Kenaki Lodge

This is a lovely place, rooms are very clean and nicely appointed. Isabelle, the proprietor, is delightful - friendly, charming, and incredibly helpful. Isabelle serves a delicious breakfast, and there's a communal kitchen for the use of guests. Excellent wifi, close to a beautiful beach, and fans in every room. If you stay here, though, you either need to have a car or be a hiker. She's 3 kilometers outside of Cahuita on a smallish gravel road. Taxi service is available, but there's no nearby bus stop. No restaurant in the hotel, and the nearest restaurant is about a kilometer away - open for breakfast and dinner only. If we weren't a couple of 70-somethings, it would have been absolutely wonderful.

It is probably the worst place in Costa Rica. Dirty, broken, bad smell, poorly maintained, bad service— the only good thing is nature, and that can be found throughout the Caribbean. If I have to give one piece of advice: Never stay here. The owner is rude, dirty, and disrespectful. Damp smell, rusty, hairs on the bedding... a horror. Far from the town, they say it has a beach in front, and it's dirty. The worst of Costa Rica.

We were supposed to stay 4 nights but the place was so terrible that we left after 2 nights. It was a sign that the first thing that the host did was ask for us to pay our bill upon our arrival. Yes this could be a nice place IF the owner actually wanted to make it a nice place. The toilet smelled horrible and in a small room it’s just not a civilised experience for the cost. The owner asks that no toilet paper is flushed down the toilet. Instead the dirty toilet paper is supposed to be put in a bucket that is next to the toilet. As I’m writing this, it is just exceptionally crazy that this toilet experience has been normalised at this hotel. Aside from the smell, think of the health risks. At one point during our stay, there was no water. Apparently someone had flushed toilet paper and the water pump stopped working. And there is a major small ant issue. Ants were everywhere even when we did not eat in the room. We just left the hotel. I’m writing this review from an Airbnb and I’m feeling freedom and joy.

During our visit to Cahuita, we spent two nights at this lodging. Its proximity to the black beach was highly appreciated as we enjoyed a refreshing swim every morning at sunrise, just a short 2-minute walk away. The peaceful and pleasant atmosphere of the location was also noteworthy. However, due to the absence of air conditioning, sleeping at night was somewhat challenging. Despite this minor setback, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at this tranquil lodge in Cahuita.

The hostess was nice but due to having no windows it was extremely hot in the room at night. Also the owner has dogs that like to bark when anyone drove by no matter the hour. Luckily the hostess worked with us and let us cancel our reservation to find a more quiet place that had windows and ac.

We spent one terrifying night at the Kenaki Lodge. Here are the details: - Booked Kenaki for 5 nights and left within 12 hours. Literally fled at 5am (after 3 hours of fearful 'sleep'). - Upon arrival we met Isabelle, the owner (who did not introduce herself, nor did she make conversation). Isabelle seemed super disorganized, she asked how long we were saying and if we want breakfast. I filled out paperwork and I never received a copy of the paperwork I signed. I asked her name and tried to make pleasant conversation. - Isabelle began screaming/streaking around midnight. She was screaming, "Stop!" The screams here guttural and very loud. I didn't know if I should call for help. My husband and I were panicked and nauseous by the disturbing screaming/streaking. She screamed expletives in French. I understood she was yelling at someone. I saw her pacing around inside the main house. I thought Isabelle was alone. Then, I saw the silhouette of a man. I did not hear the man yell or talk at all. The fighting and screaming continued for 20-30 mins; although time moves slowly when gripped by fear. Finally, the fighting/streaking ceased. Complete silence. Then, the unknown man left the main house. I watched his silhouette walk toward our cabin. I moved away from the window. I presume the man turned off the lights in the main house. The chaos was followed by complete silence and total darkness. - The just OK parts (not terrifying, just unpleasant): no amenities, the 2 towels smelled of cigarettes, and there was a pungent garbage odor wafting in from outside the toilet closet. - The beautiful photos used to advertised are deceiving.

It was quiet and comfortable. The charm of the room made the stay very relaxing. We didn’t miss not having a television. The internet was slow so don’t expect to get any work done if you planned on working instead of enjoying the nearby beach.

Very friendly and cozy hotel with four rooms and two bungalows, 100 meters from the almost deserted beach, and 2-3 kilometers from Cahuita. You will need a car to stay here, but free parking. Nice and spacious rooms, but the bed was rather noisy… No fridge or other facilities in the room, but a communal kitchen area next to the reception area did the trick. Breakfast is extra, 11 USD, continental with bread, jam, fruit, coffee and juice. We loved sitting on the terrace and watch the birds and sometimes monkeys in the tree right in front of us. Liked the place a lot, but you need to walk at least 20 minutes along a dark gravel road to get to a restaurant where you can have dinner, or drive into Cahuita. Be aware that the howler monkeys WILL wake you up at sunrise!

Well this is my first time on that side of Costa Rica and my overall opinion of the property was OK the hot water worked and neither one of our rooms and nobody seem to care to fix it the breakfast was a little bit pricey most places include a free breakfast The beach was black sand not a very pretty beach no stores are close by and the walk to town is a good one I probably cannot stay there again due to the fact that it was too far from anywhere to eat but for the price it wasn’t bad the owner was a friendly lady