El Valle Lodge

The location of the lodge is undeniably beautiful — surrounded by raw jungle and just a 5-minute walk from a peaceful, untouched beach. If you’re looking for nature, it’s all around you. Unfortunately, the experience inside the lodge was deeply disappointing and even unsettling.||To begin with, finding the place was a challenge. The Google Maps location is incorrect, and the access road was partially collapsed. With no phone signal in the area, we had to walk for over 40 minutes to find the lodge, and when we finally arrived, we were told with a smile, “You came from the wrong way.”||Our "room" was not a room in any conventional sense. It had no solid walls — just vertical bamboo sticks with large open gaps. As a result, the room was completely exposed to the jungle, with no protection against wildlife, insects, or even people. I found a large tarantula just two meters from my bed, and I didn’t sleep a single minute that night.||There was no lock on the door, no curtains, no way to secure your belongings. The room had no shelves, no table, not even a small nightstand. There was no refrigerator, and hardly any lighting. Even more disturbing, there appeared to be a camera installed above the door, pointing toward the bed area — a serious breach of privacy.||Despite advertising that “Wi-Fi is available everywhere,” there was no Wi-Fi signal in the room. When we reported this, the staff made no effort to assist or follow up. The mosquito net above the bed was ineffective, and I was covered in painful bites from large jungle mosquitoes. The room felt more like a poorly built shelter than a place prepared to host guests.||Dinner was a fixed $30 menu with no options, and when we asked what dessert was, the answer was: “It’s a surprise.” There were no other food choices, and no flexibility for dietary needs.||I understand that an eco-lodge is meant to be rustic — I have stayed in many across the world — but this was not rustic, it was careless. The lack of basic guest safety, hygiene, comfort, and privacy was unacceptable. No lighting on the trails, no secured entrance, no infrastructure to prevent jungle creatures from wandering in, and no thoughtful guest service.||This could be a wonderful destination if managed responsibly, but as it stands now, I cannot recommend it — especially to solo travelers, families, or anyone expecting a safe and restful stay.

I really wanted to enjoy my stay at this eco-lodge nestled deep in nature — and to be fair, the location itself is quite beautiful. It's surrounded by lush tropical forest, and the beach is just a pleasant 5-minute walk away. The concept of being immersed in the wild is appealing in theory. However, the reality of the experience was deeply disappointing and even alarming. The path leading to the lodge is partially collapsed in places, making the approach tricky and dangerous — especially since the Google Maps location is inaccurate, and we spent over 40 minutes trying to find the place on foot, with no phone signal, and received a dismissive "You came from the wrong way" once we finally arrived. Upon reaching the room, we were shocked to find that the "walls" were nothing but vertical bamboo sticks, meaning there was no real separation from the outside jungle. There was no lock on the bamboo door, and when I asked about security, the owner simply said, “We have a night guard.” That answer did not inspire much confidence, especially after I found a large tarantula (about the size of my palm) sitting right outside our door — just two meters from the bed. Understandably, I could not sleep the entire night. To make matters worse, I later noticed what appeared to be a camera positioned above the door, possibly pointed toward the bed. This raised serious concerns about privacy and personal space, especially given the room's completely open structure. While I don't suffer from arachnophobia, encountering a spider that large next to an unsecured sleeping space in the middle of the night is not something most guests would feel safe with — especially in a room that offers zero physical protection from insects or animals. The mosquito net over the bed was ineffective, and I was bitten all over by large mosquitoes throughout the night. Other issues: There’s no lighting around the lodge paths at night, making it hard (and even scary) to move around. The dinner was a fixed $30 menu with no options, and when we asked about dessert, the reply was simply, “It’s a surprise.” Despite advertising “Wi-Fi everywhere,” there was absolutely no Wi-Fi reception in the room, and the staff’s response was essentially to shrug it off. While I understand that an "eco-lodge" is meant to be rustic, there’s a big difference between eco-friendly and inadequately planned and poorly managed. The complete lack of basic guest security, lighting, communication, and consideration for comfort or dietary needs made this stay not just uncomfortable — but, at times, frightening. I would not recommend this lodge unless significant improvements are made. A beautiful location alone is not enough when the guest experience feels so careless and unsafe.

It takes a little time to reach to this place, roads are not well but it totally worth the experience. It is literally in the middle of the jungle, the houses are not closed, they are open, no window, no doors… Breakfast is okay, they serve fruits, eggs, bread, coffee and fresh fruit juice. It is 5-8 minutes far by walking to the beach.

What a beautiful place. It was our first time in El Valle and the experience from within the lodge made it all more exotic and memorable. There’s a river running through the property land, and every cabin is hidden in the same jungle ecosystem of the property itself. Nature is truly ALL around. Keep in mind it’s super humid and there will be bugs but fortunately all beds have their own insect nets 💫 unique experience, will recommend !

What a beautiful place this could be. It’s actually been designed with a lot of love. The rooms are high-quality and beautiful, the entire property is a dream and also the closeby beach is amazing Unfortunatly the service was just awful. I didn’t experience anything like this during my entire trip in Samaná. When we arrived, there was no Manager arround until the next day. So no one informed us about trips, activities etc. The women at the bar were just sitting on their iPhones and clearly had no interest in working. We were starving after our journey, but they had nothing to offer, not even fruits or a juice, and no one gave us any information about where we could get something to eat. The manager wasn’t on site, and the staff seemed disinterested and clueless. There was a yoga schedule in the room, but when I showed up at the yoga dome at 8 a.m., the next morning, there was no one there. When I asked about it, the staff had no idea what I was talking about. As for the food – for $25 we didn’t even bother trying it. All they offered was a salad and gnocchi… at that price? An insult in Samaná. We where reading that the owner is a very good chef, which was a reason for us to book there. But the owner was not around. There wasn’t even a bottle of water in the rooms, something we found in every other accommodation – even the most basic ones – throughout our stay in Samaná. What a shame. With just a bit more effort and proper training, this place could be a true paradise! I still hope they will make some changes so this place can be what it deserves.

The experience and staying on this beautiful place was a unique and peaceful, with the own river, walk trail direct to the ocean beach, nature forest bird paradise; with own food restaurant. Very thankful with the workers and owner Carolina for your dedicated attentions, lot of thanks And recommend place for visit

The stay at el Valle lodge is not only magical, but welcoming, warm, boutique, private. The place is beautiful, not only the fantastic landscape in which the hotel is immersed but also, the way the lodge is immersed and combined with nature, it’s just the perfect match. It’s natural and also comfortable. You have wifi access, amazing breakfast, and just a couple minutes from the beach. Service is very good as well, people there are welcoming and will make your experience soothing and friendly.

We stayed in El Valle Villas and came here for dinner every night. The food is incredible. 3 course meal for $25. The highlights were the pumpkin, leak soups, broccoli quiche and the maracuyá cocktail with coconut cream.