Standard Double or Twin Room, Garden View | Balcony
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Reviews of Las Cruces Biological Station

2.5 out of 5
Las Cruces Biological Station
San Vito de Coto Brus, San Vito

Reviews

8.8

Excellent

Rating 10 - Excellent. 12 out of 19 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 5 out of 19 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 0 out of 19 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 1 out of 19 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 1 out of 19 reviews" "

8.6/10

Cleanliness

8.8/10

Staff & service

10/10

Amenities

8.8/10

Property conditions & facilities

10/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

8/10 Good

Russell

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great place, but maybe not a ‘hotel’ as such
It may be important to know there is no bar or alcohol available at the biological station. Bring your own booze, or there’s a good bar/restaurant about a quarter of a mile away on the road back towards San Vito.
Stayed 3 nights in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Roger

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Get an appreciation for a special climate and animals of Costa Rica. The guide service was informative. We even did some extra trips after hours. Food service is simple, convenient, and more than sufficient.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Lawrence

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The tour of the gardens was fascinating.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2023

10/10 Excellent

Jason

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Costa Rica
The free tour was worth every minute of it through the greens. I also enjoyed the free breakfast and the view from my balcony. It was a very nice and peaceful place to be
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2020

10/10 Excellent

Monika

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
excellent place, it felt good our money contributed to some meaningful eco work. The shop was closed so no chance to contribute more by buying the gardens souvenirs. solar-power water heater, plenty of very hot, high pressure water despite cloudy/rainy day.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2020

4/10 Poor

steve

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very disappointed
We were given a private cabin in the forest which we thought would be better than the villas across from the dining hall. The photos of the rooms on hotels.com, however, are of the villa rooms, which appear to be better, but I can't vouch for that as I did not see them in person. Our cabin was dirty, run down and in need of a major remodeling. There was no hot water, the mattresses were in poor condition, and the shower was so gross, neither my husband or I used it. There was mold on the ceiling above the beds and various insects crawling about the cabin as well. The breakfast was skimpy-- undrinkable coffee, two small pieces of papaya, a couple scoops of rice and eggs and musty-tasting toast that had the crusts sliced off. We only stayed one night to go birding in the Wilson Botanical Garden and were glad to check out in the morning. We stayed the following night at Casa Botania a mile down the road, which was absolutely wonderful.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018

8/10 Good

William, Volcan, panama

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Beautiful plants and birds
Very simple accommodations, very simple meal plan, grounds of Wilson Botanical fantastic to see and wander about. Staff very helpful and tour guide Jason very pleasant and a book of knowledge about Flores and fauna.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2018
Response from Aixia R. on 17 Apr 2018
Dear William, Thank you so much for your preference for the OTS, we really appreciate it. Our biological station is a great spot to see flora and fauna in the garden and forest. Pura vida!

8/10 Good

eulabeans, New Mexico

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good location for birders and plant lovers
This is a field station of the Organization for Tropical Studies, where scientists, students and volunteers conduct biological research. They offer available rooms to guests, along with full board. Rooms are small but comfortable for their basic purpose. Bathroom very small but adequate; plenty of hot water for showers. Food was plentiful and very good, plenty of salad, vegetables, and vegetarian options. No alcohol. Anyone looking into lodgings here is presumably interested in the birds and/or plants, as many species of both are found here. The station is located in Wilson Botanical Garden, so you need only walk out your door to find what you came for. A guided walk is included with your stay. and is very informative. If you want to stay here during the high season, you would be wise to inquire at least 6 months in advance. I inquired in September about availability of 3 nights in February or March, and at that time they had only two such slots still available. This is not the least expensive lodging available in the area, but with all meals included it is good value for the money, and you can feel good about your dollars going to support OTS' good work.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2018
Response from Aixia Rojas on 21 Mar 2018
Wow, you really felt the OTS heart and our goals to keep research and protect the tropics. Thank you so much for your wonderful words and support for our family. Enjoy in our little paradise!

10/10 Excellent

Fred, Rural Retreat, VA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Wilson Botanical Gardens..
We really liked the Las Cruces Biological Station and the hotel. Lots of trails to hike on that were well marked with numerous plants identified. Many birds to look at, take photos or just enjoy them. Guided tour was excellent and enjoyed by all. Hotel was very close to everything. Meals were excellent. Don't miss it.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2018
Response from Aixia Rojas on 21 Mar 2018
Dear Fred, Las Cruces team really appreciate your preference and we are delighted to offer you a remarkable experience. We wish you a great trip in our beautiful country!

10/10 Excellent

Don Bernardo, Santa Fe NM

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
world-class scientific garden
We did both a night tour and an included morning tour with guide Jason. He was excellent. Wonderful palm and bromeliad collections. Terrific birding. At night--frogs, spiders, sleeping birds, toads, snakes. The bird feeding station had a wonder variety of tanagers.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2018
Response from Aixia R. on 6 Feb 2018
Dear Bernardo, Thank you so much for sharing, we really appreciate it! We are more than glad to offer you a memorable experience, hope to see you in the future! Best regards,

10/10 Excellent

Annette

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A gem of an ecolodge
Very well managed place with accommodations for overseas researches as well as tourists. Fantastic birding of Colorful birds at the feeders. The garden grounds is huge and full of hummingbirds.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2018
Response from Aixia R. on 23 Jan 2018
Dear Annette, Thank you! First of all, we're delighted you decided to see for yourself what Las Cruces Biological Station has to offer and so glad it met your expectations! Nothing pleases us more than to see our visitors come back and we do hope that you now consider yourself part of our family and will return as soon as you feel need for more nature.

10/10 Excellent

Kim Thompson, Panama

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
amazing flora and fauna!
absolutely beautiful!
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2017
Dear Kim, Thank you so much for your preference and share your experience, we are more than glad for your visit. ¡Hope to see you again! Our best wishes, Las Cruces and Wilson Botanical Garden Team

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent staff, hotel, garden and forest. The plants and birds that you can see are amazing.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2017
Response from Aixia R. on 28 Nov 2017
Thank you so much for your feedback, we really appreciate it! Hope to see you soon!

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Simple but comfortable
If you stay here you should know that this is a working academic research site not a traditional hotel. Food is very good given the family style. Rooms are modem clean and have nice private balconies. Great value!

8/10 Good

Gary, Cambridge, MA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
It Doesn't Get Much Better than This
The Bungalows at Las Cruces/Wilson Botanical Gardens are as close to luxury as one could expect at one of the most pristine active research biological facilities in Costa Rica. The rooms are nicely kept and the views are to die for. Meals are prepared for the guests, students and faculty of the facility by dedicated staff. A stay at the facility includes a guided tour of the Wilson Botanical Gardens, a birdwatcher's and gardener's paradise, and continued access to the gardens and surrounding nature trails and preserves. Highly recommended for travelers who want to commune with nature, right up to the doorstep.

2/10 Terrible

joe, OntarioCanada

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Over charge they were to revise and never received
Disappointed never reviewed bill as asked over bill Never received receipt took friends very disappointed would appreciate you sending us a justified bill.

10/10 Excellent

maria

Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2022
Response from Liz on 5 Apr 2022
Muchas Gracias Maria

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A great experience for nature-loving people
The biological station Las Cruces is integrated in the Wilson Botanical Garden, which is one of the most important and largest botanical collections in the tropics. We took the public bus from Ciudad Neilly and let us be dropped directly in front of the Las Cruces station (6 km south of San Vito). We spent 2 nights in the station: The rooms were very comfortable with a great view to the garden. At night, it can get cold, so it is a good idea to bring warmer clothes. The garden itself is very nice, botanically very interesting and an excellent location for birdwatching. Also, the adjacent tracks (many kilometers) into the primary and secondary rain forest are definitely worth a walk and one can easily spend several days exploring the station and area around (bring closed shoes!). The guided tour through the garden with Jeisson was excellent, he is really an expert,, was able to define and imitate nearly all birds and could answer all of our questions. The food was really excellent and the kitchen women were amazing and very helpful. As there were only few tourists, we were eating together with the researchers. All in all, the stay was great and we would absolutely recommend it, if you don't expect luxury, if you are interested in nature and want a familiar atmosphere.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2017
Response from Aixia R. on 5 Dec 2017
Dear guest, Thank you so much for your preference for the Organization for Tropical Studies, specially Las Cruces Biological Station and Wilson Botanical Garden. We really appreciate your nice words, we always try to do our best. Hope to see you again int he future. Pura vida!

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Geweldige locatie
Geweldige natuurlijke locatie, prachtige plek om te verblijven, vriendelijke medewerkers en ultieme rust
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2017