Rana Roja Lodge

Costa Rica , Caribbean Coast / Tortuguero
TORTUGUERO, ts West Tortuguero National Park Laguna Penitencia
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50 reviews shown

2/10

Poor

17 Aug 2025

Andrew

I called this place, emailed them, and even tried to reach them through Hotels.com to get specific instructions for my arrival as you have to take a boat to get to the lodge.

Self

8/10

Excellent

06 Aug 2025

Alessia

Amazing location

10/10

Exceptional

31 Jul 2025

Glenn

It might not be as fancy as it's neighbouring Resorts but what it lacks in this makes up in Manager & staff friendly, going out of there way to make it a memorable stay. Can't thank the Manager enough, helping us out on tours, getting into town and also connecting us to the next destination, making it stress free and it's just a chilled resort, yes it's basic but we loved it, great little pool which Son made as much use of it as possible and well the wildlife around the resort was just amazing! Recommend this place highly

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

24 Mar 2025

David

In the jungle. A very unique experience. Arthur was very helpful.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

26 Feb 2025

Carleen

Very authentic jungle vibe

10/10

Exceptional

18 Feb 2025

Ian

Laid back, welcoming ecolodge

Leisure Partner

4/10

Poor

25 Jul 2024

Jason

We did not have a good time here, though Giselle was friendly and helpful.

1. Apparently the hotel did not get our hotels.com reservation and did not have our rooms ready. We waited 1.5hrs for one out of our three rooms to be cleaned.

2. The rooms are very basic. The sheets were the thinnest sheets I have slept on. Pillows are lumpy. Rods we're rusty. It really needed updates. There was no hot water. It was clean, but it was old. Giselle brought fresh towels on day 2, which was very appreciated.

3. The pool is out of service and nobody told us. It was disappointing to arrive and see a roped off pool. If not for the pool, we would have booked elsewhere. Giselle said the kids could go in the nearby Evergreen Lodge pool, but not the adults.

3. The wifi did not work at all. We used Evergreen's wifi the first night. It did not work the second night.

4. Food was very basic. Giselle was nice and allowed us to have our included breakfast food at lunch time though. We decided not to have dinner here but go to town instead.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

09 Apr 2024

Jungle immersion

Fabulous experience staying in the jungle. Accommodation basic but lying in bed listening to howler monkeys / frogs can't be beaten. Staff extremely helpful and the breakfast banana pancakes when we arrived via water taxi were amazing. Lots of places to sit out in the breeze looking at the river boats and bird watch

Friends_and_family Family

4/10

Poor

03 Apr 2024

Penelope

This felt like hostel style accommodation at hotel prices. Tired, old towels and gaps that insects could get in. No added extras. Lots of school groups and the day we weee there for breakfast (most times we missed it as out on early start trips) was poor. You can use the Evergreen swimming pool next door, it was nice to see wildlife (daily visit from the monkeys) and we enjoyed the water taxis into Tortuguero. I’d either pay extra to stay at Evergreen (cabins liked a lot nicer) or stay in town.
The manager Giselle was lovely and we had an interesting chat about all sorts of things

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

09 Mar 2024

Stephanie

The property is unbelievable for wildlife. We had monkeys swinging over us, woke up to howler monkeys, saw frogs, lizards and geckos. The boat ride there was exciting as we saw caiman and lizards, and birds.
We did feel a bit isolated there though as you need to take a water taxi to the village across the water. And the rooms were basic. Could use an update. Owners and staff were excellent and very friendly

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

12 Feb 2024

christine

The manager of this hotel Gisselle is absolutely amazing :) she goes above and beyond to make sure you have everything you need . The staff are all friendly and it’s stunning . Understand you are definitely going into a remote area and don’t expect more and you’ll be amazed at the rich culture and beautiful nature

Leisure

2/10

Poor

27 Jul 2022

Katie

Unfortunately this property is need of a face lift. It felt very old and tired. Our bathroom was filthy and the shower felt like it was about to fall off the wall. It was extremely over priced. The huts are over a swamp which, whilst very atmospheric in the rainforest, is also very smelly. The manager and his wife were both very kind and welcoming but it felt like they needed more support. I would not recommend staying here for the price they are asking.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

19 Apr 2022

Cherry

The staff recommended the perfect activities with an excellent guide. They also asked us many times of we needed anything and tried to be of service.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

03 Apr 2022

Reshma

Beautiful grounds with much wildlife around. Free kayaks for use.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

17 Mar 2022

Rustom

Beautiful cabin in the woods. Great staff!

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

10 Mar 2022

nakita

Rana Roja is deep in the jungle of Tortuguero where you live simply. While the lodging and amenities are simple and not your typical, the lodge owner and staff were extremely friendly and accommodating. They provided a lovely breakfast, and dinner there was well thought out and very affordable. If we travel back to Tortuguero, we will stay here again. Watch out for the monkeys, they will break in and steal your snacks. Pura Vida!

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

27 Jul 2021

Serafin

Sleeping in the middle of the jungle

A bit noisy at night with the frogs singing all night, but it's what happens when you are in the middle of the jungle of Tortuguero. Both the cabins and the staff were excellent.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

07 Mar 2020

Verified traveler

Excellent greeting and friendly feel. Very nice grounds. Accessible mainly by boat.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

04 Nov 2019

Andrew

It was great! Quiet, peaceful and restful right in the middle of the jungle

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

30 Aug 2019

Stacy

Eyelis was so friendly and accommodating. Definitely a once in a life time experience!

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

18 Apr 2019

gregory c.

A great get away in Tortuguero.

We had no expectations of our accommodations because it is in a jungle national park.. However, the cabins and the small hotel and separate dining room were all in great5 shape and exceptionally clean. The staff was attentive and helpful as well. Loved the salt water and fresh water pools and the lounge areas.. The bar and dock on the river were perfect to relax after days of strenuous activities.
Enjoyed the \"laid back\" atmosphere of the entire property.

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

15 Mar 2019

Verified traveler

everyone so friendly and helpful, beautiful area and stay was delightful

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

27 Nov 2018

Elizabeth

We really enjoyed our stay at Rana Roja Lodge, it has a really lovely situation right on the water front and surrounded by jungle. Our room was clean and comfortable, the only real criticism was a pretty weak shower that only did very hot or very cold. Other then that, the staff were very friendly and helpful and sorted us out with an airport pick up, tours and transfer to our next hotel. The tours in particular were great, we highly recommend the canoe trip and jungle walk with Miguel. There is a really lovely pool area, complete with water slide and the waterside bar is a great place to sit and enjoy a drink. We ate at the restaurant once and took a 5 minute water taxi to the village for the other two nights, which the staff called for us. The food was all buffet style but freshly made and very tasty with particularly good breakfast options. We would definitely recommend Rana Roja Lodge.

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

10 Sep 2018

Verified traveler

The setting was awesome and the monkeys all around the trees were awesome.

8/10

Excellent

19 Aug 2018

Steve

Great frogs.

Overall really enjoyed my stay. Any criticisms I may make are because I want help Rana Roja be even better. A little disappointed that our lodge was one of the closest to the pool/restaurant so was not really the isolated rainforest experience sold on website (we booked early so maybe they thought they were doing us a favor by the convenience).Despite that I did see Spider and Capuchin monkeys, hear the Howlers calling and at one point could count 5 strawberry arrow frogs (Rana Rojas) from my rocking chair on the veranda.
'Happy Hour' at the fantastically located river side bar wasn't that happy - a few very overpriced cocktails were 2 for price of one and you got short changed in Colons if you paid in dollar (hence 4/5 above for staff). Even the Arenal Observatory Lodge has cheaper cocktails and a proper all drinks happy hour (and display their exchange rate of C570 to the $). Worried that taxis in and out of town would be a pain but were very easy to arrange. Meals were simple but tastey and all the restaurant staff were lovely.
Loads of frogs including red-eye tree frogs.

10/10

Exceptional

24 Jun 2018

Don

Great for natural experience staff fantastic great for family adventure beautiful setting

8/10

Excellent

04 Jun 2018

Verified traveler

Fabulous escape in the jungle

Loved this place, I really didn’t want to leave. Paradise in the jungle! The only down side is that you cannot get any food, snacks etc unless you book in advance for lunch/dinner. We were caught out and would have had to take a water taxi into nearest town to get something to eat but fortunately the manager prepared a plate of fruit for us. This place would definitely benefit from having more available food on site. We were told we couldn’t eat at any of the other restaurants next door despite offering to pay!

10/10

Exceptional

18 Mar 2018

Verified traveler

Fantastic, unique hotel experience

Fantastic 2 night stay at the Rana Roja Lodge. The staff were very accommodating & helpful. I was concerned at first that it was too far from the village (a short water taxi ride) but once I arrived I realised the location is key. I was met by monkeys in the trees every time I left my room. If you are going to Tortuguero for the wildlife then this is the place to stay. The canoe safari that they organised was also excellent. Thank you all for a great few days

8/10

Excellent

15 Feb 2018

Brian

Great location, excellent staff, good food

I was traveling solo and found this hotel after staying in the village of Tortuguero where it was very noisy. This hotel is quiet and the owner/manager was a visible presence and extremely helpful. At the time I was visiting there were many large groups at the lodge, mainly from Europe. There are shared facilities with the neighboring hotels such as swimming pools, bars, etc that are a bonus.

10/10

Exceptional

08 Oct 2017

Jimmy

Great stay at Rana Roja

The staff was great, the rooms were spacious, the greens and wildlife were awesome!. Saw and heard many green masses on the property also.

4/10

Poor

16 Jul 2017

Mary

Overpriced, no one on evening/night duty, basic

The room was like a camping cabin--no hot water, no internet, furnished with just two beds, screens only, no windows or a.c. The bathroom flooded. We had inch-sized biting ants in our room one night and had to seek help from a neighboring hotel, because no one was on duty at reception, This for $225 a night! Others at the neighbor hotel, Evergreen, paid only $70, with 3 meals included! We requested a refund for one night, but got no response from the owner. My advise would be to stay at Evergreen or in town--much cheaper and nicer

10/10

Exceptional

02 Jan 2017

Verified traveler

In the middle of the jungle!

Absolutely beautiful location in the tropical rainforest and right on Tortuguero lagoon. We enjoyed our two night stay very much, as you really feel as if you were in the middle of the jungle. The lodge has everything you need and dinner can be reserved there too if you don't want to take a water taxi into tortuguero village (5-10 minutes). We weren't in one of the cabins but in one of the larger buildings. The room was large and well equipped. What is special is that there are no windows but just mosquito nets, which means that you hear the sounds of the birds, insects and sometimes monkeys very well. For us, that only added to the experience!

Partner

8/10

Excellent

02 Jan 2017

Mark

Great location for Tortuguero adventures.

Great location on the river just outside Tortuguero, just a 3 minute ($2-3) water taxi away from the village. Gerardo is the proprietor of this smaller of two \"conjoined\" lodges (guests can use the pool at the Evergreen Lodge that surrounds Rana Roja), and he is extremely friendly and willing to help with any questions or required planing...arranging taxis, boats, tours, etc. Nice bar overlooking the river/canal. Breakfast/dining wasn't 5*, but sufficient and plentiful. Overall - not luxury, but clean, convenient and good value.

Family

4/10

Poor

20 Sep 2025

carole

Honteux

Cet hôtel est au milieu de 2 autres hôtels, l’evergreen et le Monkey, reliés par un chemin goudronné. Nous étions les seuls clients dans celui ci donc pas de buffet.
L’hôtel est insalubre, aucune propreté, nous sommes restés 3 nuits et aucun ménage dans la chambre, nous avons dû nous sécher pendant 3 jours avec les mêmes serviettes à raison de deux douches par jour. La chambre est moite, très humide, ce qui rend le sol glissant.Aucun confort mais vraiment aucun.
Ne vous fiez surtout pas aux photos sur les sites, elles datent de plusieurs années et ne sont pas du tout représentatives de l’état actuel. Ne vous fiez pas non plus au commentaires qui disent que vous pouvez profiter de la belle piscine du Monkey hôtel, ça c’était avec l’ancienne propriétaire je pense, cet hôtel bénéficie d’un point d’eau appelé piscine qui vu l’état ne vous donne pas du tout envie d’y mettre vos pieds. Quand je vois le prix que nous avons payé pour 3 nuits, je regrette vraiment cette réservation qui est en plus la plus chère que nous avons payé au Costa Rica car selon les photos nous pensions être dans un bel hôtel comme quoi les photos sont anciennes!
Par contre, le réceptionniste Mario est exceptionnel, serviable. D’une extrême gentillesse et avec un super cœur, merci à lui sincèrement d’avoir été au petit soin pendant nos trois jours. Très bel endroit dans une jungle avec singes, grenouilles

Partner

4/10

Poor

13 Aug 2025

Yvonne

Der Hotelmanager war sehr hilfsbereit und freundlich, die Unterkunft allerdings unterster Standard. Da wurde gefühlt seit mindestens 20 Jahren nichts mehr gemacht. Uralte Dusche, Waschbecken, der Spiegel war so angelaufen, dass man nichts mehr erkennen konnte. Alles in allem ziemlich schäbig und heruntergekommen.

8/10

Excellent

05 Aug 2025

Jorge

Ubicación fuera del pueblo, en una zona muy tranquila, con un embarcadero para poder llegar al pueblo. El personal muy atento, Gerardo nos atendió de maravilla.

8/10

Excellent

12 Mar 2025

Maxine

Situated in a very nice environnement, for a solo traveler a bit remote from town ,taking the water taxis became a bit expensive...
Geraldo,the manager was great to help me organize things
The buffet is a quite basic...
All in all ,I had a nice stay

10/10

Exceptional

13 Feb 2025

Arnold

Schitterende locatie met veel dieren. Zwembad perfect voor onze kleine. Mooi in de jungle en veel apen, rode kikkers ara's en toecans gezien. Dichtbij park en dorpje met de watertaxi

6/10

Pleasant

02 Jan 2025

Verified traveler

O local é incrível, no meio da natureza. Mas o quarto era muito antigo, sem janelas (só uma tela e cortinas). Com a forte chuva, o frio e a umidade tomaram conta do quarto. O chuveiro não estava legal. O atendimento foi muito bom.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

09 Aug 2022

Gunnar

Die Lage ist wirklich schön, mitten im Urwald. Die Anreise erfolgt mit dem Boot zum hoteleigenen Anleger. Leider sind die Bungalows sehr in die Jahre gekommen. Wir hatten diverse Blutflecken von erschlagenen Moskitos an der Wand. Auf Bildern im Netz sind zum Teil 2 Pools zu sehen. Nur der Pool mit dem grünlichen Wasser gehört zum Hotel, der andere Pool ist der des Nachbarhotels, der nicht genutzt werden soll. Das Essen (Buffet) ist ok, wir sind zum Essen aber nach dem ersten Tag lieber in den Ort gefahren.

Leisure Family

4/10

Poor

17 Jul 2022

Maite

Me gustó que estaba en plena selva. Lo que no me gustó fue las habitaciones, necesitan mucha reforma. El personal muy muy amable y atento.

Leisure Family_with_children

2/10

Poor

12 Apr 2022

Jean

En un seul mot: défraîchi. Les Lodges sont dans la jungle, petite cabane rustique et désuète (lit, matelas, literie, serviettes, lavabo, douche et peinture datant des années 70 probablement). Les moitiés haute des murs sont tout le tour en fenêtres de moustiquaire (pas toujours étanches) sans aucune vitre ni volets. Des vieux rideaux tachés assurent l’intimité. Des fourmis sur les planchers, les murs et dans le lit, des moustiques très fin qui nous ont piqué dans la nuit, des mini grenouilles dans la douche. Imaginez l’humidité à l’intérieur, le cri assourdissant et incessant des singes hurleurs toute la nuit, sans compter les autres animaux. Le restaurant doit être avisé d’avance pour y prendre le repas du soir à 15$ US pour un spaghetti et un peu de poulet comme seul menu. Les rampes en bois du site sont pourries et la piscine sale et délabrée. L’entretien minimal n’est assurément plus fait depuis longtemps. Les safe des chambres ne fonctionnent plus depuis longtemps. Le personnel est courtois et fait son possible. ps: je m’arrête là. Le pire endroit où on a logé dans nos 2 voyages de 11 nuits chacun au Costa Rica.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

03 Mar 2022

Clémence

Super séjour dans cette hôtel en pleine jungle!
Merci

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

05 Aug 2021

Verified traveler

Very cosy rainforest lodge with super nice service

Rana Roja was absolutely amazing! The owner Herardo was super nice, hospital and helpful. This place was more than advertised. They had a small and cute pool with a small waterslide which was nice addition during the warm evening. The property had many interesting walking paths which kind of felt like being on a nature tour or a hike, very cool! The owner was very helpful in making our stay comfortable and gave us good tips for tours around the area. We ended up going to a turtle watching tour and a hike to the top of a mountain, all at a very reasonable price.

The room itself was ok too, as nice as it can be on secluded riverside lodge. The water pressure in the shower and sink was not the best but also worked as good as could be expected at a rainforest lodge.

Overall our stay was a full ten, all thanks to Herardo! We higly recommend this place, you wont be disappointed.

PS. watch out for the howler monkeys, they really do howl! ..and steal your sweets :D

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

04 Apr 2021

monica

increíble lugar dentro de la selva

El lugar esta increíble dentro de la selva y hay mucha vegetación y animales , salen monos alli al lado.
Gerardo el dueño es super amable y esta super pendiente de todo.
nos recomendo un guia muy bueno y la pasamos super bien
el desayuno super rico y todo el personal super amable me encanto, esta fuera del pueblo lo cual es mucho mejor el pueblo no es bonito por lo que super recomiendo quedarse acá

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

14 Sep 2019

Carsten

Die Hütte im Dschungel war in einem ungepflegten Zustand,der Safe defekt,die Beleuchtung funktionierte nur teilweise und es gab keine Zahnputzbecher.Das vorher bestellte Abendessen wurde einen vorgesetzt ohne vorherige Auswahlmöglichkeiten,das Frühstück war sehr eingeschränkt in seiner Auswahl.Sehr schön war der Pool (nicht der auf den Foto)und sehr nett der Barkeeper Luiz,im Gegensatz zu der etwas hochnäsigen Rezeptinistin.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

09 Aug 2019

Verified traveler

Le site est incroyable. Magnifiques piscines. Le sentiment d’être imprégné de forêt tropicale. Service impeccable. Je recommande.

Leisure Family_with_children

8/10

Excellent

16 Feb 2019

Víctor

Cerca del paraíso

El lugar es maravilloso y las instalaciones adecuadas para una estadía en contacto con la naturaleza. La atención es personalizada por parte del dueño, muy linda experiencia

Family

10/10

Exceptional

20 Jan 2019

Louise

Åk dit!

Fantastiskt ställe, mitt i regnskogen.Kan verkligen rekommenderas. Vi bodde i stort rum, \"fyrabäddars\", med två stora sängar. Rum 154. Bra! Aporna och fåglarna rumsterade om utanför fönstret. Trevlig bar vid floden. Fem minuter med taxibåt in till Tortuguero village, som är trevlig, laidback med hyfsade restauranger. Gjorde en nattur, som var sådär, men morgontur med kanot (utan motor) var underbar. Kan rekommendera Jungel Jon, superbra och trevlig guide. Fråga efter honom.
Åt två middagar på restaurangen, kanske inte världens bästa mat men \"good enough\". Glöm inte att förboka. Ett stort plus att man kan använda fina poolen på hotellet bredvid.
Mycket trevliga ägare till Ranas Rojas. Åk dit! Vi tog bilen till La Pavona från San Jose, bra väg, tog cirka 4 timmar. 1 timmas härlig båtfärd till Ranas Rojas.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

30 Oct 2018

Jorn

This is THE place to be in Tortuguero! The owner is so nice and helps you with everything. The bungalows are in the middle of the jungle. So all the animals you can see in the national park are also next to your doorstep (look good, because you have to find them!). He had a recommendation for tours, Miguel, he is so nice, you pay a little more but you have the best tour guide you can find over there.

If you don't know where to go in Tortuguero, book this one! You will have an amazing time!!