Ocean View Lodge
Sea-view balconies and a pool across the road from Cahuita's rocky shore
About this stay
This lodge provides a relaxed base for exploring Cahuita, with its comfortable family rooms designed for ease and convenience. Mornings can start with a coffee from the outdoor machine before a refreshing dip in the year-round outdoor swimming pool. The garden and terrace offer pleasant spots to unwind after a day of adventure, whether you've been exploring the nearby beach or venturing further afield. The atmosphere is laid-back, making it suitable for families and those seeking a tranquil retreat with essential amenities close at hand.
- Across the road from the sea, about 250 m from Cahuita police station
- Sea-view balconies in part of the rooms
- Year-round outdoor pool, garden and bar
- Two suites with a kitchenette
- Free private parking; Playa Negra a six-minute walk
- 8.9 guest score from 335 reviews
Our take
Ocean View Lodge faces the Caribbean from across the road, about 250 m from Cahuita's police station, and part of its rooms have balconies over the water. The view and the sound of the surf at night are why you book it; the shore in front is coral and rock, so swimming means the pool or Playa Negra, a six-minute walk away. Rooms have air conditioning, a flat-screen TV and a private bathroom, two suites have a kitchenette, and breakfast runs from 7 to 9 am. I would choose it for couples and road-trippers who want the village restaurants on foot, and skip it if you picture sand at the gate. Guests rate it 8.9 across 335 reviews.
- ✓Ask for a sea-facing room with a balcony: only part of the building has one, and the view is the reason to pick this lodge over a garden cabin in the village.
- ✓Keep food in the fridge or in sealed boxes: ants come up again and again in guest reviews.
- ✓Check-in starts at 2 pm, so leave Limón with daylight to spare: the coast road south is slow after dark in heavy rain.
- ✓For the reef and calmer water, walk through the village to the Playa Blanca gate of Cahuita National Park, open 8 am to 4 pm for a voluntary donation; Playa Negra is the closer swim.
- ✓If your dates are flexible, aim for September or October: the IMN, Costa Rica's weather institute, lists them with February and March as the drier spells of a Caribbean coast that has no defined dry season, just as the Pacific side gets its heaviest rain.
Why we love it
- Year-round outdoor swimming pool
- Short walk to Negra beach
- Comfortable family rooms with air conditioning
- Relaxing garden and terrace areas
Why guests love itOcean View Lodge suits families on a Caribbean road trip who want a pool for the hot hours and a quiet village at night. The outdoor pool is open all year, rooms have air conditioning and private bathrooms, and free private parking saves looking for a spot in the village. The coral and rock in front of the lodge rule out swimming for small children, so the outings are Playa Negra, six minutes on foot, and the beaches inside Cahuita National Park, where the official rules ask visitors to watch the currents and never stand on the coral. The two suites with a kitchenette help with early breakfasts for children, as long as food goes in the fridge. Teenagers looking for evenings out will find Puerto Viejo, further south on the same coast road, livelier.