I leave Drake Bay Greenleaf as an advocate and an ambassador for the hotel, having only opened in 2019 and faced with the wrath of Covid this place has become an incredible piece of outstanding hospitality.
Having extensively travelled the world staying 200+ nights a year away in a variety of hotels this by far has blown me away with the unending hospitality of Hellen and Steven (and young Vincent).
Met at the small airfield after an exhilarating flight from San Jose, Steven was awaiting our arrival and quickly whisked us to the hotel. (Hellen had effortlessly arranged our flights from San Jose). Warm and wonderful greetings were made and shown to our delightful cabin, and wow! Immaculate, modern and what a view - it is incredible. The photographs do not do the place justice.
Hellen was our supremo at arranging anything we wished for - the tours provided were beyond our expectations and I would certainly recommend utilizing her skills (being a local helps) than picking from an array on TripAdvisor posts. Staying 5 nights our tours undertaken were (please do continue reading my review after the trips, worth the time).
The Tapir Trail with Gustavo - an amazing walk through the primary rainforest and this guy had such a passion for everything around him and showed us so much wildlife from deadly Coral Snakes and Banana Spiders to the iconic Red Eyed Frog. The hike to the waterfall was stunning and the sights, sounds and sounds matched equally. This is a hike on undulating ground, so you do need to be moderately fit and have proper hiking shoes. All in all it was about 5 hours long.
The Night Walk with Bug Lady was an incredible experience - immersed into the jungle in the night (and it is dark!!) with a torch to hand exploring along the river banks and coming across an array of deadly snakes, frogs and spiders. Quite the experience. You will get wet as you wade knee high in water (boots are provided bu they will let in water). Roughly 3 hours long, started at 6.30pm.
Snorkelling was a great trip to Cano Island, great boat trip. Sadly, the waters were suffering from a rainstorm the night before and a tad murky but we did get to see shark and an array of beautiful fish. Roughly 5 hours long and you need to be up early and at the beach by 6am.
One of my favorites was a horseback ride, that culminated in a walk through the jungle to an isolated waterfall and pond where we swam. It was a memory made and the host was the most gentle, funny, caring gentleman you could hope for, was my highlight! Roughly 5 hours long.
We then did two trips to San Pedrillo and Las Sirena stations. Again a 6am start and a great boat trip to the National parks. It is hot and strenuous so you do need to have some degree of fitness. Plenty of water too. We saw a huge abundance of wildlife, Tapir’s, Monkeys, Snakes, Spiders, Birds etc. The Primary and Secondary Rainforests were amazing, and our guide Vincent was incredibly knowledgeable and so respectful of the surroundings.
A quick Kayak from the beach to go up river by the Wilderness Lodge was also fun, seeing a crocodile at close quarters as we paddled up stream.
Back to the Greenleaf. Steven was a complete master, he made sure we were where we wanted to be and when, and he would drive us all over the place and without any mumble but always with a smile.
They also arranged for us to see the most spectacular sunsets on the beaches, waiting patiently or returning spot on time to collect us. These two enjoy what they do and the passion for the guests to feel totally immersed oozes from every pore.
The dining experience was equally outstanding. Now I am a fussy individual (no seafood / wheat) and every meal was catered for in such an accomplished manner. The presentations were exquisite, the flavours devine and the servings more than plentiful. It was refreshing and equally exciting to not know the meal your about to be offered, not one was ever a disappointment. Just incredible.
The rooms were immaculate and spotlessly managed by the housekeeping team. Laundry was undertaken complimentary (a god send) and returned super fast.
I cannot advocate enough what these two have accomplished and wish them the very best on their exciting adventure.
And whilst you try to immerse yourself away from the every day life, the wifi was excellent allowing great facetime calls home. Whilst there is no pool, no don't need one - if you want to laze by the pool and not see the amazing wildlife and people the dont come to CR.
Thank you Hellen and Steven for a wonderful stay.
