The story
El Remanso opened in 1999 on the same stretch of Cabo Matapalo cliff-and-jungle terrain as its two older neighbors, and set itself apart from the start with power: it was one of the first lodges in Costa Rica to run entirely on electricity from its own micro-hydro system, later paired with solar. The name — "the calm" or "the still place" — describes the setting: 13 to 16 rooms, bungalows and multi-level suites guests call "Forest Floating Villas," perched over a forest canyon with a restaurant deck positioned to look straight down into it.
What distinguishes El Remanso operationally is that its two most dramatic activities — ziplining and waterfall rappelling — happen on the property itself, not as an excursion elsewhere. A guest rappelled four waterfalls on her 60th birthday and came back to a candlelit dinner with cake and the staff singing to her in Spanish. Every staff and management position is filled by people from Puerto Jiménez and the surrounding communities, and the lodge supports the town's community center and environmental education in local schools through ASCONA. At roughly 1,010 reviews and a 4.7, it now out-rates both Lapa Ríos and Bosque del Cabo, its higher-profile neighbors on the same cape.