Akwaba Lodge Island Boutique Hotel

Los dueños son encantadores, Natalie siempre atenta a todo. Nos organizó todas las excursiones y no tuve que preocuparme de nada. El alojamiento es maravilloso en plena naturaleza. Un sitio perfecto para desconectar. Y el desayuno cada día muy muy bueno. Sin lugar a dudas repetiría.

Nada.

The owners JC & Nat are really lovely people and the location is in a beautiful spot - it’s lovely waking to the sounds of the jungle. In contrast to other reviews, I thought the breakfast was absolutely fine. The bread is fresh & delicious and Nat’s homemade jam is lovely too. Given the size of the lodge facilities and number of guests I don’t feel it’s reasonable to expect a huge variety or a buffet to suit everyone’s individual wants. The coffee served is from Costa Rica and is very good. We also had dinner in the restaurant one night and enjoyed it, but also made use of the facilities in our kitchen to make dinner - we have been travelling for almost a year so it’s nice to not have to eat out every night. The kitchen spaces were well equipped. There is free access to kayaks, which we used to go across to Red Frog Beach. It takes about 40mins there and back. The beach is lovely, the chicken wings at the beach club are decent too. Wishing Nat & JC all the best.

It would be remiss of me not to call out the family of six bats living above the front door of Jungle House 1, as I left feeling like there was no plan to remove them in an appropriate way or make any mention of them living there when advertising that house so that future guests had a heads up before booking. I tried to live with them for a day but couldn’t relax properly with my cuppa tea or wine on our little deck with them hanging above me. Aside from giving me the creeps, it is a well known fact they are a health hazard if living in the same space eg. they poop, fungi grows on that poop, that can turn into spores you breath in and so on… I get that the resort is in the jungle and people know that when booking, but I feel at the very least Nat & JC need to let guests know in advance to make sure they are comfortable and have the opportunity to cancel or change their booking to another room or house rather than it be a surprise. In fairness to Nat, she gave us a free upgrade to Jungle House 2 for the next two nights but that house wasn’t available beyond then so we left three days earlier than planned, which we were not charged for. Nat & JC did not have to do this so it was appreciated. As remote as the resort is A$150pn did feel a bit steep compared to other coastal spots we stayed in Panama (Venao & Cambutal). A lot (not all) of the property is looking a bit tired and in need of a bit of love. To elevate the experience, it would be great if drinking water was made a bit easier to access. There must be a better way than guests having to go to the restaurant on the top floor a couple of times a day to ask for a refill, at a minimum I would move the dispenser so guests can refill their bottles themselves. It’s not like there is an option to get water anywhere else on the island. Lighting up to the jungle houses would really help - a torch is a must at night to go between your accommodation and the main building.

Cadre paradisiaque ! Le lodge est situé sur une île en bordure de plage. Le complexe est tout simplement magique ! Raies, Dauphins, poissons, étoiles de mer, caïmans, tout y est pour se trouver totalement dépaysé ! Endroit très calme et reposant. Bien au delà de nos attentes ! Les hôtes, Français comme nous, ont été d'une grande gentillesse. Ils nous ont guidé sur l'organisation de nos journées avec notamment une très belle excursion. Ils ont également organisé notre arrivée de l'aéroport vers le lodge. Le repas, fait maison était tout simplement un délice. Tout était vraiment top ! Encore merci à eux !

Location, very quiet, the wildlife, eco credentials, food prepared

Generally run down and tired, dangerous climb on slippery tiles to the reception area, smell of sewage, not particularly clean, attitude of staff when stained towels were challenged