Chayote Lodge

“Fantastic birding; fantastic guide; fantastic room”

We stayed here for 3 nights as part of a 3 week wildlife holiday we organised with Geodyssey. Our room was superb... a real "wow moment" upon opening the door and looking through it to the balcony and views beyond. The room was large with a very nice bathroom, huge comfortable bed, ample seating in… more

We stayed here for 3 nights as part of a 3 week wildlife holiday we organised with Geodyssey. Our room was superb... a real "wow moment" upon opening the door and looking through it to the balcony and views beyond. The room was large with a very nice bathroom, huge comfortable bed, ample seating inside and additional seating on the balcony. The views from the balcony are amazing and you can see the airport in San Jose which is 20km away. The restaurant at Chayote provided good, tasty food, particularly breakfast. The hydrangeas in the grounds look nice but are a bit sterile for wildlife but the guide used by the hotel, Jose Alfaro, more than made up for that. We were booked in for a walk around the grounds on our first afternoon, a birding tour to La Paz de San Ramon and a trip to the Toro waterfall. Jose took us on all the trips and he was excellent with a superb knowledge of English, especially with bird and plant names. The trip to La Paz de San Ramon was the best trip we went on in the entire 3 week tour, with birds everywhere and close enough to touch. Luch at Caferteria Flory was superb. On the Bajos Waterfall trip we got to the top of the concrete steps and decided not to go to the base of the falls but it really didn't matter as we had fantastic views of the falls from the top and there were loads of birds and plants to see in the gardens. Jose really was fantastic; we thought he went well beyond his brief and stopped for us to see the church and market in Zarcero. We'd had problems with the altitude since leaving our previous hotel and had some health issues, so couldn't do everything we wanted to but Jose was kind and considerate and just slowed the pace down for us. Chayote is a nice, comfortable hotel and close to San Jose but you'd be a fool to stay here just one night because of it's proximity to the airport... stay 3 nights and go birding with Jose; a genuinely nice guy, who knows his stuff.

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“Incredible customer service and pure paradise”

I have never been anywhere where the customer service was sooooo good!! The owner Rolando could not do enough for us I Contacted him a few times before we arrived with a few questions and honestly I was shocked at how helpful he was. He went above and beyond to help. Thankyou so much 😊 You must b… more

I have never been anywhere where the customer service was sooooo good!! The owner Rolando could not do enough for us I Contacted him a few times before we arrived with a few questions and honestly I was shocked at how helpful he was. He went above and beyond to help. Thankyou so much 😊 You must book the waterfall trip with Jose or if that’s not your thing he does other trips. So much knowledge again nothing to much trouble, so lovely and kind. Thankyou so much Jose , your a star 😊😊😊 We did the early morning bird watching also and the scenery was stunning. The lodge itself is breathtaking and the sunset is out of this world.

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“Serene location, beautiful views and sunrise. Excellent service.”

My family and I stayed at the lodge. Last week and found Everything to be exceptional. The location is peaceful and you can see coffee plantations in the valley below We loved the sunrise from our room, the rooms were large and clean. I am sure that the last post was reviewing a different locatio… more

My family and I stayed at the lodge. Last week and found Everything to be exceptional. The location is peaceful and you can see coffee plantations in the valley below We loved the sunrise from our room, the rooms were large and clean. I am sure that the last post was reviewing a different location. We loved the dog who would greet you as you came for breakfast. The service was superb, we ate fresh breakfast of fruit followed by eggs and delicious coffee. Dinner was delicious although a little quiet since it was Christmas Day.

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“Great Views”

You may read it is about one hour from the airport to here but it’s not. The traffic is horrendous & it took me two hours. The property is lovely with fabulous views down to the valley, the mountain range & coffee plantations. The accommodation are individual rustic huts which are very large wi… more

You may read it is about one hour from the airport to here but it’s not. The traffic is horrendous & it took me two hours. The property is lovely with fabulous views down to the valley, the mountain range & coffee plantations. The accommodation are individual rustic huts which are very large with a good size outdoor balcony with stunning views. The bed is enormous & quite comfortable. It is all open planned. The bathroom has a walk in shower & seperate toilet. There is no aircon so it gets a bit chilly at night. There is no TV but the wifi is everywhere & is strong. However the place is showing a bit of wear & tear & could do with a bit of a spruce up. There is an onsite restaurant. Breakfast was included in my room rate which included hot & cold dishes. There is a good choice of dishes for dinner both local & international. Bit expensive but meals were very tasty. There is a small number of staff who were helpful & friendly. There are a few tours you can do from here but it’s mainly a layover location as there are no villages or towns in walking distance. A one day two night stay is enough if you are not planning a bunch of hiking.

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