The Lodge

This is a great eco-friendly place, just like everyone says. Cool location, very pretty views. Don't forget, however, that eco-friendly usually means low on luxuries. We did not need a coffee maker or a hair dryer but still felt the rooms were kind of bare. The water pressure is low, and it took 5-10 minutes for the water to start heating up to a normal temperature. A bit unpleasant when you are cold, sweaty, and muddy from the hike, and desperate to get into the shower. The food was good for the price but I did miss the ability to choose my meals from a menu.The hotel only has one type of wine and a rule that you cannot consume any alcohol on the premises that wasn't purchased there. Despite this, we still enjoyed the food, drinks, and presentation.

The Service

The owner, Joel, goes out of the way to make his guests feel comfortable. He has put a lot of work into this place and is very proud of it. The trail he built in front of the lodge is majestic, and a lot safer than the waterfall trail.

The Location

Be prepared for where you're going. Even after reading the reviews on TA, I felt that I was very unprepared for this location. First of all, it is very cold it is in this area. We came in shorts and t-shirts, with our hiking shoes and wished very much that we had sweaters and long pants.

The Rio Celeste hike is treacherous! The entire hike is covered in sharp, muddy, slippery rocks. There are many ants that bite HARD, snakes, and other creatures. I had a decent pair of hiking shoes on, but strongly wished I had rubber boots or tall boots with pants to tuck into them. It is difficult to enjoy the hike, when you are constantly looking at your feet, and making sure that you're not stepping on ants, snakes, and twisting your ankles. Furthermore, although the forest is beautiful, I didn't find the waterfall to be all that impressive. If you have been anywhere on the North American coast, you would have seen waterfalls much like this one (that are a lot less dangerous to get to). For some reason I thought you could swim in the waterfall, but this is certainly not the case. In fact there is not even anywhere to sit down near the waterfall, or even stand comfortably. The hot spring at the end of the trail is just a hole in the ground, which would be a cool find if you are alone, but not with tons of people piling into it. The entire trail is about a 3 - 3.5 hour hike, and is a great workout.

Conclusion

We enjoyed our stay at the lodge, and if you have proper clothes it is quite refreshing to sleep with the shutters open and breathe fresh air. Waking up to the bird sounds is fantastic. The only reason I say I'm glad we stayed one night, is because once the hike is over, there is not much left to do in this area. Good luck!

My wife and I stayed in the Celeste Mountain Lodge on our honeymoon in August. The lodge is beautiful, nestled on the side of a mountain with an incredible 3k hiking trail in the jungle. We decided to stay in the lodge because we were on the way to the Tenorino national park which is only about 3k away. The price of one night's stay included 3 delicious tico fusion meals, all very good. We were given a sack lunch to take with us on the hiking trail, which was super healthy and delicious. Overall, we loved staying here, the view from our room was so beautiful that we spent several hours in the afternoon staring through the floor to ceiling windows in our room which revealed a beautiful, lush green landscape. It is a little more expensive than some of the other places we stayed, however it was worth every penny. Highly recommended!

We are coming to costa rica for last 13 years.. having home close to Montezuma.. love to much to ever leave the house.. this time we did .. went To "Celeste Mountain Lodge.. just driving by without any recommendations or reservations .. we found the special place ! Please go, if you are in the country or just close by !.. many reason to visit.. food.. place.. rio celeste .. beautiful place to be..
or just the fact they try to do what we all supposed to be doing.. go Green go Eco.. even if not 100%.. still trying.. thank you !!! jana and tad

Look elsewhere if the idea of a stay without television or wi-fi or Hilton-style luxuries is a deal-breaker, but if not, know that this is a special, peaceful, place. Be prepared for stunning architecture, great conversation with guests, the caretaker and the owner, (who led our family on a brief but delightful night tour through the hotel's gardens to see tree frogs and more). The meals were something else entirely: All included and all exotic and delicious. One of the most amazing things to me was finding that the hotel had not only carved its own mile-long trail through the neighboring jungle but had laid nearly the entire length of the trail with fabric to keep the path cleaer. The result is that we walked the entire distance--in the rain, in the jungle--without even getting our feet muddy. Yep, we loved it.