La Cusinga Lodge

A wonderful lodge 10 minutes drive south of Uvita. We stayed in room Jaguarundi, which was probably the best room there :) and is the featured photo on this website. Set up high on a ridge with sweeping views of the ocean and whale tail beach, the room was nice, with fans and a lovely balcony, and the beds were very comfortable with ample, proper foam pillows. The reception area is beautiful, with a large covered terrace with a bar offering sweeping panoramic views of the ocean and glorious sunsets. The breakfast was good, and had a range of European and local dishes. The staff were wonderful; Veronica and Hazel at reception were very nice, attentive, and friendly. The hotel also has extensive grounds, including a beautiful, quiet covered swimming pool including a shallow end great for young kids, and a 5 minute walk will take you to a natural pool set in the forest (1.5m deep) where a lovely small rapid/ river flows into it - and there was no one there. One big bonus - the lodge has exclusive access to Arco beach - this is a large beautiful, very quiet beach, with a fun cave and a natural waterfall shower - the path down is well maintained by the lodge. As this beach is only accessible through this lodge, or by the public who have to hike through the forest from another beach, or by your own private boat, this beach is very quiet. There are also hiking trails on the property, but the longest one was not easy and was not well marked. (This is something the hotel could improve on). However for the general public, all the main trails were very very well maintained, especially the ones close to the main hotel. As this hotel is 10 minutes drive from the main Uvita/Bahia city, unless you have your own car, you are limited to eating at the restaurant (which we did all but one) unless you take a taxi to the town. The restaurant served high quality food and the service was quick. Some feedback for improvements - there is no fridge in the Superior Room - would be great to have one - although the staff were very happy to store our personal drinks in their kitchen, and would also be good to have a laundry service by the Kilogram (or one free service per 3 night stay for example), rather than charging $2 to wash a pair of socks. Overall, a really great lodge and stay!

The place has a nice view and good food, although the breakfast menu could be improved. However, a young man named Ocellaris, who claimed to be the owner, harassed my husband and friends, who were visiting the country, trying to persuade us to go to a party. We found this strange and dangerous, and we felt uncomfortable and harassed the entire time since we had no interest in attending any party. The place claims to be peaceful, but it is not, especially for young people and children. We wanted to speak with the management and asked the staff, but they informed us that the young man is indeed the owner. If you are traveling with family or alone, I do not recommend this place. It is not eco-friendly either, as we saw beer cans on the path to the pool, posing a risk to the wildlife.

La Cusinga Lodge is for me the best place to watch wildlife in Uvita, in particular howler monkeys, they live on the property and chances are good that you can watch them. Unfortunately this year I booked a hotel in the mountains but I didn‘t know that there are no monkeys, you can only see birds there. Thus I returned to Cusinga Lodge for lunch, I walked the trails on the property and I was happy to see a howler monkey family. The property is so beautiful and the staff at La Cusinga Lodge and the restaurant are very friendly. Next time in Uvita I‘ll definitely return to La Cusinga Lodge.

The location alone is worth gold. It is really fantastic, full of tropical jungles and with access to a practically private beach. It borders the Marino Ballena National Park. The rooms are rustic, but well done, with lots of use of river stones, solid wood beams, flowers, plants. The restaurant and viewpoint is the best, with a 360º view from where you can even see the whale's tail.