Some of the best time of my year trip was spend in this beautiful place where I was staying for 1 month and 1 week, always very well-treated. The staff was amazing, the owner (Lilly) was an wonderful person who took well-care of me and my girlfriend. It's very well located for people who want to have a good time between the jungle and the beach. The best beaches in Colon Island are right there for either people who just want to lay down on the beach or people who wants to surf. Literally a 5min (or even less) walk until you get to the beach. The daily atmosphere was surreal: Toucans, Monkeys and many beautiful animals and birds around. Don't hesitate to come here, you won't regret at all.
Beautiful place. Very cosy cabins. Really comfy mattress. The highlight of our stay was yoga with Nick. Popular with surfers and yogis. We found local dinner options were limited as places were only open on specific nights. There is no shared kitchen and they do not serve lunch/dinner at the lodge. It would be better if they had bicycles for hire/use as once you get to the lodge, there are not many places within walking distance. Lots of people in the area use bicycles for getting around. They could get more comfortable seats/cushions for the common area. Internet was bad at popular times, but fine otherwise. It was a bit weird at first how there are no staff, but the volunteers made us feel at home. Great coffee.
If you enjoy nature La Selva is the perfect place to stay. Mariella was so pleasant and kind to check on me when I didn’t arrive on my scheduled day to make sure I was ok and safe and didn’t charge me for that day. That was nice of her. The staff was friendly and very attentive. They have great yoga classes, the place was very clean, and a very comfy mattress all around a great experience. A must-visit in Bocas del Toró. The property is tucked in the jungle and steps away from the beach. Paradise I loved every about my stay at La Selva.
Terrible experience, would definitely not recommend to stay there! We booked the King Suite Tree House, in the major bedroom it was continuously raining inside since there are no proper windows to close only mosquito nets the second room with the two single beds was a joke…the floor was not properly closed so everything basically got wet there! The stuff was also not really helpful I assumed since they promote surfing on their homepage we could rent surfboards and could be guided a little bit on the surf spots but no one from the staff had actually any idea about surfing and there were no boards to rent neither! I am not really picky I travelled a lot but for an accommodation that is that highly priced I would have expected much more! It felt more like a scam!!! Really disappointing!
The lodge changed owners and sadly we had a very bad experience at La Selva under the new management. Breakfast starts late 8.30 (not 8am as listed online), which in our case was hard as we had our 4 year old with us and we are early risers. We asked for an earlier breakfast to the volunteer staff but that was no option. There was no lock for one of our rooms and a solution wasnt offered, on big rainstorms raindrops drizzle on your head while in bed, a solution wasn't offered. Pathways were extremely slippery. We had a dead bat hanging in our bathroom, they did take it away after we mentioned it. We are used to stay in small businesses in rustic jungle environments. But we decided to leave after 3 days as we didn't feel the positive, hospitality vibe we expected and hoped for. We asked if we could get a partly refund as we booked 10 days and left due to a valid amount or reasons. Sadly they weren't cooperative and kept the full amount telling us we have to "keep the no refund policy in mind next time we book a small business"...I would not recommend this place due to the lack of professionalism and hospitality experience on handling all matters.
