Cristalino Lodge

The lodge is isolated but that is a major reason why you would go there. It's location in the forest makes it a very peaceful place. |Our room was very comfortable even though it was not air conditioned, the fan kept the air circulating. The bed was comfortable and there were good lights for reading in bed. |The shower was strong and hot and well lit. The sink counter was large. Towels were plush.|Fresh water was supplied and filled regularly and the room serviced twice a day.|The food was excellent for all the meals. Breakfast was the best we had in our 1 month stay.|The staff were wonderful. Friendly and very helpful. Bruno our nature guide was excellent. He had so much knowledge of the plants, amphibians,reptiles and birds and a very nice polite respectful young man who also helped with translating when the other staff were unable to understand what we wanted.

I would have liked to have given Cristalino 5 stars for the stunning location,the quality of the guide, the experience,the food and the accommodation. However our visit was negatively impacted by finding we were not spending our time in peace and tranquillity but instead with a group of 31 participating in ‘Children’s week’ so were surrounded by pre-schoolers, a number of which ran amok at dinner screaming and shouting while others unfortunately had tantrums. I have 4 sons myself and I love children but think it entirely inappropriate to mix a small number of regular guests (8-10) in an expensive and remote eco lodge renowned for its tranquillity with a large specialty group like this. It is not fair on either group. I applaud Cristalino in introducing children to such incredible nature but please make other guests aware when booking so you have a choice on whether to share that time with numerous pre-schoolers or not.|After 2 days the staff realised how intrusive the group was and they tried to stagger dinner time to ameliorate the problem and it was certainly better for our last two days.|We loved our time on the river, up the towers, in the kayaks and on the trails with our fabulous and extremely knowledgeable guide Bruno. We saw fabulous birds,otters,tapirs,a deer and heard a puma as well as viewing spectacular birds. Cristalino is a very special place where you get a real sense of the atmosphere of the Amazon. Just a pity this feeling was unable to be replicated at dinner!

We stayed for 3 nights in August - the dry season - and were incredibly impressed. The birdlife and wildlife is fantastic (we were particularly focused on birds - and there were good opportunities in the towers and in bird hides for particular species). Spending time on the river itself was fantastic, seeing many things come to the waters edge, as well as specific hikes and activities. The lodge itself was really impressive - all meals, the layout of it and the standard. We stayed in a Junior Bungalow and it was incredible. Probably the best type of rainforest lodge we have stayed in before. We would definetely go back - not least of which because we really got the sense the area was being protected well by the Foundation.

We arrived by boat on a very hot day, around 38C/100F. It was 2pm and, after a flight, a one hour car drive on a dirt road and 30min boat trip (with no roof) under the sun, I was yearning for a cold long shower in a fresh room. You won't believe this but when I entered the room, a bungalow in the rainforest, there was NO a/c at all, just two fans. The temperature inside the room was much higher than outside. I promise, it was like entering an oven!!! I just couldn't believe it! This is a place that charges $800/1.000 per night! I nearly had a claustrophobic breakdown thinking of being trapped in the place for days with no escape from the terrible heat. When I told the manager, with an interpreter because he only speaks Portuguese (...), he said it was a specially designed architecture with natural ventilation... I gave him a piece of my mind about that in no uncertain terms. The natural ventilation didn't seem to work very well as long as inside the room the temperature was at least 43C/110F. Of course any hotel can choose not to have a/c, but, being in a tropical country, they MUST advertise it in their website, so that people know what to expect. |And that was not all: the following day, after a very poor sleep night, I discovered a communal room with a/c (switched off). They kept the information at the arrival briefing...|Finally: the place has pretensions of fine dining, but you have to keep your dirty cutlery all the meal, in the bathroom there are just two towels per person, one middle size and one large, no hand towels, no tissues, no umbrellas in the room (this is the rainforest...), only at the restaurant, no phone to communicate with the communal areas quite far away, no fridge in the room. |There is a floating deck, very different looking from the picture on the website, but no cushions on the wooden sun loungers, very hard and uncomfortable. |In the evening, despite the very high temperatures, they lit a large smoky fire in the open restaurant, just to be a bit more cosier...|Our guide, Francisco, a mine of informations about birds and all things about the Amazon, was by far the best thing of the lodge. |Think twice before going to this place, unless you absolutely love birds and do not care about anything else. We had an early departure and I was glad to see the lodge fading away down the river...

The food is top notch... like eating at a high end restaurant. But we didn't go for the food lol! We went to experience the Amazon and explore the birds. The rooms were also very nice, roomy, clean, comfortable. Service was great. It is a long journey to get there: we flew from Cuiaba to alta floresta, then had a very bumpy ride for 90 minutes, then a 30 minute boat ride. The only unfortunate thing is that we ended up with a guide who knew a lot about birds, but not a lot about customer service and making sure everyone was keeping up or doing OK. I'm sure most of the guides were excellent.

Lovely lodge set on river.||Accommodation - has lovely bungalow style houses.||The food was amazing - 3 courses a day and the way they were presented with so much detail and flavour.||Good guides with lots of knowledge and a range of trips on river and walking trials spotting wildlife.||It is a bit of a trip to reach lodge but very much worth it!

Amazing experience where everyday is so different and relaxing. Breakfast was terrific and the guide Fabricio incredibly inspiring and authentic. By the time I left I felt a deep connection with the Amazon due a lot to my experience at the hotel.

We spent 4 nights, 3 full days at the lodge. Our guide tailored the excursions to our interests while providing insight into the Amazon biome. Caio was incredibly knowledgeable and our boatman Thio was overflowing with knowledge from 23 yrs of guiding. The sunrise tower experience was our favorite. We loved the river excursions and kayaking. |Our room was very comfortable and we were blessed to be upgraded to the only unit with a/c. The food is excellent tho a bit too gourmet for my taste. |Be prepared for the heat. Few bugs when we were there but bring a spray with DEET. The Pia type is useless. Saw lots of wildlife and beautiful birds but from a distance. Very nice setting to unwind.