We were going to La Fortuna, but a friend told us we should visit the Sarapiqui area on the way there. On the road to Puerto Viejo, we saw a sign of this lodge, and since we were tired, we decided to spend one night before continuing our trip to La Fortuna.
The gardens looked beautiful! We took a standard room (not the Superior, which was a bit expensive) because we travel with a limited budget. The room was OK, with private bath and ceiling fan, nice decoration. The manager was friendly, and was very helpful when we needed to confirm our reservations in La Fortuna.The meals were very good! We wanted to use their Jacuzzi in the evening but the water was too cold...
In general we liked our short stay in this small lodge, recommended if you're looking for a quiet, peaceful environment!

I stayed at EL Gavilan with my family. We absolutely loved it. We stayed at one of the deluxe rooms, and it was a great experience. The rooms are very nice. The food also was extremely good in taste and size. The location of the lodge is probably the best of all the lodges we have stayed at, right on the Sarapiqui River and surrounded by a private tropical rainforest reserve of around 20 acres we were told. The birds are all over. My wife is a birding freak, and she did not need to leave the front of our room to spot around 40 species? Not really sure, but a lot. The owner and staff are the best we have met in any hotel. Could not have been more friendly. I highly recommend El Gavilan Lodge to eco tourists, birders, families and adventure seeking people. We will be back.

They honored the first price, owner turns out to be a lovely woman who invites the local school children in once a quarter to have stories, snacks and play time in a wonderful setting. We truly enjoyed them. But its a long way to anywhere else, relaxing atmosphere, with a jacuzzie and not pool, but the other pictures on this review site do give you a correct feel.
Rooms are clean, bathroom is spacious and ceilings are 20 foot high, breakfast is good if CR standard fare, the get away from it all is definately there and you won't find a casino anywhere near. Its a "drive to" place, down good roads and on the banks of the River, plenty of birds to see and the red frog also lives there.

No Air conditioner and I would not and did not worry about the bug bites. The sounds of the forest is all around and this is on the "flats" and a little warmer than the rest of our trip.
Get a good book, sit on the porch and relax......A spiritual getaway
Its an eco lodge but still confortable, No TV no Radio no alarm clock, no problems

this lodge isn't for everyone. we stayed in one of the cabins which was great. there were 4 of us and we each got our own bed. the bed looked homemade- constructed of wood with a mattress i'm assuming some wouldn't find acceptable. the cabin itself was clean but definitely not spotless. we even had doubts about the cleanliness of our bedding, but for the most part, it was fine. there's no air conditioning and the room seemed easily accessible to insects so we skipped taking showers that night and covered ourselves, head to toe, in insect repellent. WE LOVED IT! the entire property is so charming. the grounds are beautiful. you can walk behind the cabins and look at the different plants and bird watch. one of the owners offered to take us to a part where red and blue frogs come out in the afternoon but, unfortunately, we weren't able to come back after our rafting trip. as rustic as the accommodations are, that's why we appreciated our stay there. at gavilan, we felt like we were in a different country. we felt like we were in costa rica!