La Shamana - Ecological Concept in Jungle

We have booked a double room with terrace and ended up in a bungalow away from the main building. The room was nested between a family bungalow for four (with paper thin walls) and a construction place (a new bungalow is built). No need to say how noisy this was...and definitely not what we have booked nor what was shown on all the nice looking pictures. Besides this, we have paid twice due the hotel charging the credit card well ahead of the travel dates through a pretty dubious company: We had claimed this a fraught with the credit card company because we did not know the name and as a consequence had to pay again when arriving at the accommodation. As a result we were charged double (~500€ instead of ~250€) and no refund was given. According to the credit card company the accommodation did not confirm we have paid twice!!! Also, according to *********** the accommodation is not responding to their request either. If you can stay away, this is a scam!

We stayed for 5 nights at La Shamana Eco Lodge in the rain forest just outside Cahuita. It was an amazing experience that immersed us in the forest and allowed us to explore the wild life that it offers in total peace. The owner, Rossy, was very friendly and helpful. The room was lovely, with a large shower and private terrace. You have to bear in mind that this is an Eco Lodge and therefore some of the luxury that we expect in our modern world are restricted (i.e. hair dryer) as they are totally off grid, using natural water and solar panels. What we loved was sitting on our terrace at 6am and observing some of the animals that passed by. In our first 2 mornings we saw a family of howler monkeys (including babies), a coati, red faced vulture, toucan, forest crabs, hawks, beautiful butterflies, cane toad, orb spiders, green and black dart frog, humming birds, sloth, leaf cutting ants, leaf moth. There is also a lovely natural pool to cool down and relax after a busy day. The breakfasts were very good and we usually finished our coffee on the platform that allowed us to observe more wild life. Ideally you need a car as the basic road to the lodge is about a km long, otherwise you will need a taxi.

You will not be able to wear shoes which would not be a problem normally but at this hotel you will have to walk down 1in x4in planks that are loose and popping up at times several feet above the ground. Not having AC and hot water weren’t a big deal in October but I did not expect low safety standards. I felt like I was going to fall through the planks several times.

La Shamana is definitely all about the nature!!! The property is perfect to be away from it all, but make sure you have what you need before you head in for the day/night. The road in/out is a bit tricky, steep and rocky so 4x4 is a requirement. Also, for me, it felt like we needed to be super quiet to not disturb others at night... I am not sure if this the case, but worth an ask before booking if you have night owl tendencies like me because there is no one to ask at night besides the monkeys and sloths :-D

The lodge is great! it situated in the middle of the forest. Every morning we woke up to the roar of the howling monkeys and the chirping of the birds. The lodge is simple and we were disappointed that we could not prepare any hot drinks during our stay. The lodge offered paid breakfast only and fresh drinking water. If we want hot drinks, we had to drive to the nearest town.

My friend and I stayed at La Shamana for one night and it was such a lovely experience! We were greeted by Rossy who was so kind and welcoming. Our room was stunning with a beautiful view of the jungle and a great big shower. We could hear lots of nature sounds from our room and were woken by howler monkeys in the middle of the night - a bit of a scary sound at first, but it turned into kind of a beautifully unique experience (they are known to be the loudest land animal on earth!). Rossy made us a delicious breakfast in the morning which we had in the beautiful common area. I would definitely come back here on my next trip to Costa Rica and i would highly recommend this place to others!! A couple of things to note: 1) the road to get to La Shamana is a little bumpier but we were fine with our 2-wheeler (i think we would have had an issue if it was raining though)… 2) there is no air conditionning in the rooms, but we had a ceiling fan and it was very comfortable!

Nice stay! note that the lodge is 10 minutes far away from Cahuita by car for 5000 colones. Or if you have a car its olay Nice rooms and bathroom. Shared areas nice. Possibility of good breakfast and dinners. Owners kind :)

Lovely rooms and bathrooms. Wifi spotty. Instructions to find the lodge could be more explanatory and in English too. Cleaning staff helpful and friendly

The hosts were wonderful ..... waking up to the animals was a pleasure