Paraiso Quetzal Lodge

We had a much cheaper lodge booked and were only going to spend a day here birding the trails and feeder deck, but after being greeted by the very friendly staff, walking a trail, and just experiencing the magic of the place, we booked two nights here instead. It is well worth spending a bit more money to stay here. The room is a bit cold and the restaurant food is expensive, but just pack warm clothes and eat at a nearby soda if that is an issue for you.

Difficult to write an objective review when your heart says something different than your experience...
When I found this lodge during my pre-vacation research and I found which birds we might see there and that the lodge is high up in the mountains I got super stocked and had this lodge on our itinirary. Then I booked the Superior Bungalow with the bathtub right next to the window with a view.
We arrived late after a long day of driving and I just wanted to get a bath with my girlfriend. Check-in was the usual stuff and kind of OK. The way down to the Superior Rooms requires a 4x4 (or at least its good to have a car with a bit more ground clearance), but you have a parking lot near your room and doesn't need to carry all your luggage down steep and slippery paths. In the room we realized that the inside temperature and outside temperature where more or less the same... the bungalows are not isolated and the temerpature dropped according to our car to 8°C. I would have expected them to start the heaters upfront our arrival to get the cabin a bit more cozy... so we started the heaters and quickly found that they are way too underpowered to heat up the cabin. So we first of all went to the restaurant up the steep and slippery (due to the moisture) paths. The restaurant is pretty expensive compared with what we've experienced during our 3-weeks-vacation around Costa Rica. The dinner neither met our expectations nor justified the prices. So we went down to our cabin and tried to take a bath, heaters were still struggeling and not able to cope with the dropping temperature. Nevertheless we wanted to enjoy the view while taking a bath and turned on the warm (not hot) water - which caused the next problem. The steam of the warm water condensed at the windows and made it impossible to see anything. On top of this the moisture soaked as well our linen which we regretted instantly when we went to sleep. After a short and very cold night, we started the day at 5 am with a tour to the Quetzals, but weren't lucky to find one. Back at the restaurant the breakfast wasn't the best either for the money. In front of the restaurant they are running a hummingbird garden which is nice. They provide feeders to attract the various hummingbirds - for a photographer like me it's a nightmare that they only provide feeders but no natural flowers! You cannot take any natural looking photo - except you book the next pricy tour. I've seen them then bringing flowers to the hummingbird garden.
It's really sad, they have such a prime location (marvelous views from the restaurant as well as from the bungalows) but they somehow don't use all their possibilities to really satisfy their customers. The garden is beautiful, but why do you ask customers to pay extra for the feeding area? Everywhere else in CR it's free... The bird tower is perfect as well as the hummingbird garden, but pls. keep it as natural as possible - the birds are there anyways!
We liked the location and some of the offered activities, but still we won't come back as we don't have the feeling that it's worth the money we paid (for the lodge and the restaurant as well as for the tours). So unfortunately only 2 stars - isolate the bungalows (important!), provide natural flowers in the hummingbird garden besides the feeders and do a better job in the restaurant (service was good, but the food wasn't tasty) and you'll get a 5 star review.

It was an amazing experience visiting this place. The property is absolutely beautiful and very well maintained, with breathtaking views, vibrant flowers, and plenty of hummingbird feeders. The food was also excellent.

If you're into birding, this is definitely a top spot. We were fortunate enough to see the incredible Resplendent Quetzal! Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and even extended the tour to make sure we got the best views — truly above and beyond.

Don’t miss the stunning sunsets — head to the Mirador and wait for that magical moment when the sun dips behind the mountains and the clouds shift in spectacular ways.

The property itself offers great birding opportunities and there's a lot of wildlife to enjoy. Probably the only downside is that the Cabañas are a bit small, but honestly, the amazing views more than make up for it.

I highly recommend this place to anyone who loves nature and wants a memorable, peaceful experience in the mountains.

We stopped here by chance during our trip back to San Jose from Uvita and decided to take the mountain route. It was a great stop and experiance. We had a great lunch with friendly staff and got to meet many of the avid birdwatching crew searching for the quetzal which just so happened to land on a perch near by for us to see. It was a very cool experience and the food was great as well.

We stayed in one of the bungalows. Top marks to whoever designed & built this place, very well done. Resort is rustic but comfortable, restaurant very good, good staff, stupendous views. Tip: Only do the waterfall walk if you need a workout, it's a bit steep and far. Lots of hummingbirds to enjoy right outside the restaurant.