The Pacuare Lodge: Costa Rica’s Wildest Luxury Resort — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:02Imagine a place so remote, so wild, so
2. 0:05deep in the jungle that the only way in
3. 0:08is by battling the rapids
4. 0:14or swinging across the river in a
5. 0:16basket.
6. 0:19This isn't the beginning of an adventure
7. 0:20novel. This is how you arrive at the
8. 0:23Pacuare Lodge in Costa Rica.
9. 0:25Both are slightly insane, yet
10. 0:28unforgettable ways to start your
11. 0:29adventure here.
12. 0:31Lean back. Here we go.
13. 0:39If you're new here, I'm Don and I make
14. 0:41videos about the world's most unique
15. 0:42hotels, so you can book your next escape
16. 0:45with confidence.
17. 0:51We park our rental car after driving 3
18. 0:53hours from Costa Rica's capital of San
19. 0:56Jose.
20. 0:57And we're met by this Jeep and the
21. 0:59adventure begins.
22. 1:01My local guide and friend, Maria, is
23. 1:03along for this adventure and together
24. 1:05we're going to show you what this place
25. 1:06is all about.
26. 1:08it may be the bumpiest ride I've ever
27. 1:09taken.
28. 1:11That's where we are and that's where
29. 1:13we're going.
30. 1:18You're not coming, are you?
31. 1:20You coming?
32. 1:20here Yeah, there's like no way I'm
33. 1:22getting on this thing.
34. 1:35And now we're on to our third mode of
35. 1:36transport. This time a golf cart.
36. 1:39And off to the lobby we go, I think.
37. 1:43The charming lobby is next to the river
38. 1:46and we're met with this nice welcome
39. 1:47drink.
40. 1:48What is this? Gracias. It's from the
41. 1:50tourist area.
42. 1:52One of the hardest things for me to get
43. 1:54across on video is how special the
44. 1:56setting is here, but I think Maria sums
45. 1:59it up pretty well. The sound is like
46. 2:01super relaxing. Like since you arrive,
47. 2:04just the nature start like giving you
48. 2:08some
49. 2:09love. So, to relax and to release a
50. 2:12little bit, so you can start feeling a
51. 2:14little bit like more chill immediately
52. 2:17just with the sound and the nature
53. 2:19around you. Yeah.
54. 2:22This place has a real summer camp vibe
55. 2:23that I love. From the cowboy napkins to
56. 2:27the rustic architecture and the leopard
57. 2:29spotted jeep.
58. 2:31And now, here comes a pretty big
59. 2:32statement. I visited over 40 hotels in
60. 2:35Costa Rica and stayed at over 25, and I
61. 2:38think this is the best resort for
62. 2:40families.
63. 2:41There are so many activities to choose
64. 2:43from, and Maria and I are going to show
65. 2:45you what I think are the three best. But
66. 2:47you should know, because this place is
67. 2:49so remote and hard to get to,
68. 2:51the children have to be at least 7 years
69. 2:53old.
70. 2:55Believe it or not, this used to be a
71. 2:56cattle ranch covered in grass with
72. 2:59almost no trees. The owners bought this
73. 3:02800-acre property 30 years ago and
74. 3:04wanted to bring the land back to its
75. 3:06natural state.
76. 3:08Walking around, you'd think this jungle
77. 3:09is hundreds of years old.
78. 3:12It's wild how things grow so quickly in
79. 3:14the tropics.
80. 3:16As we're shown around the property, I'm
81. 3:18learning about the resort's
82. 3:19sustainability efforts. That includes
83. 3:22generating most of their power from over
84. 3:24200 solar panels and three hydroelectric
85. 3:27generators on site.
86. 3:29That combined with the reforestation
87. 3:30efforts and support for the local
88. 3:32community earns them a 10 out of 10 for
89. 3:35sustainability.
90. 3:41Our first adventure here is canyoning,
91. 3:43starting at the activity center where
92. 3:45they outfit us and give us a safety
93. 3:47briefing.
94. 3:48Then we're off.
95. 3:54And this adventure starts off not with
96. 3:56canyoning, but with dropping from trees.
97. 4:01Bye.
98. 4:03I'm ready.
99. 4:04Uh, yeah.
100. 4:06Uh,
101. 4:07Do I need to do something?
102. 4:09You're the boss.
103. 4:16I was not ready for that.
104. 4:20It's fun when you guys scare people,
105. 4:21isn't it?
106. 4:26Good luck.
107. 4:34Now it's time for some actual canyoning.
108. 4:47And we'll end this two-hour excursion on
109. 4:49a rope bridge.
110. 4:56It's pretty bouncy.
111. 4:58Pretty bouncy.
112. 4:59After all that excitement, a quick dip
113. 5:01in the pool and a visit to the spa to
114. 5:03relax sounds pretty perfect.
115. 5:25Before our afternoon zipline adventure,
116. 5:28let me show you our room. Just like all
117. 5:30the rooms here, it's a standalone
118. 5:32bungalow in the jungle.
119. 5:49Here know, it's like one of the things
120. 5:51that it's not fancy,
121. 5:54but I love it. So, it's like it's it's
122. 5:56not a tent, but I mean, it's there's no
123. 5:58air conditioning here, and that's like I
124. 6:00think for a lot of people that would be
125. 6:01a minus, but I think it's a plus.
126. 6:03Because there's no air conditioning,
127. 6:04it's it's hot during the day, but it
128. 6:06cools down nicely at night.
129. 6:08This place is pretty expensive, starting
130. 6:11at about $850 US a night in low season,
131. 6:15and 1,400 bucks a night in high season.
132. 6:18But, that cost does include a bunch of
133. 6:20activities, the raft riding, and all
134. 6:23your meals, but sadly, not alcohol.
135. 6:27It connects you to nature, and I think
136. 6:28that is so beautiful.
137. 6:46There are 20 bungalows here. Besides the
138. 6:48rooms by the river like ours, there are
139. 6:50other rooms dotted along the hillside.
140. 6:52And if you don't feel like doing the
141. 6:54hike up to your hillside bungalow, the
142. 6:56friendly staff will grab you in a golf
143. 6:58cart.
144. 6:59The staff was nice enough to show me the
145. 7:01fanciest room on the property called the
146. 7:03canopy suite.
147. 7:05If your budget's unlimited, go for this
148. 7:07one up here in the trees.
149. 7:16After a short rest, it's time for our
150. 7:18afternoon adventure. Ziplining this
151. 7:21time. 1 2 3 go.
152. 7:40The adventure staff here is part of the
153. 7:42resort's secret sauce and add another
154. 7:45element of fun to this place.
155. 7:54If that wasn't scary enough, our zipline
156. 7:56guides decide to add some bounce to this
157. 7:58adventure.
158. 8:12Thank you.
159. 8:14It's more fun when you bounce.
160. 8:16But we are not done. We're going to end
161. 8:18this outing by dropping from yet another
162. 8:21tree.
163. 8:32Dinner here is pretty special. Sure,
164. 8:34there's still a bit of a summer camp
165. 8:36vibe going on with this activity they
166. 8:38offer right below the restaurant.
167. 8:40Dinner and a bonfire next to the river.
168. 8:43But we'll skip that and head upstairs
169. 8:45for a pre-dinner drink.
170. 8:48The dinners here are pretty fancy
171. 8:50despite the summer camp vibe.
172. 8:53But as much as I love this place, I am
173. 8:55not a huge fan of some of the music on
174. 8:57offer.
175. 8:58A mix of classic covers and then some
176. 9:00cheesy Kenny G style stuff.
177. 9:03I'm also not a huge fan of some of the
178. 9:05plastic furniture you see around this
179. 9:07place and the lighting in the
180. 9:08restaurant, it's not great.
181. 9:11In terms of the food, it's an odd mix of
182. 9:14some really high highs with some really
183. 9:17excellent dishes
184. 9:19that come with a side of I can barely
185. 9:21eat this.
186. 9:22With that said, Maria and I agreed that
187. 9:25on average the food's good but not
188. 9:27great.
189. 9:30At night this jungle comes alive with
190. 9:32the sounds of crickets and a bunch of
191. 9:34animals I can't identify.
192. 9:36And I know this sounds goofy, but it
193. 9:38really is magical.
194. 9:40But it's time to get some rest because
195. 9:42tomorrow's another adventure day.
196. 9:45Uh the pillows here are really nice.
197. 9:47They get an 8.5. And since you asked,
198. 9:51yes, this is really nice. This is a huge
199. 9:54screened-in porch. So, I can hear the
200. 9:56river. I can hear the crickets. This is
201. 9:58a great way to go to sleep.
202. 10:00Good night.
203. 10:02I pay for all my hotel stays to keep my
204. 10:04advice honest, and that gets expensive.
205. 10:07If you're thinking about booking here,
206. 10:09please consider using my booking link.
207. 10:12You'll get the best price and support my
208. 10:13ongoing quest to find the world's most
209. 10:15unique hotels. Thanks.
210. 10:25I love having breakfast here next to the
211. 10:27river.
212. 10:28And right next to the river is where
213. 10:30we're headed next to start our rafting
214. 10:31adventure.
215. 10:34Like I said before, most people arrive
216. 10:36here by raft and go out in the basket,
217. 10:39but we're doing the opposite. By the
218. 10:40way, the resort will send you a detailed
219. 10:43list of what you should bring, and your
220. 10:45luggage will be transported in a
221. 10:46separate raft in dry bags. So, feel free
222. 10:49to bring what you like because you won't
223. 10:51have to deal with your luggage when you
224. 10:52arrive.
225. 10:54But do remember that whatever you wear
226. 10:56on the rafting trip will get wet.
227. 10:59This starts out mellow, but All right,
228. 11:01here we go.
229. 11:09Enjoy your ride.
230. 11:17Sit down.
231. 11:19The route is really beautiful, passing
232. 11:21through jungle and past waterfalls.
233. 11:34Hey. a very magical place. It's a lot
234. 11:38about the experiences that you can have
235. 11:39with nature. Yeah. So, I think that that
236. 11:43is the focus of this place. Yep. And I
237. 11:46think that I experienced very unique
238. 11:47things. Yeah. It's fun. It's
239. 11:50interesting. At least for me that I love
240. 11:53nature and biology and all those things.
241. 11:57The service is great. The food's really
242. 11:58nice. The experience is awesome and it's
243. 12:00just like I've had more fun here than I
244. 12:03have maybe in any other resort I've ever
245. 12:05been at. It would definitely be in the
246. 12:06top three in terms of like one of the
247. 12:09funnest places I've ever stayed. So,
248. 12:11I don't know. If you're into adventure
249. 12:12and you love the outdoors, I think this
250. 12:13is a great place.
251. 12:14Yeah. And the staff is super good. So,
252. 12:17Yeah. It's going to make your stay very
253. 12:19fun. Yeah, totally. It's expensive and
254. 12:22but it it does include all your meals
255. 12:24and transportation and a bunch of tons
256. 12:28of activities. So, um it's pricey but I
257. 12:31think worth it. It's worth it
258. 12:32completely.
259. 12:34The same folks who own the Pacuare Lodge
260. 12:36also own Lapa Rios in the equally remote
261. 12:40Osa Peninsula.
262. 12:41Think of this as your own private zoo.
263. 12:45Check out my experience here. Thanks for
264. 12:47watching and see you in the next video.