Spent five days hiking their excellent and varied trail system. High biodiversity in stunning lowland rainforest setting. Grounds are loaded with wildlife day and night (including resident caimans and tons of frogs/lizards and even snakes if you go out at night with their superb naturalist/guide. Lodge is keystone of local community = sustainable development in action. Great attention to all details; friendly staff takes care of all needs. Hot water in shower. Natural spring-fed pool is refreshing after hikes.

We stayed here for 4 nights and paid $115pp which included tax, all meals, drinking water, coffee and tea. The transfer to/from Golfito airport was $35 one-way - 7kms/apx 20 mins (bumpy!).

The room was clean and functional with a fan and hot shower. Due to the humidity everything in the room was damp (nothing dries!) and it's quite dark inside. It's to be expected though as you are in the middle of the jungle! There's no a/c, fridge or hairdryer - it's just not that kind of place. Esquinas strikes the right balance between comfort and sustainability. Although not luxurious, it's comfortable and not wasteful.

The food was decent, considering the location, and all locally grown where possible. The serving size was good and they cater for vegetarians excellently.

The lodge's grounds are lovely; there are lots of native plants in the grounds and you will see lots of hummingbirds everyday, beautiful scarlet-rumped tanagers and toucans. We loved watching the toucans everyday. There were some people at the lodge who said they hadn't seen a single toucan, which I couldn't understand as we saw them often. Perhaps those particular individuals were too noisy and scared the birds away!

Due to the topography of the immediate area, all the trails are fairly steep. You hear lots but we didn't see too many animals as everything is scared of people and all the creatures are very well camouflaged. Our guide pointed out a sloth, lizards, frogs and birds - the area is excellent for birding. We saw many more mammals when we were in Manuel Antonio but Esquinas is far quieter and feels more authentic.

Tours - keep in mind that the lodge has a limited number of guides/facilities so, although they will take your requests into consideration, if you ask for specific tours when you get there they have to plan tours for everyone staying at the lodge so you may not get to do the exact tours you'd hoped. However, what I didn't realise before we went is that you can actually book what tours you want to do before you get there and I would recommend this.

We did a tour around the mangroves (which I would definitely recommend) and saw a howler monkey, scarlet macaws (sitting at the top of a tall tree), herons, osprey, pelicans and lots of jumping fish (one of which jumped into my husband's kayak!).

Going to Esquinas Rainforest Lodge was a leap of faith. Sure the website and the photographs look good, but this is the rainforest and we were a bit concerned about how rustic it would be. After a long morning of flying, followed by a bumpy road to Piedras Blancas, we arrived at Esquinas and immediately slept for two hours in a very comfortable bed with sounds of the forest all around us. Our cabin, attached to another but still private, was screened around three side, had a narrow porch with rocking chairs, hot water and all the comforts of home, minus, that is, anything that may remind you of the stress you left behind. At Esquinas you are engulfed by nature, but nature was not in our cabin, bed or rooting around our luggage. We felt completely safe from the creepy crawlies that inhabit the forest.

Meals at Esquinas are served at set times, so you must plan your day ahead--there's no McDonald's down the street. Portion sizes weren't huge, but every meal was multi-course, with soup, salad, main course then desert. Everything was delicious and fresh and frequently harvested from local gardens or plants in the rainforest. The coffee, like all coffee in Costa Rica, was free and fantastic. The bar was a quiet gathering spot after dinner where people spoke of the days activities, politics and travel experiences.

Piedras Blancas was donated to the Costa Rican government by Austrians who purchased large sections of land to preserve and study the forest. Esquinas was built by Austrian money and virtually all employees are from the nearby village of La Gamba. German is the number one language spoke around here, followed by Spanish, but most people are multi-fluent except for us lazy North Americans.

Trails around Esquinas are marked and fairly easy to navigate: rubber boots are provided in the unfortunate event that you step on a venomous snake (it's never happened). There's a natural spring fed pool, hammocks and beautiful grounds to wander. There's was no party scene while we were there, which was fine with us, there's just too much to see and do to stay up late.

Esquinas was a magnificent experience and worth the rather hefty price tag. You are supporting the preservation of the rainforest by going there and the reward is staying at an eco-lodge the truly lives up to the eco-lodge designation. I would highly recommend this place for anyone interested in the rainforest or for those wanting to really get away from it all and relax in a little corner of Eden.

Esquinas is so beautiful - words aren't enough. Superb friendly staff & so many amazing birds & animals. The best place I have ever visited.

Jose the local guide who has lived and worked here all his life is invaluable in his knowledge. The food is good for Costa Rica standards and most of it grown on the grounds. Fabulous day trips riding, visiting waterfalls and naturals pools on mountain bikes and the wonderful, if a bit scary, night walks full of all the creatures of the night in the rainforest.

The most important thing is that Esquinas is run in line with the environment and employs and is run by local villagers so it feels so unlike alot of places which exploit the locals and use up scarce resources. It was set up with the primary aim of avoiding deforestation of the area.

The only downside is the humidity, everything is damp constantly, but that is a small price to pay - and you can always dip into the cool natural waters of the swimming pool (the water comes from the rainforest and is cleaned naturally).