Wonderful. My niece and i celebrated my sister's 60th birthday at the Root House. The houses are exactly as they look in the pictures. Very well done, very clean and very unique. The first night was a bit unsettling with the howler monkeys "howling" and the tree frogs. After that I fell in love with the place. Hummingbirds all over the place. We had early morning and late afternoon visits from the Toucans, three different kinds. We saw monkeys everyday. The walk to the beach thru the jungle was lovely. Omar Cook, a local guide, took us on a tour of the Gandoca-Manzanillo refuge. He is very knowledgable as well as entertaining. I would suggest renting bicycles to get around. Daan has done a great job, very helpful always available but does allow you privacy. Ernesto and Mariol were wonderful. Jose the night security guard was very nice and added a sense of security to those not used to the jungle and you are in the "jungle". Loved it would recommend it to anyone.

I am quite shocked about the review below as it is in total contrast to our experience. If their house was wet it was probably because it had rained before. After all it was the rainy season. Bugs, you would expect them in the rainforest and come prepared. The boardwalk to the beach got a bit slippery after the rain but Ernesto had warned us so we walked carefully. And if you heard noises during the night on your deck it was probably some curious animal.

With a view to get away from the cold and the hassle of Christmas, we decided to go for something totally different. We succeeded to perfection. Congo Bongo, Palm House, was all we expected. Daan, Marisol, Ernesto and José are the nicest people and always helpful. Anything we asked for was provided immediately, coconuts, lemons, the freshest fish, wine, you name it, I could go on forever. Daan organised a trip through the forest with Omar a local with a vast knowledge and a deep love of his country, who showed us amazing things. The beach is lovely and wild and the water warm.
I am 63 years old, overweight and hate nothing more than camping and roughing it, but I never felt uncomfortable or even threatened. The house was spotlessly clean, the bedrooms have safes and can be locked and there were no bugs in it as long as you kept the doors shut. The shower was a little uncooperative at times but with a little perseverence and following instructions it was beautifully hot. The furniture, bed included is really comfortable and from the patio you saw an amazing variety of wildlife, including a great big owl on our first evening, howler monkeys, sloths and beautiful birds, who all minded their own business.
I wish I was still there.

I've never reviewed anything before, and when I read bad reviews on here I think that they must be the sort of people that send meals back at resturants all the time. I assure you, I'm not that person... this was a horrible experience. Congo Bongo was our last stop after 2 great weeks in Costa Rica, and it was the place we were the most looking forward to especially after reading the glowing reviewes on trip advisor. When we arrived we where shown to our room by the owner, Dan, who was not very welcoming, but we shrugged it off. Dan gruffly stated that it had just been cleaned... (with what appeared to be a high pressure hose, everything was soaked) There wasn't a single other guest at the place, but we thought, oh well more beach for us. We headed to the beach on the "catwalk" through the jungle. The 200 meter catwalk was dilapilated and rotten, and not a very pleasent stroll... we didn't return to the beach. Back at our house we found it hard to relax while workers where cutting down trees on the property 50 meters away, all day. After we made dinner, the bugs began to swarm, so we headed to the bedroom (the only room which was enclosed). However the room was not well sealed and the bugs began getting inside there.. in large volumes, so we retreated under the bug net (time, 6 pm). We then had the worst nights sleep of our lives. I'm not sure which was worse the bugs outside or the bed bugs. The next day we told Dan we would be leaving, we did not ask for the money for the remaining 2 nights, and were not offered any sort of discount. Just happy to be getting out of there. This review comes from 2 back-country campers from the Candian Rockies, we are very familar with roughing it, but this being the most expensive hotel we stayed at for our 2 week stay (and most disappointing), we didn't expect we'd have to rough it.

Daan and his staff at Congo Bongo helped us have the most amazing family vacation of our lives. Friendly knowledgable staff. The grounds at Congo Bongo are imacculantly kept, and absolutely gorgeous. Jose, the night guard is fantastic. He is always willing to help no matter the situation, and gives you a sense of security in an unfamiliar place. Our favorite time was sitting out on the beach (short walk) with our teenagers and taking in the amazing scenery and sounds. Monkeys, sloth, and many other animals are abundant and unspoiled. Daan also helped us retrieve our lost luggage from our airline. (thanks again Daan!) We will certainly return in the future.