Costa Rica Beachfront Rainforest Lodge
Beachfront Accommodations Cabo Matapalo - Osa Peninsula

Encanta La Vida Client Comments Chris & Lindsey's Honeymoon at Encanta La Vida     This morning we took a boat out to the Osa Peninsula, which is a little south of Golfito. There we stayed at an Eco-Lodge, Encanta La Vida, which is run by a friend of my aunts. This place was amazing! There are private villas all over the property, which is amazingly well maintained. The kitchen feeds you three meals a day. The beach is a five minute walk through the rain forest. There is wildlife all around you. It was so beautiful. We just sat in hammocks and watched the monkeys take bananas from the trees. Scarlet Macaw's flew over head in their pairs, toucans in the trees over head. It was like nothing I had ever seen. After a breakfast of fresh fruit and eggs, we all (Katie, Tim, Chris & I) took a hike through the forest, up to a waterfall. A neighbor's dog joined our group and hiked all the way up to the waterfall with us. This waterfall was smaller than La Fortuna, but just as beautiful. There were very small, blue crayfish swimming in the pool, I think on bit me in the ass when I was in the pool. Something got me and it stung really bad. On the walk back, we saw a baby sloth up in a tree. It was so cute; it looked like a little teddy bear up in a tree. We also saw a tree with six scarlet macaws sitting in it.  Click for the rest of the story "Encanta La Vida is a Fantastic Jungle Experience" Three girlfriends spent the last week of June at Encanta La Vida. For two it was their first trip to the country and their first jungle experience. It is amazing that Encanta la Vida can be as upscale as it is, in its jungle location, off the grid, and so close to the beach. (All the other nice places are way up on the hill and too far to walk to the beach). We stayed in the upstairs of the newest house with great balconies. Staff was very nice and super accommodating. Meals were great! (BYO snacks if you are a "snacker.") The rooms are neat and clean. Lighting and fans are solar-powered. Be sure to bring flashlight and headlamp. It rained very hard during the nights. We left feeling we had a full jungle experience—squirrel monkeys, spider monkeys, white-faced and howler monkeys passed through every day. Scarlet macaws and toucans were common, poisoned dart frogs were easily found. The beach is a short walk through chocolate and breadfruit trees on a well-defined stone-lined path. Lots of people come here to surf. We hiked up a jungle stream to a waterfall where we dipped in the pool and stood in the cascading water with electric-blue-clawed crawfish. An entomological and herpetological paradise as well—saw blue morpos and black witches and two species of snakes. Several guests saw scorpions, just a part of life in the rain forest. Cooling off in the pool is a big PLUS! We met interesting people from all over and will definitely go back again. This TripAdvisor Member: July 4, 2007 Liked: Wildlife; pool; location; great accommodations and friendly staff Disliked: Leaving. "Awesome Location and 'Pura Vida' Staff" Writing reviews is not my thing - but I'll make an exception this time. This place deserves to be known. The lodge has a wonderful casual feel about it. It actually feels like you are staying at a good friends place.... Well, a friend who knows how to do a lot of pampering! The owner Brian and his manager Roy are the nicest people! They know how lucky they are to be living in what has got to be one of the most AWESOME places on the planet. They put me in the newest cabin elevated up under the trees with a big terrace and windows looking into the rainforest. Monkeys were outside my window - I mean I was up in their face! Cool! The place is dense with animal life from red macaws screaming through to toucans and wild turkeys?! Three or four kinds of monkeys came through in a day. I don't surf, which seemed to be a big draw for a lot of the people living here- the beach and surf breaks are just down a path from the lodge- very private and beautiful with rock formations along the shore here and there. Like a postcard. The lodge is very proud of their new pool which IS beautiful and is a good option for those who don't like to get sandy i guess. Anyway I enjoyed having dinner sitting by it all backlit with landscaping out of a fantasy. The chef did a great job. Dinner was a fun event with soup and salad and main course and dessert. He picks out the menu each day and prepares the same thing for all guests - but I did notice he took special care of vegetarians who were there too. The food is included in the price- except the wine or coktails. I thought the food was excellent and the menu nicely varied. I got the feeling he'd do his best to accomodate me if I asked for something special but I was happy with everything he served. A family there at the same time was vegetarian and they were doing just fine with the alternatives. There was a birthday going on one night and everyone was treated to a special appetizer course of killer ceviche. I liked the concept of a common dining hour where you sit in an area with other travelers to share our days - or you could tell them you wanted to escape and there were private tables too. My only suggestion would be to get that coffee going earlier!? The howler monkeys were doing their thing- bellowing me out of bed in time to go down to the beach and see the sunrise and I really could have used a cup of the Costa Rican puro before 7am. I can't stress enough the ANIMALS. I saw more animals- both variety and species- in one day at Encanta La Vida then I'd seen in 2 weeks combined in other places. You don't even have to leave the hammock. No joke. This is the place I'll tell people to go if they asked me. This TripAdvisor Member: Liked: location and friendliness Disliked: Coffee not ready early enough. Like to see them put out the coffee service at the crack of dawn. "An amazing adventure" Wow - all I can say is wow! My husband and I stayed at Encanta La Vida based on a suggestion from a friend. We were pleasantly surprised! We stayed in the Honeymoon Cabina which was spacious, with a large bathroom and beautiful view from our private porch. The food was outstanding, the entire staff was friendly, accommodating, and went out of their way with small but personal touches. We saw four types of monkeys, several kinds of birds, lizards, iguanas and other local wildlife unique to this part of the world. We were able to take tours arranged through the Roy - who was always available, knowledgeable and a really nice guy! Oh and the surfing was great. 3-4 killer spots to surf all with in a short walk! If you want to surf and experience the beauty of the tropical rain forest, and all that the Osa peninsula has to offer, you should stay here! We would go back for sure!!! We had a great time and learned a lot about the area. This TripAdvisor Member: Liked: views, staff, food location to surf Disliked: no hot water, but didn't really need it, far from airport Katie from Land Sea Services in Golfito has fantastic connections and arranged for us to go on a trip to a surf camp/nature lodge Encanta la Vida.  We went to this beautiful, remote resort on the Osa Peninsula. It was a fantastic two days of surfing for Lou and the kids and hiking and enjoying nature for all of us. We also enjoyed the great conversations with the other guests and the manager. Martin found a great new adult friend named Paul with whom he schemed about making a trip on a catamaran to all the surf spots in the world. Paul is very enthusiastic about this trip and I’m sure his wife, Lynn and his grown children will miss him a little bit. Lynn works at Trader Joe’s and had me salivating for all the wonderful food at Trader Joe’s. I suggested she could subsidize trips to any place that cruisers were anchored by bringing Trader Joe’s supplies to the cruisers. The wildlife was breathtaking. We saw toucans, scarlet macaws, monkeys (spider, capuchin, howlers and squirrel) and iguanas. You would spot movement in the trees and you would see one monkey and then a whole tribe of them. Martin and I were walking along the road up to the resort and we saw some squirrel monkeys in the trees above the road. We were looking up and then I heard some water coming from above and heard one of the Ticos nearby say, “Urina”—and it slowly came to me that URINE was flowing down from the trees just inches from Martin’s head. I told Martin to move toward me and he did---without getting wet! I guess we know what the monkeys think of humans. Click here to read full article Encanta La Vida Rainforest Lodge: surfer's paradise Encanta La Vida is the ideal spot if you are in Matapalo for surf. The 3 best breaks of the area are a 5 minute walk from the resort. It is a beautiful resort. We chose the honeymoon cabina, which was the only one advertised to have hot water. Turned out, it didn't. We didn't complain, though, because it was such an incredible experience due to the wildlife. We saw every one of the 4 species of monkeys from the hotel itself. I saw more wildlife in Matapalo than I did in all the other places I visited in Costa Rica combined. I would wake up in the morning, and stretch on the deck and within 5 minutes, see a monkey. The owner of the resort was always on hand. The food was very good, although not always authentic, and we were hoping for more seafood. The tours were not well organized and I would recommend to set some up thru Cafe Net Sol, prior to arrival. Unique Qualities: Wildlife seen from the hotel: Squirrel monkey, spider monkey, howler monkey, capuchin monkey, sloth, scarlet macaws, 2 kinds of toucans, iguanas, agouti, boa constrictor, Jesus Christ lizard, blue morpho butterfly...etc etc. The Waves were supreme. Eric surfed 3 x a day, 6 of the 9 days we were there, and the waves were clean and big with the longest rides. Incredible!  More info. Please let Brian and Boli and the crew how much we enjoyed our stay at on the Osa. It was incredible. The service, food, atmosphere, grounds, accommodations and cold beer were like a dream come true. Hope they get the pool completed soon! We hope to return again to this lovely place. Ann and Guy Klaas ~ Visited at the end of January.   Hola Maxine or Maureen, We just arrived home from a wonderful 16 day stay at Encanta La Vida! we had a wonderful time. Gracias, Kim Speth

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