive. 
The room have a stunning view on the ocean to show, that is indeed true. It has a pool.. and you can walk to an amazing beach. And the restaurant is not great I’m sorry. It is good, one of the only option in uvita anyway. Giving it a higher ranking than it deserves. 
Overpriced, inattentive staff. Unable to sleep.

Eco is not an excuse for the bad rooms bad staff and high prices

I did a two-night stay here upon arrival in Costa Rica (drove down from the airport). Overall, it's a nice place in a good location.

The "lodge" is kind of a series of buildings built into the jungle, which translates into lots of encounters with wildlife. Within five minutes of checking into my room I saw three chachalacas clumsily falling through the trees outside my door. In the mornings, I watched troops of howler monkeys and then capuchins swing through the trees from the bridge on the Poza Trail. Cute and colorful Halloween crabs can be found crawling in the grass (one followed me home to my room!). Giant foot-long grasshoppers bathed in sunlight (totally motionless for hours) in the bushes and on walls. Flocks of toucans perched in trees before flying off. I remember seeing hummingbirds in the bushes as well. House geckos will be everywhere, even in your room (if you're wondering what that random chirping sound is, that's them). The one thing that freaked me out though were the orb weaver spiders. At first you don't notice them, but man once you spot one it's like you've taken the red pill in the Matrix and can suddenly see them all everywhere. They're HUGE, like 3-inches long and their webs are also big. When they're off in the bushes it's fine, but on my last day, following a heavy rain the night prior, one spider had built a web across half the main walkway, at eye level...yikes!

Rooms are what you'd expect from a 3-star facility, simple and comfortable. Two of the walls of my cabin were entirely windows and only three small panes of glass were there, the rest just screens to keep the bugs out. The walls are not air tight though, so critters will get in. In addition to the inevitable house geckos (which are kind of cute), I spotted one roach, some ants, and a crab in my room, also a GIANT (like one inch long and fat) fly.
But I wasn't a fan of the cabins. They have stone floors which felt too much like being outside. The bed linen reminded me of being at my grandma's house. I think because there was so much vegetation surrounding the cabin (which is gorgeous), I felt a little creeped out at night because the sounds of all the critters hiding in it can easily be heard through the screen windows. So overall, it felt like I was sleeping outside...a little too close to nature for me. I remember having trouble going to sleep my first night.

Staff is friendly, especially the waiters at the restaurant. 

The lodge is a ten-minute drive from Marina Ballena Marine Park (the Whale's Tail). I spent a morning there with Bahia Aventuras doing a whale watching tour (we spotted a mom and her calf). The beach and waters there are very nice. In addition, there are trails on the property leading to other beaches, a poza or natural pool, and extending into the surrounding forest for nice hikes.

Once you get your bearings (which happens fast), the place is easily navigable. There are nice easy trails and from everywhere you're surrounded by trees and shrubs and easily positioned to run into some kind of monkey, insect, or bird if you wait long enough.

The on-site Aracari restaurant is okay. Breakfast was the best meal on offer. For dinner my first night I ordered beef fajitas which wasn't good (more like weirdly chopped pieces of steak covered in a sweet sauce). Chicken fingers for lunch was okay. Grilled chicken for dinner also okay. Fruit juices were good though, I'd recommend those.


Comfortable Enough, But Glamping It is Not

La Cusinga is perfectly located with beautiful trails in the rain forest leading to a quiet beach. My room, Gemele 1, had a little porch with chairs for relaxing and gazing at the birds and the Atlantic. I visited during the rainy season and enjoyed pretty dry days with lovely crashing storms late at night which cleared by early morning. The easy birding on the large reception porch was sociable and fun. The food was delicious, and the staff could not be more helpful. Laundry service was available and so appreciated by me after tramping in the rain forest. Thank you, La Cusinga.

Glorious natural environment!

Hotel with a beautiful view of the sea. Sunrise and sunset at the top. Possibility to see a lot of birds: green parrots, toucans, hummingbirds etc.... Do not miss the theft in the squadrons of pelicans. Only beemol is needed very warm in the rooms. The ventilator is essential. Restaurant meals are quite correct and good.

It's a beautiful view.

Beautiful setting with access to "private" public beach  with no people. Friendly helpful well trained staff. Best food we had in Uvita. Neat private rooms/buildings with views, private trails  with howler monkeys, treetop views of birds.

Great views and staff, nice rooms  convenient access to Uvita center by car.

The staff is very friendly and endeavoring, as almost always in Costa Rica, the facility is beautiful with a beautiful view but the cabins or rather the barracks are made of wood without windows but only mosquito nets and therefore very bright and of course in Costa Rica also very humid which the bedding is absolutely uncomfortable. The rooms are very small without any comfort. The bathroom is unfortunately just very dirty with plastic curtains and mold in every corner!! The towels are just dirty and extremely old. This hotel allows itself very high prices the location but invests zero in the well-being, comfort or hygiene of the guests. Do not worry about that!!!

Don't touch this hotel.

We stayed at La Cusinga for four nights and absolutely loved it. 

We were in Colibri 1, which is an absolutely massive room tucked right at the entrance to the property. The room is gorgeous, done in wood and stone to look very natural, with its own private porch looking out over the jungle to the sea. We were initially worried that we would hear lots of coming and going but we never heard anything other than rain and the jungle sounds, including howler monkeys! The beds are comfortable, with plenty of pillows. There's a ceiling fan as well as a floor flan to stay cool.

We loved:
*The poza: it's easy to get in and out of this gorgeous little pool and we had so much fun trying to swim through the current to the falls itself. We swam here two mornings (before rain made it too heavy) -- heaven! 
*The pool: really beautiful and the part shade is appreciated, as are the outdoor showers
*The staff: everyone was friendly and helpful -- especially Ángela at the front desk and Orlando in the restaurant. 
*The food: consisently good and always beautifully presented
*The beach: Don't miss this!! It's about a 20-25 minute hike (steep in several places), but it is so worth it. Obviously conditions can change so be aware when you go.. But, when we went, the waves were big enough to be fun but not so large that they were scary. There's a cave to explore, and two pretty little waterfalls at the jungle line to rinse off in.  We saw lizards, scarlet macaws, endless crabs, toucans and armadillos. It really did feel like a lost paradise as we were the only people there until another family arrived as we were leaving. It was incredible. 

On the property, we saw many birds, whales while we were eating breakfast, and a whole group of Capuchin monkeys which we were lucky enough to see right over our heads on the rope line near the pool. Our young teen particulary loved the big lizard 'Marty' who wanders around sometimes outside the restaurant and all the little lizards that climb the walls around the lookout.

One thing to be aware of is that the hotel is several miles outside Uvita -- if you don't have a car of your own, it's a 10$ taxi ride each way.

We had such an amazing stay!

Amazing stay on the cliffs

The hotel and its paths are an activity in themselves: beach walks, a natural pool, a swimming pool surrounded by vegetation, a beautiful sea whale viewing area, a restaurant with exquisite views and food... In addition to being a spectacular site, the added value is provided by the staff of the Lodge, all of whom are very attentive and strive to make your stay as special as possible.

La Cusinga Lodge

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