Words cannot express how magical it was to stay at Cashew Hill. We are in our 20's, live in Oregon and loved the Caribbean feel when we took our first trip to Puerto Rico, so Costa Rica sounded like the next amazing place.... and it WAS! Cashew Hill and the town of Puerto Viejo brought an overall sense of relaxation and beauty in a lively jungle environment. We encountered the most awesome people from all over the world and felt very welcomed by Sue and Andrew from the moment we arrived. Thanks you guys! If you want to see the most beautiful plants, animals, waterfalls, beaches, and people.... Puerto Viejo and Cashew Hill is the place for you!
Sue and Andrew were more than happy from the time I started emailing them to help us make arrangements, as we had never been to the country before. They arranged transportation for us for the 4-5hr drive from the airport, and through this we met one of the coolest Puerto Viejo locals you could ever meet- Junior. Nicest guy ever who taught us the meaning of truly relaxing- Caribbean style. :) When we arrived it was late and we were tired from traveling all day so the Denley's gladly showed us to our cottage and we settled in for the night. Of course it's hard to get used to the sounds of the jungle and the geckos crawling on the walls, but after night 1 it began to feel like home. We very much appreciated that Cashew Hill was eco-friendly and worked to conserve resources as this is an important way of life for us as well. The pool and the entertainment area was a great spot to hang out and socialize, play pool, watch a movie or get a drink. Several of our 6 nights were spent there, chatting with Rob, Andrew, Sue and Edwin, and we valued our time with them as they felt like family. Couple things to know about Cashew Hill:
* Bring mosquito repellent. You are in the jungle so if your the kind of person like me who tends to get bit a lot, don't forget your repellent! We used it daily and managed to stay pretty much under the mosquito radar!
* If you don't like bugs, this might not be the place for you! There are lots of beetles, moths, mosquitoes and other flying insects, mostly at night. They wont really bother you, just maybe run into ya from time to time!
* Don't bring too many layers! It's always pretty hot in P.V. and even at night you'll probably sleep with just a sheet. The cottage that we stayed in (Kinkajou) got pretty warm as early as 8am so don't expect to sleep in too late! You won't want to anyways!

Couple of the things you have to do while staying in Puerto Viejo:
1. Waterfall hike with Junior!- If you really want to get to know this lush beautiful place, you have to take the waterfall hike with Junior! He'll introduce you to countless native species of plants and animals, a beautiful waterfall that you can swim beneath, and finish the waterfall hike with a delicious meal of fresh fruit and juice. We also went to a wonderful tribe in Bribri where we learned how to make chocolate from the beans grown right on the property, and were educated in several other native plants, dyes and fruits.
2.Jaguar Rescue Center! (If you like animals :)) Here we learned about and viewed native species of snakes, tucans, dart frogs, monkeys, sloths, owls. etc. etc. etc.! They were all amazing, the center was on beautiful grounds, and we got to hold howler monkeys! Yes, it's true! The guided tour was only $15 dollars and they accept donations! We rented bikes for $5 a day and took the 6km ride to the center in the day, it was a great ride on flat road and I'd suggest getting there this way, no need to drive!
3. Ziplining- Sue suggested a local company that drove us to and from and awesome canopy adventure in the jungle. It was beautiful and sooo fun with 15 platforms and a tarzan jump. We had a great time and met people from the U.K., Germany and the Netherlands here.

Finally I just can't say enough about how hospitable the Denley's and Edwin were and how much we loved staying at Cashew Hill. Our 6 nights there flew bye in the blink of an eye and we can't wait for the next time that we'll have to stay for at least 2 weeks as 1 was truly not long enough. Next time we may bring more friends! Thanks again you guys for making our trip the most enjoyable one that we've ever had! Until next time~ Pura Vida!

When planning our trip to Costa Rica, we were told by many people to stay on the Pacific side as the weather was always beautiful and it was safer than the Caribbean side. We researched the country and referenced tripadvisor.com for places to stay/eat/tour. Cashew Hill Jungle lodge was one of the places that really appealed to us as it had its own kitchenette, beautiful beaches, and was within walking/biking distance to all the surrounding attractions Puerto Viejo had to offer. We booked a week a the Cashew Jungle lodge and despite all the advice to not stay on the Caribbean side, we decided to take our chances, and in the end, we were happy we did.

We flew to San Jose, and rented a vehicle and made our way to Puerto Viejo. Upon our arrival to Cashew Hill, we were warmly welcome by Edwin. He generously offered to carry our very large/heavy bags to our lodge and welcomed us to our “Home away from Home”. Our lodge; Salsa Brava, resembled a work of art from the detailed wood work of a large tree on the front door, colorful tile work on the dining room table to the beautiful Indian-inspired bedding on the two beds upstairs. We settled in comfortably and unpacked our belongings and headed out into the town.

Everything was in walking distance from the Cashew Jungle lodges. We rarely needed to use our rental car. Our first day, we rented bikes from the Lodge and biked all the way to Manzanillo (Approx 13 km from Puerto Viejo) following the beachside the whole way. There were many beached along the way if you are into “Beach- hopping”. Cashew Hill had everything from bikes, boogie boards, snorkel gear, library, beach towels, pool table, laundry service, pool including outdoor shower and a bar in the main lodge.

If you are a light sleeper, I would suggest you bring ear plugs as the jungle can be a bit loud. Also, if you a deathly afraid of spider, frogs, geckos, snakes ect… this is not the place for you. Although the lodges were fully screened in, we would get the occasional visitor.

We enjoyed cooking our own food in our jungle lodge. Everything was provided for us to cook a gourmet meal (Except the food of course). The WATER IS NOT POTABLE. Some will tell you that the water is safe to drink; however, we were both very ill drinking the tap water. Don’t take any chances, only drink bottle water, especially in restaurants. We unfortunately wasted a whole day in bed recovering. Being from Northern Canada, Sunscreen was absolutely essential. The sun is really intense and frequent reapplication of sunscreen is important. I sun burnt a couple of times, and I especially regretted it at night when my skin felt like it was on fire and the bed sheets felt like sand paper.

We were only supposed to stay in Puerto Viejo for 1 week and then venture north of Costa Rica for our second week; however, we decided to stay a few extra days as there was so much more we wanted to do and see. We asked the Lodge owner, Sue <3, if we could stay longer. We knew we were taking a chance as she had previously told us how busy and booked she was for that time of year. We got lucky and we moved into “Playa Negra” which was equally beautiful to “Salsa Brava” for another few days.

Here are a few activities that are offered in Puerto Viejo that are an absolute MUST DO/SEE: Jaguar Rescue center (Don’t forget to leave a donation as it is a charitable organization) Zip Lining (Where ever it is offered… do not leave Costa Rica without doing it once), Chocolate Making (Available in Puerto Viejo), Stashu Con Fusion (Check out my comments and photos on Trip Advisor...An Absolute mind-blowing culinary experience) Sel et Sucre Creperie (Best Crepes I have ever had!) Mango’s (Bar beachside… Awesome owner, great people, altogether good vibe) and of course all the beaches only a bike ride away ie. Playa Chikita, Punta Uva, Cocles, Manzanillo.

Puerto Viejo is a paradise of its own and Cashew Hill Jungle Lodge is the treasure. We loved the staff and Reese (Guard Dog) and thank everyone for the hospitality. We hope to return someday.

Stayed January 2012- Great Way to start a New Year!

My wife and I stayed here (in 2010) and loved everything about our stay. Having a full cabin with a kitchen suited us very well. On our trip we had a car, but most things in town were easy to walk to so we only used it occasionally. This place was perfect for having our own space yet being close to everything (we stayed in the Sloth cabin). We really enjoyed the entire family hosting us. We were very comfortable with them, their pets and the people in this wonderful town. As an added bonus vegan food is EVERYWHERE here! ...and if you love animals this is a great place to visit!

The writer of this review and my wife were "tag along" participants of a three week long tour of Costa Rica which we started out at Cashew Hill. The trip had been planned months before by our daughter's husband and another couple, their friends. Another couple, part of the original plan, backed out and it came upon us to celebrate my recent retirement by filling in for them. Not having considered the possibility very much before we went, I had no clue what to expect.

The early impressions I got of the Caribbean side with potholed roads lined with shanty houses were not particularly good but things changed drastically when we arrived at our destination. We were met at the gate by Edwin the lodge's Costa Rican manager who immediately started helping to lug our luggage up to our cottage called Todo Bien. There were six of us adults and four very young children so you can imagine the amount of luggage and the weight thereof. From that point on both Edwin and Andrew, the property owner just blew us away for the entire week we were there with the service and friendship provided, from doing our laundry, to serving us drinks in the lodge's bar facility, to helping us arrange parts of our travels coming up in the next few days and much, much more.
For us Canadians, the lodge's grounds were a tropical paradise with none of the potential jungle threats conjured up in the novice traveler's mind about mosquitoes, bugs and other forms of wildlife All the ones we wanted to see, from birds to monkeys, from iguanas to butterflies, all harmless and fun to see in the wild.

The pool on site was a great respite from the tropical temperatures and a perfect place for the small children to burn off some energy while we adults lounged nearby. Even the pool seemed to have a cooler temperature to it that was a relief from the heat and humidity of the local climate.

All in all, Cashew Hill Hill Jungle Lodge was the best kind of surprise, a very enjoyable week's stay and great way to begin a three week adventure from coast to coast in Costa Rica. Our departure and sad goodbye's were the only negatives of our stay there.