We stayed at Agua Dulce in the sping of 2011. I write this review late ,now, because we just booked our trip for 2012. We are going back! We enjoyed very much the hospitality at Agua Dulce. Every detail was handled seamlessly. Our reservation was actually made at that time through one of the lodge owners (Tom). He was great at answering our questions and putting together the trip details. He even set us up with his preferred taxi driver in San Jose. When we arrived at the lodge, Velma was there to greet us with a welcome cocktail and show us to our rooms. She was awesome the whole trip, she took care of us and handled our every request, from calling taxis and setting up tours for us, to serving us our delicious meals. She would ask us every morning what we wanted for dinner that night. And the food was awesome. We really enjoyed the quality of the fresh fruit. Oscar would make us a spectacular dinner every night, complete with a fantastic homemade dessert. One day upon our return to the lodge with a load of fish we caught that day, Oscar prepared a fantastic fish dinner for us, starting with tuna sashimi and then cooking several types of fish two or three ways. It was great. The entire staff was very friendly, polite and helpful. Even the grounds workers were super friendly. One of them...We stayed at Agua Dulce in the sping of 2011. I write this review late ,now, because we just booked our trip for 2012. We are going back! We enjoyed very much the hospitality at Agua Dulce. Every detail was handled seamlessly. Our reservation was actually made at that time through one of the lodge owners (Tom). He was great at answering our questions and putting together the trip details. He even set us up with his preferred taxi driver in San Jose. When we arrived at the lodge, Velma was there to greet us with a welcome cocktail and show us to our rooms. She was awesome the whole trip, she took care of us and handled our every request, from calling taxis and setting up tours for us, to serving us our delicious meals. She would ask us every morning what we wanted for dinner that night. And the food was awesome. We really enjoyed the quality of the fresh fruit. Oscar would make us a spectacular dinner every night, complete with a fantastic homemade dessert. One day upon our return to the lodge with a load of fish we caught that day, Oscar prepared a fantastic fish dinner for us, starting with tuna sashimi and then cooking several types of fish two or three ways. It was great. The entire staff was very friendly, polite and helpful. Even the grounds workers were super friendly. One of them befriended our wives and made it a point to come get them whenever the monkeys were around some area of the lodge. We felt like we were vacationing at our own private villa with a personal staff. (we stayed during the off season and for a couple of days, we were the only guests) A couple days into our trip, more rooms filled up and Tom the owner and his family arrived too. They were very helpful and nice. Tom even gave us a ride to the airport himself. The lodge is remote and secluded. It is right on the beach, which is nice. The surf was rough when we were there, nice to watch but not good for swimming. I don't think it is always that way, but I don't know. Its a great place for long walks. There is plenty of wild life around like monkeys and macaws. This beach is natural and beautiful in a rustic way. There are logs in the surf and hermit crabs in the grass. This is not a fancy, manicured beach. There are no beach umbrellas or sun tan lotion attendants. Just the natural beauty of the sea, the sand and the sound of the ocean breeze rustling through the palms. For us this is a great place to stay. It is not over the top luxury. It is a very nice lodge in a very rustic place. The staff is excellent and friendly.They will treat you like you are royalty.
The food is good. The rooms are nice and they are clean, and cleaned well every day. Everything seems to be maintained well. The grounds are constantly manicured, and the pool is cleaned at leat once a day. We had no problems with the appliances or plumbing in our rooms or any thing like that. Air conditioning and the cervesa mini fridge were a bonus too. The beds were comfortable for us, the furniture was clean and nice. We did not have any issues with bugs at all. Occasional gecko or little lizard here and there, but thats ok. We would have liked to have seen dressers and a room safe as well as wireless internet. Maybe they have dressers now. Tom indicated that was on the to do list-as this is a newly built and opened lodge.
The villas are a very nice arrangement for two couples. They are like two hotel rooms sharing a common sitting area and a common hot tub room. The lodge has a security guard patrolling the grounds all night. This added to our feeling of safety there.
You need to be able to plan your own fun here. This is not disney land. There are no yoga classes or activity night or any thing like that. That is just fine for us! But maybe not everyone.The night life at the lodge was non-existent while we were there, but we did walk to the bar at the neighboring resort one weekend night. (which was a little more lively)
We were happy to have most of our meals at the lodge. Town is a 10 minute or so taxi cab ride away, but did not look appealing for night life anyway. We had one fairly disappointing meal in town once. We were there to fish and also did some tours. We liked to hang out on the remote beach, and hike through the jungle on our own. The lodge was a great base of operations for us. For us, this was a great place to stay and enjoy this remote area, without having to give up basic luxuries. We just booked our trip for 2012. Can't wait to get back. As a side note, the fishing was excellent. We fished with Cory, the owner and fishing guide for Tropic Fins. They live in a house next door to the lodge. Best captain we have ever used, anywhere. Also, the big zip line is great ; and a local guide, Juan Carlos, does an excellent wildlife tour to Matapalo/Carate.More
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