La Shamana - Ecological Concept in Jungle

We enjoyed our stay at this lodge in the middle of the jungle. It’s personal, friendly and you wake up with the sounds of birds and monkeys. There is a lot to do and the excursions can be made at the reception. They are reliable and help you with the making of your program. Thanks for everything!

I stayed three nights, and was satisfied with my booking. The lodge is perhaps 2 miles out of town (Cahuita), and the last half-mile is unpaved: you can use a 2WD but probably feel more comfortable in 4WD, if only for the clearance. There is a central lodge, serving as reception/dining room/lounge, and a number of nearby rooms. Mine was perhaps 50m from the lodge: well appointed and clean. It is not a hotel and you should not expect full hotel facilities: most guests use La Shamana as a base to explore the area. Service was not hotel-level, but always warm, helpful and efficient. Staff are not full-time, but are there to welcome you, cook a fresh and tasty breakfast daily plus dinner if you ask before setting off in the morning. The manager lives on-site: she is often away during the day, but always nearby and can always be contacted by phone/WhatsApp. They have a separate building for functions, and are happy to arrange visiting massage. The forest guide they arranged for me was excellent (fluent Englsah and knowledgeable). The spring-fed semi-natural swimming pool is clear, clean and cool after a sweaty day out. You are very much in the forest, albeit supplemented by careful and colourful planting in the vicinity of the Lodge: my room gave onto a lovely vista of green and colours, and the local troop of howler monkeys was very impressive when they trooped overhead. It was also delightful to lie in bed while a thunderstgorm raged! All in all, thoroughly recommended.

We have booked a double room with terrace and ended up in a bungalow away from the main building. The room was nested between a family bungalow for four (with paper thin walls) and a construction place (a new bungalow is built). No need to say how noisy this was...and definitely not what we have booked nor what was shown on all the nice looking pictures. Besides this, we have paid twice due the hotel charging the credit card well ahead of the travel dates through a pretty dubious company: We had claimed this a fraught with the credit card company because we did not know the name and as a consequence had to pay again when arriving at the accommodation. As a result we were charged double (~500€ instead of ~250€) and no refund was given. According to the credit card company the accommodation did not confirm we have paid twice!!! Also, according to *********** the accommodation is not responding to their request either. If you can stay away, this is a scam!

We stayed for 5 nights at La Shamana Eco Lodge in the rain forest just outside Cahuita. It was an amazing experience that immersed us in the forest and allowed us to explore the wild life that it offers in total peace. The owner, Rossy, was very friendly and helpful. The room was lovely, with a large shower and private terrace. You have to bear in mind that this is an Eco Lodge and therefore some of the luxury that we expect in our modern world are restricted (i.e. hair dryer) as they are totally off grid, using natural water and solar panels. What we loved was sitting on our terrace at 6am and observing some of the animals that passed by. In our first 2 mornings we saw a family of howler monkeys (including babies), a coati, red faced vulture, toucan, forest crabs, hawks, beautiful butterflies, cane toad, orb spiders, green and black dart frog, humming birds, sloth, leaf cutting ants, leaf moth. There is also a lovely natural pool to cool down and relax after a busy day. The breakfasts were very good and we usually finished our coffee on the platform that allowed us to observe more wild life. Ideally you need a car as the basic road to the lodge is about a km long, otherwise you will need a taxi.