Evergreen Lodge

Evergreen Lodge is a beautifully isolated place to stay when exploring this area of Costa Rica. Accessible only by a 90 minute river trip which is memorable in itself. The grounds are full of wildlife and the food was very good for such an isolated lodge. The rooms were lovely with private bathrooms. The water for a shower was generally ok but you have to remember the nature of a property like this. Staff were very friendly and helpful and the lodges are distributed in a way which makes for privacy. The bar by the river is a great place to have an evening drink before your early start the next day. The tours from this venue are excellent. A great place to experience the diversity of Costa Rica.

That was the warning sign at the boat dock upon arrival at Evergreen Lodge in Tortuguero. We stayed in one of their bungalow surrounded by rain forest foliages. The bungalows were far enough part to have privacy. Beware that there are no windows to close within the bungalows, just screens. Inside was one large room with two beds and a separate bathroom. A ceiling fan helped with comfort. Cellular was virtually nonexistent, isolated 3G on occasions. Working Wi-Fi was weathered dependent. We were told monkeys (didn’t see any) and other critters were all around. We were warned not to touch any colorful wildlife (toads/frogs) because those are usually poisonous. There were walkable trails that led to other nearby resorts. A “turtle shaped” swimming pool for guests to use. On our first overnight, we were awakened by loud sounds similar to gunfires or firecrackers. Some sounds were distant and some on top of us. They told us that sounds were branches or other things falling onto the metal roofs of the bungalows. Metal roofs amplified the sounds. Nightly we received deluges of rain which probably accounted for the falling branches. There was so much precipitation in this rain forest that the water rose over the dock in the morning. We ate buffets at their dining hall. Choices were adequate, but definitely not gourmet. They can made omelets during breakfast and pasta of you choice during dinner. The staff were helpful, nice and accommodating.

Beware: our money was stolen while our room was being cleaned. No mistake possible on our side: it was the first day of our trip so we very much knew how much was in that wallet. After pretending to take the issue seriously, saying they would pay us back a couple of days after we left (because "the boss was away for the weekend and needed to approve payment"), they emailed saying there was no trace of forced entry and the cleaner denied stealing the money (how surprising). The lodge itself is quite basic, the food okay (they do vary options, which is nice), the surrounding nature and wildlife beautiful. There are many other similar hotels in the area just note that 3 of them including Evergreen are owned by the same group) so we'd just suggest picking another one! Hats off to the guides who were all passionate, knowledgeable and interesting. On a side note, our main guide didn't seem surprised when we told him about the thief, so maybe we weren't just unlucky... In their reply to this review on Google, they even went further and lied about a purchase matching the amount stolen, and also lied about this information being shared with us (which makes sense given this is pure calumny; surely they should be able to attach proof to their reply if that was the case?). Don't give money to these dishonest people, please! El Tortugero deserves your money, but not these thieves.

Beware: our money was stolen while our room was being cleaned. No mistake possible on our side: it was the first day of our trip so we very much knew how much was in that wallet. After pretending to take the issue seriously, saying they would pay us back a couple of days after we left (because "the boss was away for the weekend and needed to approve payment"), they emailed saying there was no trace of forced entry and the cleaner denied stealing the money (how surprising). The lodge itself is quite basic, the food okay (they do vary options, which is nice), the surrounding nature and wildlife beautiful. There are many other similar hotels in the area (just note that 3 of them including Evergreen are owned by the same group) so we'd just suggest picking another one! Hats off to the guides who were all passionate, knowledgeable and interesting. On a side note, our main guide didn't seem surprised when we told him about the thief, so maybe we weren't just unlucky...

Stayed here as part of a tour group. I was worried about potential night time noice being in the middle of the jungle with no glass on the windows, however, a lot of the area has been cleared out. Vegetation immediately and under the cabins was cleared away. Woods in the US make more noise. Had some nice manicured landscape areas. The howler monkeys that were way high up in the trees did wake me up at 5am. Didn’t see much wildlife on the property except some nocturnal crabs, howler monkeys way up high above and one capuchin monkey. As far as I know it didn’t have a trail through any jungle area just board walk around the cabins etc. The food was ok, horrible desserts. They liked to use way too much bad cooking oil when making an omelet. The shower felt like it contained sand in the water, really grossed me out. Wi-Fi didnt work properly. It wouldn’t let me connect to my VPN.

It gives you a legit jungle experience. The only way in or out is by boat. You stay in a cabin that is nice but has no air conditioning, does have a ceiling fan and windows are screens. You can easily find wildlife anywhere you walk on your way to the restaurant or to the turtle shaped pool. Delicious meals are served buffet style by very attentive and polite staff. If you are squeamish about spiders or lizards, you will probably not enjoy this place because they are abundant. But also abundant are 3 species of monkeys and some sloths and iguanas just to name a few. The howler monkeys will let you know when they are awake. If you get a chance to do the sea turtle tour, do it, it’s amazing.