Evergreen Lodge

That was the warning sign at the boat dock upon arrival at Evergreen Lodge in Tortuguero. We stayed in one of their bungalow surrounded by rain forest foliages. The bungalows were far enough part to have privacy. Beware that there are no windows to close within the bungalows, just screens. Inside was one large room with two beds and a separate bathroom. A ceiling fan helped with comfort. Cellular was virtually nonexistent, isolated 3G on occasions. Working Wi-Fi was weathered dependent. We were told monkeys (didn’t see any) and other critters were all around. We were warned not to touch any colorful wildlife (toads/frogs) because those are usually poisonous. There were walkable trails that led to other nearby resorts. A “turtle shaped” swimming pool for guests to use. On our first overnight, we were awakened by loud sounds similar to gunfires or firecrackers. Some sounds were distant and some on top of us. They told us that sounds were branches or other things falling onto the metal roofs of the bungalows. Metal roofs amplified the sounds. Nightly we received deluges of rain which probably accounted for the falling branches. There was so much precipitation in this rain forest that the water rose over the dock in the morning. We ate buffets at their dining hall. Choices were adequate, but definitely not gourmet. They can made omelets during breakfast and pasta of you choice during dinner. The staff were helpful, nice and accommodating.

The place is truly beautiful, although nothing particularly outstanding compared to other hotels in the area, as the beauty comes from the surrounding nature (and you really are surrounded!) Food options are limited, and range from bad to mediocre. A safe is provided, and make sure to leave EVERYTHING in there, as we "lost" some cash that was in my wallet next to the safe while we were on a boat ride and the room was being cleaned. I reported this to the hotel management and they simply "interviewed" the member of staff who denied it and they said there was nothing to do. I would recommend that you avoid this place (and the other properties owned by the same group, Pachira and Aninga) and instead opt for one where your belongings won't grow legs and walk away

It gives you a legit jungle experience. The only way in or out is by boat. You stay in a cabin that is nice but has no air conditioning, does have a ceiling fan and windows are screens. You can easily find wildlife anywhere you walk on your way to the restaurant or to the turtle shaped pool. Delicious meals are served buffet style by very attentive and polite staff. If you are squeamish about spiders or lizards, you will probably not enjoy this place because they are abundant. But also abundant are 3 species of monkeys and some sloths and iguanas just to name a few. The howler monkeys will let you know when they are awake. If you get a chance to do the sea turtle tour, do it, it’s amazing.

We spent three days and two nights here and enjoyed three inclusive tours as well as a fourth additional Canoe tour. Food was excellent, service impeccable and the room was extremely comfortable. The tour guides worked so hard and showed us wildlife and facts we would never have seen or known without thier expertise and experience. Fully recommend this location. Relaxing and exciting. Perfection.

A very authentic experience of staying in the middle of a tropical rainforest. The only way there is a very uncomfortable boat ride, however the experience is worth it. You stay in individual forest chalets, rustic, basic but clean and everything works. Being woken up at dawn by howling monkeys, whose calls are quite remarkable, booming through the whole forest, was a new and remarkable experience. The food is also very good indeed. A thoroughly enjoyable experience.

It took a 1.45-hour coach ride from Le Ceibo Restaurant followed by a 1.5-hour boat ride to arrive at the Evergreen Lodge in the middle of the rainforest on the banks of one of the channels just outside the national park. Our room for two nights was a wooden cabin set on stilts surrounded by rainforest. Good points about the hotel – the reservation includes full board and all the trips which in our case was two guided short walks spotting wildlife in the rainforest around the hotels and a pre-breakfast 1.5-hour boat ride through the channels of the national park. There was also a trip to the local town, but we decided not to go as it wasn’t turtle season and we had read reports that it was very touristy and expensive. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were buffet style and were served for you. Quite a few choices including a cooking station at breakfast & lunch, desserts plus tea & coffee which also had to be served for you which was a little frustrating as would have preferred self-service. There was water and squash at all meals. Other drinks including beer and wine were offered at dinner, but we had a drink at Bar Basilliscus (one of three bars) before going to dinner. This bar had a lovely position right on the edge of the channel so good at sunset although we did often have to hunt out the barman plus pay as you go (with card). I ordered a Guaro Sour on both evenings we were there, and both were completely different and nothing like the Guaro Sours I’d had anywhere else, but they were drinkable. There are also two restaurants at the lodge and which one you go to depends on your room number. We didn’t experience queues for food while there which we read was a problem, but we did get seated for our first meal on a table with four strangers none of whom spoke English. After we’d finished, I went to reception and requested a table for two which we got from then on. There were also two swimming pools, one small one with no loungers and a larger turtle shaped one with a few loungers. Not so good points – the rooms are quite basic with a ceiling fan and safe but no A/C (mainly as there is only mesh for windows), no hairdryer and the (open) Wi-Fi was ok but you had to regularly log back on. Being in the middle of the rainforest it was mosquito heaven; we used deterrent regularly but still got a few bites. Saying that we saw very few other insects and contrary to other reviews found none in our room. There was also no chance of drying anything, in fact all our clothes felt damp and didn’t dry out until we moved onto our next hotel. The animals we saw on both our guided walks and boat tour were very limited. We did see a couple of agoutis regularly outside our room and did hear howler monkeys but didn’t see them. We were very disappointed by our guided walks as most of the insects and animals we saw were found by my husband or other members of the group. There were also far too many people on each walk so couldn’t see much. We were also at the ba