​Beautiful grounds and amazing service, but the rooms and location are tough for families ​The Good Stuff (Pros): ​The Grounds & Pool: Absolutely beautiful and meticulously maintained. The pool area was a fantastic place to relax after a day of exploring. ​The Staff & Service: The team here is wonderful. Exceptional service across the board—everyone was incredibly welcoming, helpful, and kind. ​The Location & Getting to Town: ​A Bit Far Out: The lodge is a bit isolated from the main town. While it is technically possible to walk, doing so in heat or a sudden tropical thunderstorm could be a challenge. ​Transit Costs: Your other option is taking a boat, but at $16 each way for a family of 4, it gets pricey quickly. ​The Rooms (Cons): ​Size: The rooms are very small. While that might be fine for couples, it is a very tight squeeze for a family trying to manage luggage and space. ​Comfort & Cleanliness: This was the biggest drawback. There is no AC, which makes the small space feel even hotter. It also makes is difficult to sleep. More concerningly, the walls had visible blood splatters all over them—most likely from bugs getting splashed from a ceiling fan, though our family ended up making up some pretty wild, hilarious stories about what happened there! ​The Verdict: If you are planning to spend most of your time enjoying the gorgeous grounds, swimming, and interacting with the top-tier staff, you'll love the vibe. But if you are traveling as a family and want to venture out, be prepared for a cramped, hot room setup and some extra logistical planning (and budget) to get into town.

We loved our stay at Mawamba Lodge. The staff were all really friendly and approachable. The breakfast was delicious. The evening dinner menu in the restaurant was limited compared to other places we have eaten but it was tasty and it’s convenient because getting to and from town after the sun sets at 5:30 is not ideal. The pool area was lovely and the pool was a good temperature. The experience of sleeping in the jungle with no windows and hearing the noises of nature was unparalleled. We heard a torrential downpour of rain at the night while we were sleeping, which was incredible. We were woken by the sunrise and all the different bird calls. The room was beautiful. Showering “outside” (under a roof and within walls but with only netted windows) was really cool. Other reviews we had read beforehand said the rooms were uncomfortably hot but we didn’t agree. After the initial adjustment to the humidity in tortuguero as a whole, the room was really comfortable. We showered and then slept on top of the covers but both of us ended up under the blanket during the night. It really was brilliant and if anyone is being put off by any of the reviews here, ignore them and just book it. You won’t regret it.

We spent a wonderful time at Mawamba Lodge, a great chalet concept in a lush garden. The guided garden tour was impressive, showing a lot of different birds, iguanas, monkeys and flowers. Also the village tour gave some information and after the rain shower we strolled back, enjoying the pool. Next day excursion through the canals offered again a deep dive into nature and its habitat. Not to forget the delicious food - we enjoyed every moment and the transfers were perfectly managed. Thanks to all that made our days so memorable; we highly recommend a 3-night-stay to unwind and enjoy. Greetings from a couple with their teenage grand-son from Switzerland- Pura Vida🍀

This is a remote hotel that takes a boat ride to get here. But that is the whole point. Wonderful located on the edge of nature. The hotel has rustic but comfortable lodges. We had one for our kids with two double beds and we had our own lodge, side by side which was comforting. Food was ok. Prices a little higher for drinks. Fantastic service. Helpful staff. A well organized operation. Kids loved the pool. Tonnes of wildlife. Bursting! Sea is only a step away, but to rough to get in it. The beach side is not developed. Stayed for three nights. Could have easily done 4. Great Stay.

Positives: Breakfast is delicious, truly. Luxurious & generous with vast choice, mainly buffet both hot & cold but also an egg station. The pool is beautiful & bijou. Pool drinks & snacks were reasonable, with kind, quick & helpful service. Highly recommend the white sangria & ceviche. The decor of the lodge is lovely & unique, with lots of quirky surprises around all corners. Loved the little frog garden & the furniture in the reception area. Our welcome was fantastic with a much needed cold towel & complimentary, refreshing juice drink. While we were not told about this, the property is actually huge. We recommend going for a walk in the gardens where you can spot plenty of wildlife including hopefully a sloth or 2! The birds in the area are awesome - great time spent here lying by the pool, watching them all fly by. Our kayak tour was really fun, made even better because we got lucky & were the only people on this tour, so it was completely private. Our tour guide, George Brian was super cool, chilled, funny & helped us spot everything - different birds, iguanas, monkeys, a sloth.. all that we missed were the caymans. But we saw them on the boat ride over so no fomo. He also recommended we walk through the hotel's private gardens - a great suggestion. Negatives: Lack of A/C was stifling here - no air as the windows are shuttered. Some reception staff were more helpful than others - more information on what to do could have been provided. We were advised not to walk to/from Tortuguero at night due to the path being unlit & to take a taxi instead - this is partially untrue as half of it IS lit & the other half is dark but a phone torch is more than sufficient, plus there's lots of people around doing night tours. It was perfectly fine to walk. And we didn't see a single taxi because what was meant was a boat taxi though they didn't make this clear! While we knew WiFi was only available in common areas, it meant that these areas were constantly full of people so the reception area was always busy. The pool is gorgeous but too small for the amount of rooms - they need to build a second pool as while the expectation is guests are out for the day on tours, this may not always be the case. So the pool gets very full, loungers are few & usually in use. We got lucky both days but just. Saw many disappointed guests & even a loud argument break out over a sun lounger. We stayed in the cheapest room - Budget Twin. The beds were comfortable but there is no soundproofing at all with the room(s) next door, making our nights sleep very difficult especially since we had to be awake at 5am for a hotel tour. We were told to be ready for the tour at 545, but actually we left at 6 which is disappointing considering we didn't sleep well the night before due to noisy neighbours & could have used the extra 15 mins to sleep more. Lastly, the hotel can do more to improve its own accessibility. Rather than simply announcing that guests need to book a boat or plane to reach the lodge, why not have a generic email offering prices, boat times and book it for us? The hotel is happy to take payment for tours booked in advance, but not a boat trip to get to the hotel itself! I had to send many msgs to get the info I needed to organise our arrival - could have been made much easier for me by the hotel. Overall still a very good stay.