Lodge Review: Cala Lodge, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Tara

Cala Lodge was built on three acres of property or 1.2 hectares of forest right next to the world renowned Children’s Eternal Rain Forest which has an area of 52.800 acres and it is the largest private reserve of Central America.

What I really love about this place is that even though it is a short walk from town, it’s still in the cloud forest and feels like it’s out in the bush miles from anywhere. The views are amazing and we saw hummingbirds, toucans and other birds on the property. The staff are really nice & helpful! Rates are very reasonable and you get a choice of cooked breakfasts in the morning, nice pancakes!

Monteverde town

Gotta love a room with a view!

Morning visitors!

I must have accidentally messed up the white balance but those are toucans!

Cala Lodge will like to provide their guests with comfortable, reasonably priced and quality accommodations on a great secluded location with beautiful forest and easy access to the local areas of interest. The hotel offers advice from a professional naturalist guide that will guarantee a better experience in the Costa Rican Cloud Forest and its surroundings.

You can easily book this lodge on their website or use an online hotel booking site such as Pointshound, Expedia, Hotels.com. Trip Advisor reviews are great!

How to get to Costa Rica with airline miles

Lodge Review: Volcano Lodge, Arenal, Costa Rica

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Tara

The Arenal/La Fortuna area is the prime tourist destination in Costa Rica. There is something for everyone here-volcano viewing, hot springs, zip-lining, nature hikes. Birding here isn’t as good as other places in Costa Rica but Arenal made a nice rest stop in between birding trips.

The lodge is a fair ways out of town but that won’t matter if you use tourist shuttles as they drop you off and pick you up.

The Volcano Lodge has amazing views of Arenal and beautiful gardens and hiking trails. I chose this place because it was the halfway part of our trip and thought we could use a time-out to relax in the jacuzzi and enjoy some light bird watching on the grounds. The rooms were fairly large and we got a great one near the reception with a volcano view from the window!

We saw some Hummingbirds, Oropendulas and Greater Kiskadees in the garden and the flowers were gorgeous!

I really liked the artwork in the restaurant/bar/pool area and the food was really good too! We had lunch, went for a swim, then relaxed in the jacuzzi for awhile. We were planning to go birding in the afternoon but our plans got rained out. We still had a good time chatting with other tourists as we hung out in the bar for happy hour watching the rain pour down.

The next morning, the weather was nice but we had already booked the onward transportation so only had time for a short walk. We didn’t see any new birds from the day before, just the usual Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds so we headed down for breakfast which was included in the price and very good!

You can easily book this lodge on their website or use an online hotel booking site such as Pointshound, Expedia, Hotels.com.

How to get to Costa Rica with airline miles

Lodge Review: Laguna Del Lagarto Rainforest Lodge

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Tara

The Laguna del Lagarto Rainforest Lodge is one of the holy grails for dedicated birders. It’s located in an unspoiled and virtually unvisited tropical rainforest, where you can explore the eco-system at your own pace while staying at a cozy jungle hideaway. Birds are literally everywhere, just my kind of place!

HOW TO GET THERE

Getting to Costa Rica is simple with a Central American award flight. The map below shows the route from the airport in case you want to hire a car and drive yourself. Don’t laugh, but I was not brave enough to drive in Costa Rica (more about that later) and preferred to use either public buses or tourist shuttles. On the map below, the red dot is roughly in the area of Selva Verde where the shuttle came to pick us up.

If you add in the insurances and the cost of the rental car and petrol/gas it’s not really that big a difference in cost. I quite enjoyed the shuttle as it meant I could relax, look out the window and enjoy the ride through the countryside. Just email Laguna del Lagarto and let them know when and where to pick you up from the options on their website.

We finally arrived at Laguna del Lagarto in the early afternoon. I think it took around 3 hours-ish. The road was pretty rough so I was glad I wasn’t driving and possibly messing up the undercarriage of a rental car.

The friendly manager, Adolfo came and greeted us and chatted to my husband while I filled in the registration forms. I had prepaid the room on Pointshound to earn miles but was pleased to learn they take Amex for incidentals such as meals, guides, the shuttle costs and souvenirs.

Rooms are very simple but here it’s all about the view! You can sit on your deck overlooking the rainforest for some lazy birding as they are everywhere! The guides here are fantastic! They really know the local birds and speak English pretty well. We had Didier as our guide and he went out of his way to find birds, especially parrots, even chasing us down at breakfast so we wouldn’t miss a passing flock of Olive-throated Parakeets. You can use the canoes free of charge if you like. I personally preferred to just walk around the grounds or hang out on the deck where the roof protected you from rain even as more birds came to frolic.

Towel animals!

This was the only sighting of a Great Green Macaw, off in the distance, seen from our deck.

It’s not just a room with a view, it’s a dining room with a view! Buffets are served at breakfast and sometimes for dinner unless there are only a few people, then they bring you a very full plate of delicious food. Lunch is either sandwiches or a full meal but with the heat of the day most people don’t want a heavy meal at lunch. Wireless internet (WIFI) is offered in the reception and restaurant area. It’s slow but adequate to check your emails. Besides, it’s more fun to sit back and watch the birds eating their bananas on the adjacent viewing deck!

Ina shows the guides how Cook Islanders open a coconut!

HOW TO BOOK LAGUNA DEL LAGARTO

You can either email them direct from their website or book on some hotel aggregators such as Pointshound, Hotels.com, Expedia. Prices are extremely reasonable. I wish I had more time to stay longer as this place had amazing bird watching!

MORE PHOTOS OF THE LODGE

Don’t worry, bird photos are coming on separate posts. I have so many, it will take a couple posts.

Front and back view of our bungalow.

Amazing Deal Alert! Selva Verde Lodge & Rainforest Reserve, Costa Rica

Posted on October 25, 2013 by Tara

While I was writing my review of this fantastic lodge, I found this amazing deal! You need to be quick as you must book by 31 Oct.2013 for travel before 15 Dec. Here are the details, they also have discounts on guided birding tours! I wish I lived close enough for a quick trip back! If anyone has the US Airways credit card and some USDM miles, this is a good excuse to burn some miles and get 25% back! You need to have been targeted so check your emails. Yes, I know the text I copy-pasted below says Sept 30 but when you click on the banner, it says valid until 31 Oct and it is still bookable.

Rediscover Costa Rica in 2013

2-For-1 Savings on Now – Our best price of the year!

Certificate of Excellence

2013 Winner

Selva Verde Lodge

This fall have the eco-adventure of a lifetime at a price of a lifetime: 2 for the price of 1!

For a limited time only, take advantage of incredible savings on our Accommodation Package, which includes of 3 nights of River Lodge accommodations, as well as all meals & taxes.

2-for-1 Accommodation Package Details

3 Night Package Price: ~~$265.50~~ $132.75 per personOffer Details:

• Travel Dates: Sept.1 – Dec.15, 2013
• Book By: Sept.30, 2013
• Prices based on double occupancy
• For new bookings only

Package Includes:

• 4 days and 3 nights accommodation in a River Lodge Room
• 3 delicious meals daily
• Taxes
• Additional nights (including meals and taxes): just $50.00 per night per person!

Child Pricing:

• 0-5 years sharing room with 2 adults: FREE
• 6-11 years: $100 per child
• Additional nights (including meals and taxes): $34 per child

Optional Transportation (San Jose Airport – Selva Verde Lodge)

• Ground transfers: $140 one way, $280 round trip (up to 5 guests!).

Inquiries & Reservations:

Website: www.selvaverde.com |Phone: US: 1-800-451-7111 | Costa Rica: (506) 2761 1800
Email: info@selvaverde.com | Costa Rica: reservaciones@selvaverde.com

Lodge Review: Selva Verde Lodge & Rainforest Reserve

Posted on October 25, 2013 by Tara

Selva Verde Lodge & Rainforest Reserve was a perfect choice for our first night in Costa Rica. My only regret is we didn’t stay longer! The setting is stunning, birds are everywhere, the rooms have decks overlooking the pool and rainforest and the food was great! They have a very impressive sustainability program.

GETTING HERE

Use your miles to book a ticket to San Jose, Costa Rica. This will be a Central America award. The easy way is getting a taxi or shuttle direct from the airport. Directions are on their website. I’ll go into more detail about getting around Costa Rica later. If you want to save money, it’s very easy to get here by local bus. First you get a bus in front of the airport that will take you from Alajuela to downtown San Jose. Then you need to get a taxi to “Gran Terminal del Caribe” where you can book a bus to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui.

The buses are comfortable and leave about once per hour. They were very cheap, I forgot the exact price but it was around $8-ish. Once you arrive at Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, you can get a bus to Chilamate which passes the lodge. We didn’t want to wait a couple hours so took a taxi to the lodge for around $5-ish. There is a small shop in the bus station to stock up on drinks and snacks.

Taxis wait on the street outside the bus station.

THE FACILITIES

From the moment you enter, this place has the WOW factor! The open-air lobby has beautiful stone work and a stunning rainforest mural.

You then walk down the covered walkways to your room. Ours overlooked the pool with a wrap around deck shared with the room next door.

The rooms are attractively furnished with lovely artwork.

The swimming pool is surrounded by rainforest, you can see birds flying overhead while swimming! We even saw a pair of Great Green Macaws! I was less thrilled to see this dragon-like iguana. I am so not a reptile fan!

The restaurant has an equally lovely setting with nice pizzas and main meals. Breakfast is upstairs and served as a buffet. We came in a bit late due to the birding but still found enough to fill us up. I just LOVE these tables, too bad I couldn’t bring one home! I knew I had zero chance of getting it home in one piece even if I could carry it!

Although this photo was taken when it was closed, I did patronize the gift shop very well!

One of the nicest things about this lodge is the educational displays and the evening lecture by the lodge’s official guide, Alejandro (shown here with my husband).

Selva Verde Lodge & Rainforest Reserve gets excellent reviews on Trip Advisor but please note that there are some reports of the pizza restaurant being closed during low (green) season. Someone also said there wasn’t an educational talk so best to email the lodge and ask if they will be offered when you are there. This place attracts both die-hard birders and mainstream tourists so they may not offer such things if they don’t think anyone is interested in birding.

There are some nice trails on the property, both covered and uncovered and you can walk down by the river to see more birds. Tomorrow, I will post lots of bird photos to show you what you can see here!

HOW TO BOOK

I recommend first checking their website to see if there are any specials on. At time of writing, there is a killer deal, I would book this in a heartbeat if we could get back there in time!

You can also book this lodge via the usual miles-earning portals. They can be found on Pointshound, Expedia, Hotels.com and many others. Rates usually include the breakfast buffet. Be sure to email them however you book your stay to let them know you want to go birding so they arrange the guide.

Lodge Review: Tikal Inn, Guatemala

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Tara

Although it is possible to visit Tikal as a day trip from Belize, I highly recommend staying at least one night. After studying the options, I chose Tikal Inn because it was within easy walking distance of the park, surrounded by rainforest and had a swimming pool to relax in during siesta when it’s too hot to be visiting the park or birding.

We stayed 2 nights and got in on a special deal that included a free sunrise or sunset tour, breakfast, dinner and a shuttle to Flores. Package deals change from time to time so always email them to ask what’s going. They sometime advertise their packages on Trip Advisor. Tikal Inn isn’t found on any of the typical online hotel booking sites such as Expedia or Hotels.com so you have to contact them direct. They take credit cards to pay your final bill. Wifi is available in the lobby though the signal is slow and tends to drop out. It’s adequate to check your emails. The setting more than makes up for slow connectivity. They turn the generator off around 10pm-ish. Birds are everywhere, you can see them from the swimming pool if you are feeling lazy! More on the local species later!

Lodge Review: Parrot Nest, Belize – Sleep In A Tree-house!

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Tara

Everyone should spend the night in a tree-house at least once in their life! The Parrot Nest Lodge located in Bullet Tree Falls near San Ignacio, Belize gives you the chance to do exactly that at a very reasonable cost.

Any bus traveling between Belize City or Belmopan (location of Belize Bird Rescue) and either San Ignacio or the border town of Benque Viejo Del Carmen will get you to the San Ignacio bus stop. From there you will need a taxi to Bullet Tree Falls and you will probably have to bargain for it. They will quote $15 or even $20 if they think they can get away with it but you can usually get them down to $8-10. Or you can use their private shuttle from the airport and stop at Belize Zoo if you like-highly recommended!

They aren’t on any of the hotel aggregators such as Expedia, Hotels.com, Pointshound so you need to book by email. The other thing is they will ask for a credit card to secure the booking. I wasn’t comfortable having my credit card number being on record with me traveling in remote places where I can’t get online so I asked them to “pencil me in” and I would pay on arrival. Luckily we were there in August, low season so there was no problem with this and we got our tree house!

We arrived at dusk so we didn’t get to see the grounds that evening but the tree house was small but very cute! It kind of reminded me of a tree house I had as a kid only in a much nicer location and with a better view!

First thing, we went downstairs to the shared shower facilities to freshen up, then went to the dining room for dinner.

Soft drinks were very cheap, around $1 US or 2 Belize so we drank our fill. I can’t remember what we had for dinner, it was good though as I don’t remember having any complaints!

We did get a good night sleep and there were no mosquitoes! The next morning, I was eager to look out the window from up in the tree and be eye to eye with some birds. We could hear them all around us but not see them.

Now we could finally see the other treehouses, the grounds and the river.

We strolled around the grounds and down to the river hoping to see birds. No parrots but there were a few birds around, not as many as I would have hoped for but we only stayed the one night.

We had breakfast in the dining room, now we could see it a lot better. The drinks in the fridge are on an honor system where you write down what you take and pay it when you leave.

I’ve been a backpacker my whole life and am very comfortable in places like this, especially when it has such a beautiful setting! If you are used to Hyatts, Hiltons and Intercontinentals, this may not be the right choice for you unless you have a spirit of adventure. Tours can be organized here to the popular ATM – Actun Tunichil Mucnal, Caracol and for river rafting. We didn’t do any tours as we aren’t really into caves and wanted to see birds! You really can’t beat the prices and the staff were all very helpful and friendly. I loved it and would come back in a flash if we ever return to Belize.

Lodge Review: Crooked Tree Lodge, Belize

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Tara

Crooked Tree Lodge is run by a very friendly couple, Mick and Angie and is well-located for the dedicated bird watcher in the heart of the Crooked Tree Sanctuary. Although not far from the airport in miles, there is no public transport that serves the airport or the lodge although there is a bus service along the main highway. We opted to have Mick pick us up at the airport for $70 and it was really nice to have him there waiting for us after our epic journey from Brisbane to Belize!

It was a pleasant 40 minute trip from the airport and it was interesting to see the businesses along the way.

At last we arrived to the Crooked Tree Lodge. It’s a beautiful property, well maintained, spotlessly clean and very birdy.

Mick and Angie escorted us to our bungalow which has a lovely view of the garden from the deck.

The rooms are simply furnished but clean and comfortable.

Laundry facilities are available with some very interesting “clothes pins”!

We could see the Crooked Tree Lagoon from our deck as birds flew around the garden.

After settling in, we went for a walk in the grounds to spot some more birds. I will be putting the bird photos on a separate post.

The deck overlooking the lagoon is a great place to kick back and relax at the end of the day!

The dining room is in the main house and Angie cooked us a delicious chicken dinner.

Before coming to Belize, all I had to go on were recommendations from Trip Advisor. All the Crooked Tree properties have excellent reviews so when it came to choosing one I just had to read them all and then go with my gut feeling. Crooked Tree Lodge seemed to have the most reviews that also praise their birding guides so that was the deciding factor for me. It didn’t hurt that the cabins are so cute, the scenery is amazing and Angie’s cooking was also highly praised! The bird photos on their website were also very enticing! We were the only guests while we were there which was a shame since this charming lodge has something for everyone, especially eco-tourists. Although we only stayed one night, we loved this place and wish we could have stayed longer.

Central American Adventure – Choosing Accommodation

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Tara

With an eco-tourism trip, the highlight is going to be the eco-lodges so you need to choose wisely. You will need to research the species you are hoping to see and find national parks with lodges in those areas. Although airline miles are of use to everyone, hotel points will only be useful for stays near airports to accommodate early morning flights. There is one exception as you will see below. Also, this itinerary is unusual in that I organized a stopover in Hawaii on the way back to Australia so I could burn some hotel points and celebrate my birthday! If you are USA or Europe based, this won’t be an option. Here are my choices, how I booked them and my reasons for choosing them. Detailed reviews on each will be forthcoming in future blogs.

BELIZE

Crooked Tree Lodge: booked direct by email (don’t use aggregators), paid cash. Chosen because the area is known for Yellow-headed Parrots, Red-lored Parrots and White-fronted Parrots and they have a good local guide.

Parrot’s Nest, San Ignacio: booked direct by email, don’t use aggregators, paid by Visa on checkout. Chosen because there are parrots in the area sporadically but primarily for the experience of sleeping in a treehouse.

GUATEMALA

Tikal Inn: booked direct by email, don’t use aggregators, paid by Amex on checkout. Chosen because it’s in the Tikal National Park, there are parrots and other birds in the grounds and they have a pool. Also they offer a free sunset/sunrise tour and some of the guides are familiar with the local birds.

Radisson, Guatemala City: booked online with Club Carlson points. Chosen because of proximity to airport, free shuttle and cheap points redemption.

COSTA RICA

Selva Verde Lodge, Sarapiqui: booked online at Hotels.com. Used 10% promo code and Ultimate Rewards Mall. Chosen because of excellent guides and known for being home to Great Green Macaws and many other birds.

Laguna del Lagarto Lodge, Boca Tapada: Booked on Pointshound for UA miles. Chosen because of recommendation by friend who was just there and area is extremely rich in birdlife.

Volcano Lodge, Arenal: Booked on Pointshound for UA miles. Chosen because of volcano views, garden, pool and it being a nice place to relax after full-on birding.

Cala Lodge, Monteverde: Booked on Pointshound for UA miles. Chosen because near town for easy meals/shopping and easy to get taxi to Monteverde Cloud Forest for Respendant Quetzals.

Villa Lapas, Tarcoles: Booked on their website, don’t use aggregators. Chosen because it is adjacent to Carara National Park for Scarlet Macaws and other birds.

Savegre Mountain Lodge: Booked on their webiste, don’t use aggregators. Chosen based on recommendation by friend who had been there recently, excellent guides and ease of finding Resplendant Quetzals.

Park Inn, San Jose: Booked using Club Carlson points on their website. Chosen because of cheap mistake rate of 5000 points, otherwise would have stayed closer to the airport. Easy enough to get Alajuela bus to airport in the morning.

PANAMA

Radisson Summit: Booked using Club Carlson points on their website. Chosen because easy 15 minute drive to Soberania National Park and also because some rooms have spectacular view of the rainforest.

Courtyard by Marriott, Panama City: Booked using Marriott points on their website. Chosen because I wanted to burn my last 10k points and it was near the airport.

USA

Holiday Inn (Desert Inn), Las Vegas: Used Chase free night certificate. Chosen because I had to use the cert or lose it and they wouldn’t give me Venetian or Palazzo on Labor Day weekend.

Four Points Sheraton, LAX: Got BRG with 2000 SPG point bonus. Chosen because of this deal and free airport shuttle.

Maui Seaside Inn: Booked on Hotels.com using free night after 10 stays and this one was the closest to the value I had on my free night. Chosen because we wanted to stay in Kahului for easy access to Road to Hana and Haleakala. Also rumours of Mitred Parakeets in nearby area.

Hyatt Regency Maui: Used Chase Ultimate Rewards sent to Hyatt to book free nights. Chosen because of resort facilities and a great place to spend my birthday!

Sheraton Waikiki: Used SPG cash & points. Chosen in hopes of an ocean view upgrade (got one!) and infinity pool.

Royal Hawaiian: Used SPG cash & points. Chosen because I have wanted to stay in the “pink palace” since I was a kid and never thought I could afford it!

Ecocamp Patagonia Tops Trip Advisor’s “10 Incredibly Unique Hotels”

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Tara

The actual list is varied and eclectic and has “incredibly unique hotels” from all over the world. I was really happy to see an eco-lodge topping the list! Ecocamp Patagonia’s website shows even more stunning photos of this place and makes me really want to go there!

EcoCamp is situated in the very heart of Torres del Paine National Park and provides the region’s first fully sustainable accommodation, complete with green technology. You enjoy guided treks and wildlife excursions by day and share evening meals with new friends, before falling asleep gazing up at the star-filled sky through your dome ceiling. Wake up in the middle of the Patagonian wilderness in a cozy geodesic dome, with a panoramic view of the majestic Torres del Paine, ready to pick up the hiking trail!

If you’re curious, here’s what the entire list looks like, click over to Trip Advisor to read the reviews of each hotel.

Getting to Chile with airline miles is easy. Chile is in the Southern South America zone for most frequent flyer programs and I have details on how many miles you need here.

Miles To The Wild

Create unforgettable eco-tourism and birding adventures using miles & points!

Category Archives: Accommodation