Pachira Lodge

I stayed here for two nights with my tour group and is one of my most favorite places in Costa Rica. The grounds are beautiful with monkeys and wildlife and many plants and trees. The rooms are quite adequate clean and the housekeeping is excellent. The food is institutional buffet. I highly recommend this hotel if you’re staying in the Tortuguero area.

Great riverside location with comfortable rooms, nice gardens and swimming pool located just across the water from the town and the beach of the Caribbean Sea. Super variety of wildlife including Iguanas, Basilisks and Monkeys to name a few. Knowledgeable guides made the world of difference! The weather was kind for the end of May with just one very wet night!

My husband and I stayed at Pachira lodge from March 19 - 21, 2025. We had a wonderful time! ||While we booked through a travel agent, our stay was the 3 day/2night package offered on the lodge website which included all transfers, guided tours, and meals. ||All of the staff were very friendly; every single one would stop to say hello/buenos dias, with many pointing out animals/birds nearby and one gentleman helping us when we got turned around when looking for our lodge haha. ||Our guide was Fernando and he was very knowledgeable and spoke fluent English and Spanish. He was patient with everyone and was just as excited to see the wildlife as the guests were. ||On the first day, we went across the river to the local village on the other side and briefly stopped by the beach (not safe for swimming due to riptides). The following morning we joined the boat tour on the river to look for wildlife and it was very successful seeing many iguana, basilisks, bats, various herons, and a sloth. ||There is plenty of wildlife to be seen right on the lodge grounds as well if you keep your eyes open. We saw a couple sloths (one right beside our cabin), howler monkeys, spider monkeys, raccoons, butterflies, birds of all kinds, crabs, lizards, spiders and insects. ||Fernando also took us on a guided hike around the trails on the grounds of the lodge and explained some of the natural history and later that night he also led a night hike which produced some neat insects we didn't see during the day. ||The food at the lodge was amazing and the cost of the mixed drinks was less than at any of the other hotels/lodges during our stay. The pool and hot tub were clean and the paths were kept clear of debris. I liked that they kept the leaves on the ground under the plants for the native insects to use as some of the other lodges we stayed at were kept very "sterile".

Ray,our guide was excellent. So knowledgeable and enthusiastic. He made certain we knew where to be, what to expect, what we needed to bring or wear. |The resort is beautiful with wildlife everywhere! Rooms are spacious and clean though it would be nice to have more surfaces available to place suitcases, etc. instead of on the floor. |Food was ok, but as a celiac the lack of variety and knowledge is a concern. Despite being assured that the food I chose or had prepared specifically for me was gluten free, I was in discomfort following all my meals.

I was very impressed with the service as well as the friendly staff who are always there to answer any questions you may have . The food was exceptional with plenty of options . The guide Ray was very informative and very friendly . .We got to experience a very rare occasion of Spider Monkeys hanging very low and walking and playing on the ground . Quite amazing since it is a very reset occurrence according to our guide . Be prepared for the rain since you are in a rain forest area. .The rooms needed air conditioning , and it is quite humid here . It is an awesome experience so glad that I was able to experience .

Fantastic start to our Costa Rica holiday. Lovely hotel and staff. Quite noisy with all the animals day and night...but this just added to the wonderful rain forest experience!! Ray was our guide for most of our time there ... and what a guide...he was a proper Dr Dolittle...calling to the animals...he was a true expert in every bit of nature...fantastic. We could listen to him all day!! Would highly recommend. Thanks so much for a wonderful experience 😊

We booked onto a two night, three day package with Pachira Lodge, including transfers, hotel, all meals, and all tours. The organisation of the trip as a whole was excellent - transfers were on time, guides knew exactly who they should be picking up and when we should arrive, and timings for meals and tours were exactly right. Transfers to and from Tortuguero were on comfortable coaches. The boats to take you to and from Pachira Lodge and on your tours appeared safe and in good condition, with dedicated drivers. ||The Lodges are a little basic but very clean, they had nice bathrooms with eco friendly toiletries to use. We were a couple but were put in a room with two double beds, which gave us one bed to pack on which was nice! The grounds and gardens of the lodge itself are well kept but still allowed to be a bit wild, which encourages animals like howler and spider monkeys, sloths, toucans, tree frogs, and armadillos to visit the lodge. The pool area is beautiful and clean, and a particular highlight was sitting in the pool in the afternoon watching the monkeys, toucans and parrots feed in the trees around the pool area. There a self guided rainforest walk you can do in the lodge area in your free time, which was lovely to wander on our own without a big group.||Food is served buffet style but is of a good quality, there was always plenty available and you could order freshly made meals such as pasta and omelettes. There was always a selection of fruit and vegetables, being vegetarian wasn't an issue. ||Our guide for our tours, Julio, was fantastic. He was friendly, knowledgeable, and informative. He has worked in Tortuguero for many years and clearly knew the area really well and cared for it deeply, which was lovely to see. I hope he continues to use his skills to guide tourists around this beautiful area for many years to come!||Tortuguero itself is stunning and well worth a visit when you're in Costa Rica. Because it's one of the rainier areas of the country, the rainforest is particularly stunning and very different from the Pacific side of the country. Overall we had an amazing trip and would definitely return next time we're in Costa Rica.

Firstly how exciting it was to board a boat to travel to our hotel! We then arrived at the most beautiful and tranquil setting. It was pure joy staying in this little corner of heaven. We really enjoyed the trips on the water and the walks through the abundant rainforest surrounding the hotel - there were several sloths in the trees, so that was a treat! Our guide throughout was Ray, whose knowledge and passion for the area and wildlife was amazing. All the staff were very friendly and helpful. The only thing that was a little disappointing was the food. It was adequate, but there was definitely room for improvement. Otherwise we spent a memorable 3 days