ScottNewportCoast_CA
Google
We arrived in early May. After the boat ride, we checked in at the front reception desk. There, you can pay for your roundtrip boat trip, however use cash to avoid extra cost only for the boat tickets. You can use a credit card for the rest of the final tab without fees..| |We were assigned our favorite room #36, which is the Bungalow cabin at the farthest end of the complex. |The room was quite large with screen windows, and a changing area of enormous proportions, probably due to the fact that the room did not have a bathtub but instead had a wood deck in its place. There was pump soap and a hairdryer, and a basket with extra pool towels. There is a room safe, and plenty of electrical outlets. Two wall mounted fans and a ceiling fan provided air movement. No wifi here at this distance from the reception area.||There was minimal privacy even at best with our cabin. Windows in front have privacy shutters, but in this climate most people keep them open to catch a breeze. Expect this, it’s no big deal, but you are close enough to hear your neighbor’s conversations. On occasion some hikers will pass by on their way to the jungle trail and garden of torch ginger just beyond #36. The trails loop back to the entrance and don’t connect to other properties.||We should note that during the daytime, Rooms 21-28 had some kind of mechanical humming or pump sound coming from behind them. I would have been annoyed if I were in those rooms.||We spent peaceful hours on the boat launch deck that extended into the canal in front of our unit. We watched lightning in the distance, and experienced the rocking wave of our floating deck whenever a boat motored past our area. We watched the oropendula birds fighting in the hanging nests in the trees in front of our unit. The lodge and the entire area feel far from civilization. ||Dinners at the Mawamba Lodge restaurant were quite good and not unreasonable when we got the final room bill. On our first night we had grilled tilapia in a delicious tamarind sauce, accompanied by plantain and cooked vegetables, zucchini, green beans, and carrots. All perfectly done. We split a bottle of generic French white blend wine, La Vieille Ferme. Two dinners cost $32.52, and the wine bottle was $17.88 USD. |On our second night we had grilled chicken entrees in a similar sauce as the previous night and shared dessert, $38.21. Each had an Imperial beer, $10.57 for two. All in all, better than expected in both quality and price. We had a non-alcoholic smoothie at the pool for $5.69. There is a 13% tax (I.V.A.) and mandatory service fee of 10%. Breakfasts were included with the room cost and were very good. We liked the pancakes. |While the room cost was a bit steep (2 nights, $448 + $58 tax = $506), overall it was worthwhile, a good travel experience .
