The story
Manatus takes its name from the manatees that favor the shallow, sheltered waters of Tortuguero's canals — "the ladies of the sea," as the hotel calls them locally — and it built itself around comfort in a destination famous for having very little: it is consistently described by guests as the only hotel in the area with reliable air conditioning, a claim that shows up in review titles going back over a decade. Twelve rooms, built as large bungalows with private terraces, sit on land between a principal canal and the coast; a swimming pool overlooks the canal, gardens display the region's tropical flowers, and there is a spa, a gym and an art gallery — an unusually full amenity list for boat-access-only Tortuguero.
The all-inclusive package covers three meals a day, a village tour, and a canal tour, with a second canal tour added for stays of two nights or more. Guides are named again and again in reviews — Luis, Rey, Ricardo, boat captain Leo — for spotting sloths, caimans, monkeys, scarlet macaws and, on lucky nights, hatching baby turtles making their run to the sea.