Lauraceas Lodge

We stayed 3 nights as part of a birding tour in Costa Rica. Lauraceas Lodge was one of our favourite spots. I do prefer the temperature in the higher altitude of the Talamanca mountains, and daytime temperatures at the lodge was fine with me. It does get a little chilly at night but the beds have plenty of blankets. The restaurant food was great (we ate there for breakfast, lunch and dinner) - avocado with just about everything. The peach juice was very nice. Coped fine with vegetarian and gluten free needs. The rooms are large, with spacious shower and a lounge/deck area overlooking the river. My only complaint is that at night the lighting in the room isn't adequate - we needed a torch to find things. Modern LED lighting could quickly fix this without increasing the power bill. The laundry service was quick but on the expensive side. The rooms had a jug and coffee maker which worked. (There was no safety deposit box in the room). WiFi was fine. I would prefer to stay here again rather than at the nearby and much more popular Savegre hotel. Lauraceous was much quieter.

Lovely individual cabins on the Valley floor. Large room, large bathroom, and large sitting area - with outside porch. The cabins seem right in the parking lot, but once you are inside the cabins, the elevation is such that you see over the parking area, and you see the river. Beautiful avocado orchard behind the cabins. The gardens and bushes around the property are full of hummingbirds, and other birds. Breakfast was good, served in the restaurant beside checkin. There is a bar and coffee shop there too. Very quiet property even though it is close to the road. Liked that there was a kettle and French Press coffee pot in the room, with fresh local coffee in a jar and teas. Lots of great restaurants within walking distance, or a short drive away. The Lauraceas Gardens nearby are gorgeous and a great place to see birds, etc. A 4x4 SUV is recommended for the road into the valley. It is quite steep in places and some unpaved portions. It was dry when we were there but I can imagine it might be a challenge if wet.

The cabins are really nice. Bedding, shower, etc. restaurant was superb and everyone there so sweet and accommodating. The garden that is mentioned is quite a hike away and really not very “birdy”. I will add that this lodge is by no means secluded or remote as it faces a busy road. Not for serious birders.

I regret booking this place. Its in a nice area but I think our stay would have been better with a place off the main road and with heat. Even with the little heater they supplied, the room was COLD in the morning!! My guess would be about 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Second night was a little warmer, maybe 60 degrees. If you are still up in the dark, cars go by and can see what you are doing. There's a drape that separate's the beds from the sitting area but I dont like to feel like a fish in a fish bowl while I sip on my coffee at 5am. Its a newer place so the smells are annoying. The bed covers are not washed every stay so I worried about the sheets. The smells are my mixed review. Nothing smelled fresh. Pillows are terrible! Hard and flat. No coosh (my word) and with my headache from altitude, I didnt sleep but 3 hours a night. Breakfast was okay, not amazing. And I dont know what everyone is talking about when they say the owners are a family and so nice and friendly. We didnt experience this. We were uncomfortable with "her" personality. We met one girl and tried to avoid her because I felt like a nuisance. I gave this a one star because I think the rating needs to be knocked down. Not worthy at all of anything over 3 stars. And I must mention, we are not a difficult couple. We are passive and enjoy all walks of life.

I didn’t actually stay at the lodge, but I can highly recommend the restaurant and gardens about 200 meters down the road. I had noticed the gardens on previous visits, but never visited until this past March. Absolutely beautiful, including whimsical garden ornaments and rustic planters. Far more than I expected from the garden, with a beautiful loop walk with quite an elevation gain. At the beginning you will see walking sticks offered—take one! We then stopped in the restaurant two different times for a delicious smoked trout bruschetta appetizer, once for coffee, another for a cold drink, and one night for dinner! it was really good and reasonably priced. In previous stays in the Savegre Valley we tended to eat at the lodges where we were staying. It was nice to branch out a little.

Sobre el restaurante: la comida es deliciosa, probablemente el mejor restaurante de la zona, pero el servicio deja muchisimo que desear. Vinimos a comer y andábamos con una mascota pequeña. Nos adaptamos a la zona "pet friendly" que es básicamente afuera del restaurante y sin techo ni cobertura ninguna. Al preguntarle a la salonera qué pasaba si llovía la respuesta fue: "se mojan". Cero empatía o servicio al cliente como para al menos dar una respuesta mejor. Y pues como suponíamos, estábamos empezando nuestro almuerzo cuando llovió fuerte y de repente. Nadie salió para ayudarnos a meter los platos, los cuales pedimos para llevar, y mi esposa se quedó afuera mojandose con la mascota mientras empacaban y ni un paraguas del servicio le acercaron. Somos clientes por años, pues cada que venimos a la zona pasamos y probablemente sigamos haciendolo, pero hoy fue una decepción. Si por venir con mascota van a entregar un servicio de menor calidad mejor del todo no decir que son pet friendly, o al menos hacer un pequeño techo.