Mawamba Lodge

Mawamba Lodge is a cog in the Tortuguero sausage machine and whilst it is perfectly fine it rarely reaches beyond that. Having negotiated the boat-boarding bun fight to speed along the river to the lodge, the welcome is pleasant but seems to be little more than an opportunity to up sell more activities. The room was spacious, the bed and bathroom were more than large enough and the fans provided enough to keep things pleasant. As noted by others, the staff generally seemed unhappy and those in the restaurant either regularly had a bad day or had forgotten the basics of customer service. The grounds were interesting to wander around, plenty of sloth activity and other wildlife to see and one of the groundsmen showed us a small turtle he'd found and pointed out a bizarre wasp's nest. The guide who took us on a night walk was exceptional and we were fortunate enough to see both a Fer-de-lance and Eye-lash Viper. The lodge arranged for us to participate in a turtle nesting visit one night and we signed up but never felt comfortable. It felt disorganised, over-crowded and incredibly intrusive. Whilst we cannot know, it is not natural for a ranger to hold back a turtle's flipper so that we can all get a better view of the egg-laying. It felt wrong. It is a good money-spinning exercise but it is not clear what money is reinvested in the conservation efforts and who benefits. In hindsight it felt dirty to have participated. You visit Mawamba for the Caribbean coastal rainforest, sloths and other wildlife and to that end the box is ticked. It does its job but whether I'd recommend it is a different matter.

Overall a good stay and would stay here again but some things needed improvement and staff seemed unfriendly overall, not happy and could use more Pura Vida. Needing Improvement: -No hooks of any kind to hang bath towels, pool towels, wet swimsuits, etc. -Safe was unusable with broken lock and unbolted -Reception desk staff and restaurant staff unfriendly; more Pura Vida -no AC -broken lamp but fixed after two days -not the best food; first day vegan options were limited (soup only) but later improved - turtle tour is not explained well ahead of time. It is available 8-10 or 10-12 but you cannot choose the time only the park will tell you which, and it is better to do the later time if you want to See any turtles. Since we got up at 4:30 in the morning for a kayak tour we were too tired to wait up until 10 so we didn’t do the tour. What we liked: -Beautiful large grounds next to the beach and walking distance along the beach to town -room looking at the river -Swimming pool -great shower -refillable water - nice kayaking tour with guide

Of all the places we stayed in Costa Rica this was our least favorite. We actually only stayed one night after we booked 3. Room was so hot and humid. Shower has no lip so the water spreads through the bathroom. Staff mostly unfriendly and the iPads they have to carry in the restaurant feel so corporate and unlike the rest of tortuguero. The “tour” last over an hour and was mostly a lecture on why we could and couldn’t ask on it. It gave no info on the actual hotel or what to do there. Food was average and menu was boring- disconnected from the culture. Found a much nicer hotel in town with friendly staff, great food, better shower and closer to the national park. Ran down the beach to mawamba the next day and saw a miserable group collecting trash (a mawamba activity) and was so relieved we left. This place is a cash cow. The only A/C is in the gift shop- and that should tell you everything you need to know. We did see a sloth which was very cool— but I saw another closer to town. You won’t miss out on anything by not staying there. Staff seem underpaid and unhappy. When we left they didn’t seem to care we were there less than 24 hours

Fantastic gardens, lots of different plants, animals (sloths as well) very well kept. The hotel offers a free walking tour of the gardens which is really interesting. Rooms are spacious and clean (could be cleaner under the beds). The mosquito screens are good (not broken). No glass in the windows but that just adds to the fun as you can hear the jungle noises and you also get a kind of breeze during the night, ( we did not need the fans). Easy check in, straight from the boat Pablo welcome us and gave us all the info we needed and the room keys while we sipped ice cold fruit juices. Location is great, right on the turtles beach and a few minutes away from 'down town' Tortuguero. We took the morning boat tour with Eric in the river, and he was great, explaining everything about the animals we saw and history of the place. Now the negatives, we took the night turtles tour to see them laying the eggs. We sort of knew what we were there for however it turned out to be a really invasive experience and my wife, adult children and myself were not happy about it. You are told to wear dark clothes, not to use your phone, no lights, no loud voices...thats all ok. However, when the time came, to our surprise (horror) our guide Brian lifted or parted what looked to us like the back flippers to see the eggs falling, while he was lighting the eggs with his red light. The animal cannot stop laying eggs once it starts (as Brian told us) and he took advantage of that to touch the animal . Believe me, not a nice experience. We felt out of place. We understand it is good business, it not the right thing to do.in any case, we know there are other guides that would not touch the animals, and abide by the rules.

We spent three nights here as part of our tour around Costa Rica and this place is stunning and the staff are very helpful. The trips were great (boat trips to see the wildlife and the walk into the town itself was nice as well as the guided tour around the grounds where we got to see a Sloth actually moving) Food just like in all of costa Rica was simple but very tasty fare.