Cotococha Amazon Lodge - Napo River Lodge

Slept great, the thunder and.lightning frequently over Rio Napo just north of the lodge was fitting backdrop, the service from Darwin, Mimi, and Jessy--all of whom had to tackle multiple tasks in reception, bartending, and the restaurant: all were welcome. Therefore, service could slow, but who's rushing in this splendid lodging. The room was Spartan. Two tiny bedside tables with wee lamps and miniscule drawers. No chest. A big fan, a short day bed, a double bed, two towels, two pillows, a small set of hangers on a rolling base, and full-length mirror. Some reviewers complained about sheets and water, but a sign explains that if you want to enjoy the. Amazon, it's part of the deal for us pampered clientele. You can always hang clothes out the short balcony. Trouble is, no chairs inside or out there, which detracts from a chance to commune with the chorus of frogs, birds and chitterers who serenade. Low water pressure, tepid, and no matter what setting the shower never got warm. I'd have a map of the grounds when checking in handed out, as many customers come after dark. There was a old-wood one carved high over the drive-in gate, but it's not easy to discern due to its height and the glare off the surface. And I never found out the site of the biblioteca. By the way, it helps a lot if you speak Spanish. We thought the food exceeded our admittedly modest expectations, at least by usual Ecuadorian standards. Our complimentary breakfasts were hearty. Both the muchines (cassava cheese fried fritters), and shukluka (here, more like tomato soup leftovers with two slices of hard white bread) filled me. One came with a sweet coca? Yuca? cold drink, the other with Mora juice. Those who ate maitos (similar to steaming a food in foil and banana leaves) were pleased, as was I by a yuca-cassava cream soup. They had a few drinks (kind of pricy as a bottle of Bandido craft beer cost $5). Anyhow, the other caution is when walking the rocky trails especially at night. There are dark passages with no indication of places to twist an ankle, or in my case, trip flat on my face, enough to bruise ribs. Finally, while the Rio Ball location is lovely, the property is jammed between river and road...which gets quite noisy, although it looks when arriving that like!y, you'll be sole guests in a totally removed forest paradise. More big trucks, the everpresent motorcycles, and Dopplered whining tires in the air. We kept the fan on full force both nights, but even that failed to mute the busy traffic.

In a jungle hostel I did not expect to be 5m from the road, woken up multiple times every night by trucks and busses. The cold pool looks good but the hot tub is only just warm with broken jets. My girlfriend received a shock from our electric shower which spat water out like an acupuncture session. The food was bland and expensive (2-3 times the price of comparative Ecuadorian meals). I had to ask for more before I started, the portion was so miserly. The atmosphere of the hostel is nice and we had fun at kareoke and the employees are pleasant, but I would not stay here again.