Cotococha Amazon Lodge - Napo River Lodge

Slept great, the thunder and.lightning frequently over Rio Napo just north of the lodge was fitting backdrop, the service from Darwin, Mimi, and Jessy--all of whom had to tackle multiple tasks in reception, bartending, and the restaurant: all were welcome. Therefore, service could slow, but who's rushing in this splendid lodging. The room was Spartan. Two tiny bedside tables with wee lamps and miniscule drawers. No chest. A big fan, a short day bed, a double bed, two towels, two pillows, a small set of hangers on a rolling base, and full-length mirror. Some reviewers complained about sheets and water, but a sign explains that if you want to enjoy the. Amazon, it's part of the deal for us pampered clientele. You can always hang clothes out the short balcony. Trouble is, no chairs inside or out there, which detracts from a chance to commune with the chorus of frogs, birds and chitterers who serenade. Low water pressure, tepid, and no matter what setting the shower never got warm. I'd have a map of the grounds when checking in handed out, as many customers come after dark. There was a old-wood one carved high over the drive-in gate, but it's not easy to discern due to its height and the glare off the surface. And I never found out the site of the biblioteca. By the way, it helps a lot if you speak Spanish. We thought the food exceeded our admittedly modest expectations, at least by usual Ecuadorian standards. Our complimentary breakfasts were hearty. Both the muchines (cassava cheese fried fritters), and shukluka (here, more like tomato soup leftovers with two slices of hard white bread) filled me. One came with a sweet coca? Yuca? cold drink, the other with Mora juice. Those who ate maitos (similar to steaming a food in foil and banana leaves) were pleased, as was I by a yuca-cassava cream soup. They had a few drinks (kind of pricy as a bottle of Bandido craft beer cost $5). Anyhow, the other caution is when walking the rocky trails especially at night. There are dark passages with no indication of places to twist an ankle, or in my case, trip flat on my face, enough to bruise ribs. Finally, while the Rio Ball location is lovely, the property is jammed between river and road...which gets quite noisy, although it looks when arriving that like!y, you'll be sole guests in a totally removed forest paradise. More big trucks, the everpresent motorcycles, and Dopplered whining tires in the air. We kept the fan on full force both nights, but even that failed to mute the busy traffic.

The grounds itself and rooms were beautiful and well maintained. Located between Tena and Misahualli you are surrounded by the jungle, just off a road (so no off-roading needed to get here). The property is serene and beautiful and right off the Napo River. There is also a stairway to get down to the river where you can spend some mornings for some quiet time with Mamapacha The wifi all throughout the property is strong and I had no problem getting signal whether I was in my room or the wellness & pool area. The not-so-great part is that the information on the Selina website is outdated as well as the information provided if you use ***********. Firstly the Whatsapp number for reception is +593 98 924 9559 NOT the one listed on the site. I reached out to this number and via email before I arrived so that I could get more information and I found that they were not super responsive. So this was a bit frustrating. There is a separate Group Whatsapp number which they will provide you after you've checked in as a guest where they make announcements and you can ask questions. There is no daily yoga offered as specified on the site and some of the other services listed are not actually available. The tour information listed is a bit outdated as well. They do offer evening activities at 8pm every night including karaoke, bingo, trivia, movie night, and community dance. There is also massage and facial services offered on site, which you can book with reception. In the wellness area, there are. yoga mats available if you wish to do some yoga on your own or turn on a Youtube video. There are also hammocks to lay out and swing. The pool area is a nice touch but it was pouring rain the entire time so entirely I didn't have a chance to use the pool or jacuzzi. The jacuzzi was only warm however. The staff is kind and helpful, if your spanish is not great - some staff members speak more fluent english than others. However it is best if you know at least some spanish to communicate more easily. Tours can be booked on site, but it's not worth it to try and book too far in advance. Due to weather or other conditions, tours may be canceled (ie. Jumandy Cave tours was canceled the morning of the tour due to heavy rains which would have made the conditions dangerous). As a solo traveler, it can be a bit frustrating because there is a minimum of 2 people for a tour - however it is possible to pay an extra $10 if there is no one else going. Otherwise try to make some friends with other guests and see if anyone else is interested. I found there were quite a few groups with pre-booked private tours but luckily I met a couple of other solo travelers and we went on some tours together. All their tours are with the company Grand Selva - I went on the Half Day Amazoonico tour, Daytime Jungle Hike and Nighttime Jungle Hike. The Night Jungle Hike was just ok, I enjoyed the other two. The restaurant itself has tasty food, yes more expens

In a jungle hostel I did not expect to be 5m from the road, woken up multiple times every night by trucks and busses. The cold pool looks good but the hot tub is only just warm with broken jets. My girlfriend received a shock from our electric shower which spat water out like an acupuncture session. The food was bland and expensive (2-3 times the price of comparative Ecuadorian meals). I had to ask for more before I started, the portion was so miserly. The atmosphere of the hostel is nice and we had fun at kareoke and the employees are pleasant, but I would not stay here again.

My kids and I could not have been happier with the lodge. Great family room (warning there are bugs and insects but you’re right by a river in the rainforest). Great pool and beautiful grounds. Loved the breakfast and dinner. Arranging tours through them was very easy and fast. Highly recommend

Great place to relax or go on adventures. They offer a lot of options for tours and activities which is great for a solo traveler. Staff was really nice and everything was really clean. If you want to take a bus to town there is a bus every hour.

Para comenzar la "bienvenida": llegar con maletas pesadas a este lugar es una pesadilla, no hay manera de rodarlas por el angosto camino de piedras y las multiples escaleras, ayuda del personal? nada, cero. La habitación estaba limpia y ya, ni una silla para sentarse en el balcón, ni toallas para la piscina, nada. La comida esta bien presentada pero es demasiado cara para lo que es y ni hablar de las bebidas: 4$ por una cerveza club de 330ml. Lo peor es intentar dormir con el ruido de la carretera. Lo mejor de nuestra estadia fue salir de ahi.