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Added by Jopie, at 19 November 2012
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6 Reviews
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29 October 2017
TLDR: Beautiful location, a bit pricey, no AC, provided mosquito nets.
Of all the lodges that we walked past in Cahuita, this one seemed like the most beautiful. It's part of the experience of the jungle, and just a short walk into town on roads not frequented by cars.
My father complained of the lack of air conditioning, but this is a rarity in town. For the price, however, it seems that at least providing 2 fans (instead of 1 fan) would be reasonable. Full disclosure: we had a group of 4 and there were nightly tussles over the fan positioning.
Your stay includes a kitchen and common dining area, which is nicely maintained with a few provided spices and oils. Kitchen includes refrigerator, freezer, gas stove, and toaster oven.
Cabins are beautifully constructed with a hammock out front. We would hear the howler monkeys at night but they were never loud enough to wake us.response / report this review -
13 March 2017
Best experience I had .
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01 November 2016
I think this is the most back to nature beautiful place I have ever been.
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23 October 2016
Great private cabin as, clean and lots of wildlife (2 kinds of monkeys) sloths etc. A little pricy.
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30 March 2015
If you go to Cahuita you should stay at the Alby Lodge. There are monkeys right outside your door and Papa Alby is awesome and hooked us up with everything we needed. Just a short drive away is the more trendy town of Puerto Viejo, but rest assured Cahuita has amazing secluded beaches that aren't over run with tourists so you can just kick back and chill.
Hope you'll all be chillin' at the Alby Lodge!
Peace.response / report this review -
26 November 2012
Alby Lodge and Cahuita were perfect for our 2-1/2 week stay in Oct./Nov. 2012. It just doesn’t get any easier, more fun, or a better value. Yvonne and Thomas were the perfect hosts – never intrusive, but there when needed to keep us comfortable and happy. We arrived as guests, but left (with much sadness) as friends. You’ll love this place!
Our cabin was charming, clean, comfortable, and exactly right for the setting. The shared kitchen, refrigerator, drinks, hot showers, in-room safe, mosquito nets, room fans, hammock, wi-fi, and drinkable tap water were all used and greatly appreciated. We found the fan just right. We quickly adjusted to the sounds of the waves, geckos, frogs, crickets, and other critters at night. Noise from traffic, neighbors, and dogs was rare and never lasted long. Sometimes we’d use a bit of deet when sitting around early or late to keep mosquitoes off us, but that was it.
Alby Lodge is a leisurely 5-10 minute walk from a beautiful beach (the water is wonderful, but be careful of sporadic rip currents), the park, restaurants, grocery store, the bus station, the bank with ATM, drug store, laundry service, and tourist shops with a good choice of tropical clothing (a $25 rayon dress became my favorite; cotton doesn’t dry), swim suits, guide books, souvenirs, hand-made jewelry and most essentials. We felt safe, welcomed, and were treated fairly by Cahuita locals.
The monkeys, birds, wildlife, and grounds at Alby Lodge are amazing. Every day the howler and capuchin monkeys came through, sometimes letting us watch them for hours. Howler monkeys calling at day break are the experience of a lifetime. Especially when they’re in the tree next to your cabin – absolutely amazing! In the early evening we watched hundreds of parrots noisily fly from their daytime feeding grounds to their night roosts, the bats emerge, and the nighthawks come out to feed. Right from Alby we saw sloths, vine snakes, tamandua (an anteater), crabs, basilisk lizards, geckos, anoles, frogs, and lots of birds, like: oropendolas, gorgeous tanagers, warblers, cuckoos, anis, parrots, vultures, rails, hummingbirds, and hermits. Everything about Alby Lodge & Cahuita let us watch, play, swim, hike, explore, and relax without having to leave.
Here’s what we learned about Cahuita. First thing, spend the $25 each and take a guided walk into the park (Yvonne recommended Peck, and he was perfect). Guides know what’s there and where to find it – like bright yellow eyelash vipers, tons of sloths, caimen, and iguana! Second, take binoculars and always carry them with you. You never know what you’ll see just going to town. Third, take or buy an umbrella. It’s great for a sun shade (the locals taught me that) and great when it rains (which can happen suddenly). If an umbrella’s not your style, light-weight ponchos are available in town.
We took a snorkeling boat trip, but waters were murky, so not ideal. I like to snorkel on my own, but didn’t find a safe, easy place close-by. In hindsight, I would have asked around more. The local bus is convenient and cheap (under $3.00 to Puerto Viejo and back), so getting other places is pretty easy. Ask for tips. Knowing some Spanish is helpful in Cahuita, but not essential. The local foods you should try are: patacones (fried plantains), jugos naturales (fresh fruit blended with ice or milk), and hial (a ginger and lemon drink) and homemade ice cream at the Crepe Café.
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