Drake Bay Greenleaf

I’ve just read a few of the reviews for Greenleaf and can’t believe that one person gave it less than excellent. We’ve been here for five nights and have THREE MORE to look forward to. 🥳🥰. We feel so very privileged to be here. I am celebrating my 70th birthday this year and we have been extremely fortunate to have had many holidays in beautiful accommodation in the past in Europe, Africa, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand and North America. But, Greenleaf surpasses them all. As the other reviews say, everything is of five star quality, and it’s all down to Hellen, Steve and their wonderful staff. I agree with one reviewer who said, if you are staying in different places in Costa Rica, make sure Greenleaf is your final one. It could not be bettered I’m sure.

What can we say, all the reviews were right! Hellen and Steven, along with their son Vincent, were amazing. The service was incredible, the meals outstanding, the rooms immaculate. You won’t be disappointed, we highly recommend this resort. Hellen gives it a personal touch in all aspects, from the meals to tours. You won’t find a cleaner resort anywhere! Thanks so much. Looking forward to our next visit.

We had the most wonderful stay at Drake Bay Greenleaf. Hellen, Steven and Vincent are such friendly, open hosts who treat you like family. The rooms are large, light and peaceful, each with a long balcony and surrounded with trees and flowers which are full of beautiful birds, butterflies and insects. All have a perfect, picture-postcard view of the Pacific and Drake Bay. The food is exceptional - tasty, varied and so fresh. Also, the passionfruit margaritas are delightful! Hellen is super-organised and made sure we were fed and prepared for our tours, OK afterwards and sorted all requests, laundry and any questions with care, humour and efficiency. Steven took us to our tours and collected us and we chatted about everything. The trail on the property gives you the opportunity to see more birds and passing monkeys - we were lucky to see spider monkeys and enjoyed seeing the resident baby owl and ‘Lulu’ the visiting tapir. We so enjoyed our stay and will return!

It’s hard to put into words how absolutely stunning this place is! It’s nestled in the perfect spot in Drake Bay to feel a million miles away from everything yet close enough to the bay to take tours and explore. What makes this place so magical is not only the lush green rainforest setting where the lodges blend seamlessly into the surroundings but also the owners. Hellen, Steven and their son Vinny are truly some of the loveliest people we have had the pleasure to meet. They took care of our every need and treated us like one of the family, in fact I have no doubt we will keep in touch until we return….and we definitely will! The lodges are immaculately clean and kitted out for your every need. The showers are huge and the beds so comfortable. There are windows everywhere so you feel completely immersed in nature and never miss a sighting of an animal. The air conditioning was so efficient and the laundry service was brilliant as we always came back from tours sweaty and dirty. The food is on another level! Fresh, healthy and presented like your in Michelin star restaurant. Hellen soon got to know what my 10 year old son liked and made him feel special with little treats like cookies and hot chocolate. The tours organised by Hellen were truly the best! We had the loveliest guide to the Corcovado and Sierpe Mangoves. He had gotten to know us well and insured we had lots photo opportunities of the animals on our ‘list’, thank you Jose! Hellen looked after me when I came back from hiking with swollen feet due to the heat, she made a salt foot sock which was amazing. My son and Vinny had the best time together, it was great seeing them interact and play happily with the resident owl who was absolutely adorable. I felt like I’d known Hellen for years, she is really a salt of the earth kind of person! Steven is so funny and we always looked forward to him taking us to places we need to go. We have been lucky to travel to many countries but this really one of the most amazing places we have ever been! Meeting the tapir, owl and seeing the monkeys and coati’s up close was a highlight for us and we will have these memories forever. This truly is paradise. Thank you ❤️

Drake Bay Greenleaf - 16 Feb, 2025 Beautiful, amazing getaway! Hellen and Stephen were warm and friendly, and went above and beyond to make sure our stay was fabulous. The casitas are situated in the lush forest. The restaurant and Casitas are all situated closely, but you feel very private, with a beautiful view of the bay There is a trail into the woods, that does involve a number of stairs. But it was great for quick access into the woods, and to see things like the anteater and songbirds. We were fortunate to have a number of animal visitors, including atapir, a family of Coatimundi, and a baby owl, as well as macaws and toucans. Hellen is super organized and helps to coordinate all the tours and make sure that you’re well prepared. Stephen is a delight to talk with and is ready to chaufure into town or to the beach. The food was out of this world delicious. We loved the whole red snapper and plantains. Yummy cocktails too. They do an impeccable job of caretaking the place and cleaning the rooms, so it always feels beautiful. The Caño Island snorkeling was stunning. The tour company took good care of us and we even saw a white tip shark. We were thrilled that Hellen suggested a private guide for the Sirena tour because it got us away from the crowds. It’s important to remember that nothing‘s guaranteed and The guides do their best to see as much animal life as possible. we were fortunate to see an antique and boa constrictor, as well as lots of monkeys and coatimundi. Our trip to San Gerardo de Dota was better for Birding. This was great for macaws, toucans and the bigger animals. The trip to Sirena is a long hot walk so you need a lot of water. We found the main drake Bay beach and town to be a little grungy and unappealing.. But Pirates Cove, which is just another few minutes up the road, is gorgeous and we spent a lot of time there.

All the way from planning our vacation with Hellen at Drake Bay Greenleaf to a very last moment there our experience was outstanding. The ten days stay at the resort was just perfect and we loved every minute of it. We went on quite a few tours, enjoyed each of them very much and brought back home great memories of what we saw and experienced along with wonderful pictures. Coming back to the resort was always a joyful occasion and an opportunity to have a freshly made fruit drink - passion fruit was my favorite - on the open terrace of a dining area and have a conversation with Hellen, who seemed to be always there to attend to our needs. We learned enough from these conversations to get insight into the history of the area and come to appreciation for local community dedication and efforts towards development of ecotourism. The Drake Bay Greenleaf property was developed by Hellen and her husband Steve in such a way that there was a minimal disturbance to the surrounding rainforest. We encountered almost as many animal and bird species on the property, as in the Corcovado park. So you do not need to set an alarm in the morning, as howler monkeys howls wake you up just before the sunrise. The resort has three guest bungalows, an open dinning area with stunning views of a valley below, the ocean and a far away mountain range, a kitchen adjacent to the dining area and an owners bungalow. Our air-conditioned bungalow in addition to a well furnished leaving space had a good size bathroom with a very large shower and a private balcony with the same views, as the dining area. Our bungalow felt like brand new, was thoroughly cleaned every day and remained spotless throughout our stay. Breakfasts, lunch and dinners, as well as laundry service, were included in the room rate. Hellen made all the tour reservations for us and helped to book Sansa flights at a discount. Steve was always there when we needed a transportation and drove us from and to the airport. His gentle humor helped to make our rides smoother on the local unpaved roads. The meals we had three times a day at the property were very imaginative in choice and presentation, always delicious and never the same. Every morning Hellen talked to us about lunch and dinner choices to make sure that those are to our liking, and was always ready to make a change, if so desired. Beef and freshly caught tuna stakes were delicious, salad dressings were unusual and tasty, panna cotta and chocolate mousse were so good that we could not have enough of them. We enjoyed our dinners at Drake Bay Greenleaf as much and more than those we had last summer in Michelin star restaurants in Italian Tyrol. We were treated like family at Drake Bay and are very grateful to Steve, Hellen, their son Vinnie and the resort staff for making our stay such a rich and wonderful experience. We will certainly be back.