Rancho Humo Estancia

Wonderful, helpful and knowledgeable staff. Good food. Nice pool area. Pool could use a little more cleaning of leaves, etc. but that didn’t stop us from enjoying it. Nice big rooms with high ceilings. A/C had to work hard to keep it cool. Fantastic river tour with our guide and constant companion, Santos. Would definately recommend!

The hotel is run by a very helpful and friendly team. Kenneth in particular, was great. He took us on a wetland tour and the birding was outstanding. He is very knowledgeable, and could not have done more for us. Many large crocs too, but for us, the birds were worth visiting Costa Rica for. So many and such variety. Seeing Jabiru was the highlight. 26 of them!

Rancho Humo is a little challenging to get to (roads are a bit rough), but it is a wonderful spot in all respects. We had an amazing view from our balcony. The meals are really delicious and lovingly made. Most valuable to us were the beautiful grounds, and the tours available on them. Kenneth was our guide and was exemplary. He was both knowledgeable and enthusiastic. He seemed excited both to see the birds (and crocs) and to be able to share them with and point them out to us. The huge flocks of waterfowl were like something out of a dream. Kenneth offered us a bunch of his own extra time to make sure we were having a memorable experience. We also, through Humo, were able to book a river tour with another wonderful guide, on which we saw many, many crocodiles and a lot of birds and some monkeys. (This stood in marked contrast to a river tour in Tamarindo, which largely consisted of well-worn jokes and what seemed like a jaded guide). We strongly recommend not only staying at Estancia Rancho Humo, but taking advantage of their great tour offerings (you can see the options on their website). It was a bit expensive, but well worth it as a highlight of our trip to Costa Rica. And it was great even though Palo Verde Parque was closed. Don’t not come because of that - both the wetlands of Rancho Humo and the River tour show you a lot of what there is in Palo Verde.

Boutique eco hotel with fantastic birding This was a wonderful stay in a remarkable place. The room was very comfortable with a balcony with a fantastic view. The food was excellent and the staff were really kind. The highlight was the "safari" with Kenneth, around the property to see birds. One of the best birding experiences we've had. Palo Verde was closed, but this allowed us to see huge flocks of birds in the wetlands right next to Palo Verde. We then walked around several times, as well. The road there is challenging, and it's remote - you have to eat at the hotel, because there's nowhere else. But it was the highlight of our trip. Secluded, beautiful, comfortable, and great wildlife.

Very hospitable. Off the beaten track I wasn't totally sold on this place when I first showed up. The building was very nice, but the weather was super hot, the area was very dry and dusty, and the mosquitos were so intense I wasn't sure how we'd be able to do anything outside for the 2 days we'd be there. This was on a trip in March where we had no issues with mosquitos anywhere else we visited. But the longer we stayed, the more it grew on me and my family. The host, Kenneth, was very kind and helped us explore the area. On our first afternoon there, we saw a whole bunch of different birds within a couple hundred yards of the hotel door, including the most amazing little screech owls. The food in the restaurant was very good, but it was the only place available. We managed to get by for lunch just on food we had with us (there was a small refrigerator in the room) and then enjoyed dinner at the restaurant. The road into Rancho Humo was unpaved, but it was flat and easy to drive on, especially compared with other roads we drove in Costa Rica.

Great place for high-endish hotel. Overall it was a good experience. Few things I wished I had known before I booked the place. Because it’s such a remote place there’s no other restaurants around that you’re stuck eating at the hotel. It’s gourmet food, very good but pricey, $30 per person do dinner, 25 for lunch. I should have asked ahead of time, so didn’t expect it to be that high. We had a beautiful room with balcony and wonderful view, watched birds passing by, starry nights so the room was worth the price. However, we didn’t have hot water the whole time,I really needed a hot shower one of the nights (we stayed 3nighs) after a long tiring day but shivered under a cool water. They never got around to fixing it. Also, no tv in the room which is strange, tv was one of the amenities. It’s a good location for going into the Palo Verde, hiring a boat to go across the river, totally worth the long hike, saw hundreds of birds in the lagoon area and other animals roaming the forest. Take lot of water. We would have hired a guide but didn’t work out.