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It was a little bit of a splurge for us.  Staying in a jungle tree house near Playa Chiquita Costa Rica was a little outside normal level of budget accommodation choices.  I pondered the splurge for months before the trip. I made lists of pros and cons in my head. I compared them with our other top choices for accommodation.

In the end, I felt in my heart that staying in a Costa Rica tree house would add something really special to our vacation. Something that would really make it over-the-top amazing. I was right…

Looking for more about Costa Rica? Here are some other posts that I wrote from this trip!

• The Costa Rica Caribbean Coast with Kids – Playa Chiquita, Playa Punta Uva and Cahuita National Park
• 9 Things that You Need to Know if you are a “Gringo” Driving in Costa Rica

The Angler’s Lair is a Costa Rica tree house-esque accommodation on the Caribbean coast. It is located in the small beach town of Playa Chiquita Costa Rica. It is not actually built in a tree, but it is at tree level and built with local timbers, so it feels like it.

Playa Chiquita Costa Rica is just south of Puerto Viejo. It is only 30 minutes south of popular Cahuita National Park.

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The House

The house is set back from the road a bit and nestled in a nice little chunk of trees. This make it feel like private jungle paradise.  The house offers two different sizes of accommodations. The smaller one is a lower level one bedroom apartment with one king sized bed. The larger, upper level apartment has two bedrooms with a total of 7 sleeping spots (8 if you count the hammock 😉  )

Either choice gives you access to the amazing, shaded pool and hot tub. The house is only rented to one group at a time. You will have the whole place to yourself, except for the cat.

We stayed in the larger, upper floor apartment and it was perfect for our family of five. The apartment consisted of an open kitchen, living room and dining area and two enclosed bedrooms.  Our bedroom had a king sized bed and a bunk bed The second bedroom consisted of another king sized bed.

The house itself is spectacularly adorned with tons of rustic charm.   It was decorated with lots of local wood and materials and beautiful mosaics giving it a whimsical quality.

The most amazing thing about this Costa Rica tree house was the lack of walls in the kitchen and dining areas. This left it open to see the forest canopy at tree level. The kids called it the “inside out” house because the inside was literally out.  We saw birds and other wildlife right from our living room which made our whole stay a really unique experience.

Coming from the deep freeze of a Minnesota winter, being able to cook dinner in an open air kitchen was life changing. Enjoying the fresh air and sounds of birds in February was absolutely, mind blowingly amazing.

The house is right next door to the popular Shawandha Lodge. Playa Chiquita beach was just a few minutes walk away. The town of Playa Chiquita Costa Rica was a really nice spot to base ourselves.  There are enough restaurants and a market here to provide for all of your needs. It lacks the busy, hectic qualities of Puerto Viejo.

As a bonus, nearby Punta Uva beach is one of the best beaches in Costa Rica for families with kids!

Our Playa Chiquita Costa Rica Experience

While staying in our Costa Rica tree house paradise, we generally spent our mornings out exploring before it got hot.  We visited Cahuita National Park, explored the nearby villages and beaches, visited the Jaguar Rescue Center and took a really neat tour of a local chocolate farm.

In the afternoon, we would return to our nest to enjoy the shaded pool. It was the perfect size for the kids (and us) to splash in and cool off.

Each of the bedrooms had its own, private open air shower off of the bathroom on the back side of the house.  The open air shower was a decadent feeling pleasure that I enjoyed as often as I was able to during our stay.

We frequently stopped at the fresh fruit stands on the road to pick up luscious pineapple and watermelons to snack on in the afternoon whilst swimming. This got us by until we made dinner. After dinner, we enjoyed playing games in the evening listening to the jungle sounds.  Once the kids went to bed, I relished sitting in the hot tub with a glass of sangria, enjoying my quiet time before sleep.

There is a fruit/vegetable truck that comes down the road in the afternoon like an ice cream truck. It comes complete with a speaker broadcasting its approach. We had been told about it by our hosts, so when we heard it, we ran down the road with our money. We bought fruit straight off of the back and fresh from the farm. So cool!

Janet and Nick are the owners of this wondrous house. They were really, genuine in their help and care.  They happily helped us with whatever we needed without ever being intrusive.  Nick drove with us when we arrived to give us a short tour and show us some of the best nearby beaches. They were very easy to work with and communicate with throughout the booking process.

If you are looking into Cahuita Costa Rica hotels or for a treehouse hotel Costa Rica, put this on your short list. Staying at the Angler’s Lair made our visit to Caribbean Costa Rica an immensely satisfying travel experience for our whole family.