Cocoa Cottage

My husband and I spent 7 days at Cocoa Cottages and had an amazing experience. We stayed in the largest room on the second floor which was very specious and comfortable. It had a great balcony and beautiful view of the rain forest. There is a stylish shared living room that we used for playing cards. The staff was terrific and took great care of us. Shanista (sp) was a fantastic cook and housekeeper. Her husband (guide) drove us all over and showed us the sights. We rented a car for one day, freaked out and turned it in...being on vacation, we didn't need the stress. The other ladies/chefs were excellent. Dwayne, the gardener, changed a flat tire for us on our rental car! We were up in the mountains so experienced some rain but it never interfered with our plans. We have fond memories of our stay and would highly recommend the cottages.

For anyone wanting to stay in accomodation close to nature, this cannot be beaten. We stayed in the ‘Honeymoon suite’, a semi-circular shaped room with a lovely balcony area overlooking a valley cloaked in trees. There are only seven rooms spread around the curtilage of the hotel. By pre-arrangement dinner can be provided. This is a set meal usually of fish or chicken with a vegetarian option. This food is shared with other guests dining in the evening. On Saturday and Sundays pizzas are offered. We had two nights meals, including one pizza meal. This was prepared on a thin crisp base, but there was plenty of topping and a good selection of choices to choose from. The set meal was a fish (Mahi Mahi) cooked in sauce with lots of side dishes, including vegetables, rice and lentils. This was also very good.  At night, the area is alive with sounds of the forest and because the rooms are semi-open, you will undoubtedly get ‘guests’ in the room, we had two resident geckko's. There is the protection of mosquito nets and we have few problems in this regard while staying here. The ambiance is very peaceful. In order to make the most of the location, a car is really needed because it is some way out of town. There are one or two other restaurants in the area but again these need a car to get to them. The room itself was okay but there were some aspects which could be improved. There was no decent mirror, no beside tables and very low lighting in the room after dark. However we managed to get hot water when we needed it, and there are plenty of plug sockets for electronics. It undoubtedly had lots of atmosphere and we were pleased with the overall experience. 

We had two fabulous meals here, prepared by the German owners, Oliver and Tatya. The jungle setting is stunning, with lovely cottages perched over a river valley. We stayed in an airBNB up the street, but came here for two late dinners after a day of diving. Even though the regular cook was sick, the owners rolled up their sleeves and made us two delicious pizza and salad meals, accompanied by a delightful cabernet, served in family heirloom glasses from Oliver's family.