Under $25

Backpackers rave about The Corner (tel. 506/2735-5328, www.jimenezhotels.com/cabinasthecorner, $8 s cold water, $12 s or $18 d with hot water), with secure and super-clean digs that include a dorm and five rooms, all with fans and private bathrooms. It has laundry and rents tents ($8) and bikes ($1.50).

You can camp at Herrera Gardens & Conservation Project (tel. 506/2735-5267, $10–15 pp), which also has a basic screened-in tent cabin with communal kitchen and shower.

$25–50

Cabinas Marcelina (tel. 506/2735-5286, fax 506/2735-5007, www.soldeosa.com/cabinasmarcelina, $40 s/d with fan, $50 s/d air-conditioned), 200 meters south of the soccer field, offers six simply furnished clean and charming rooms with private baths and fans. It can arrange fishing trips, horseback rides, and even gold-panning expeditions.

Cabinas Carolina (tel. 506/2735-5969, $10 pp with fan, $40 s/d with a/c and cable TV), in the heart of town, is associated with the popular restaurant. Rooms here are spacious and have private baths, but many lack windows and are therefore overpriced.

Although pricey for what you get, the beachfront Agua Luna Restaurant and Cabinas (tel. 506/2735-5393, www.jimenezhotels.com/cabinasagualuna, $45 s, $65 d) is one of the nicer places and has clean simply furnished, air-conditioned rooms with large windows, TVs, and private baths; six rooms have hot water.

The Palms (tel. 506/2735-5012, www.thepalmscostarica.com, $30–50 s/d low season, $45–85 s/d high season) seems to have spruced up at last visit and is now recommended. It has a great location by the bay and its small rooms boast lively color schemes. The tiny yet stylish open-air bar is popular with locals, and it has a store selling quality indigenous crafts.

$50–100

The nicest cabinas in town are at the well-run Cabinas Jiménez (tel. 506/2735-5090, www.cabinasjimenez.com, $50–90 s/d), offering bay vistas. Kept spic-and-span, these lovely air-conditioned cabins in various types all come with fans, mini-fridge, safes, Guatemalan bedspreads, and porches with chairs for enjoying the views. Plus it has a choice of superb bungalows and a wooden rancho, as well as WiFi and a swimming pool.

Great wildlife-viewing is virtually guaranteed at La Choza del Manglar (tel. 506/2735-5002, www.manglares.com, $29–39 s, $69–99 d) with eight air-conditioned rooms, two cabins (fans only), and a duplex. Nature lovers will appreciate being amid lush gardens that merge into mangroves, and all manner of wildlife (from monkeys to olingos) can be spotted while you sip a cocktail in the lounge bar (with WiFi). But don’t feed the animals! Groups can rent the entire hotel (five days minimum).

$100–150

Las Islas Lodge (tel. 506/2735-5242, www.lasislaslodge.com, $70 s/d low season, $125 s/d high season, including breakfast and tax), about two kilometers west of town, has four rooms and four cabins, all pleasantly furnished and with lots of light. It specializes in sportfishing packages.

The inviting Crocodile Bay Resort (tel. 506/2735-5631, U.S. tel. 800/733-1115, www.crocodilebay.com, see website for rates), about one kilometer east of town, specializes in sportfishing and has 20 spacious, graciously furnished air-conditioned rooms in two-story fourplex units; 12 rooms have whirlpool tubs. It has a slightly austere air-conditioned bar and restaurant, but the beautiful free-form pool fed by a water cascade, a butterfly garden, and a deluxe full-service spa make amends. It offers multiday packages only.

Competing with Crocodile Bay, the Osa Resort Club (tel. 506/2735-5920 or 407/928-7002, www.osaresortclub.com, package rates vary) is about one kilometer east of town. This compact place has quaint wooden cabins tucked in a secure courtyard. It operates fishing trips using a 42-foot Bertram, 38-foot Wellcraft Coastal, a 35-foot Blackfin Sportfish, and a 27-foot Blackfin Offshore center console.

Fishing fans will delight in a stay at Mar Huron Fishack (tel. 506/2735-5889, www.marhuron.com, packages from $1,725 for two days), a three-story shorefront villa with two suites and a “deluxe” self-contained two-story casita.

Playa Platanares

I love the beachfront Iguana Lodge (tel. 506/8848-0752, fax 506/2735-5436, www.iguanalodge.com, from $75–195 Club Room, including breakfast; from $99–205 casitas, including breakfast and dinner), which boasts a breezy setting and a luxurious aesthetic. This is the finest digs for miles! It’s run by Loran and Toby Cleaver from Colorado, who gave it all up to live in harmony with nature. There’s a frog garden, and trails lead into the adjacent forest; Loran was creating a flower garden at last visit. It has two types of accommodation. First, to one side, four hardwood casitas raised on stilts amid the forest have louvered windows on all sides, plus broad verandas. Shared showers and bathrooms (candlelit at night) are located nearby. Newer, more luxurious cabins have private bathrooms. To the other side, a lime-green wooden lodge has eight upstairs Iguana Club Rooms done up in sumptuous albeit simple tropical fashion, divinely comfy king-size beds, ceiling fans, inset ceiling halogens, and gorgeous modern bathrooms with travertine walls and huge walk-in showers. A simply furnished three-bedroom house—Villa Villa Kula—includes master suite with its own wraparound veranda ($350 low season, $450 high season, minimum three nights). There are two deluxe cabins, along with a Balinese-inspired yoga deck, a gym, and a 20-meter-long lap pool with a huge hot tub inset in a coral-stone deck. An Internet room and Photoshop space are planned. Gourmet meals (the breakfasts astound!) are served family-style on a wide veranda in the main lodge, which has a Gaudí-esque feel in its curvaceous layout; there’s also a more simple restaurant and bar.

The Black Turtle Lodge (tel. 506/2735-5005, www.blackturtlelodge.com, $85–105 s, $140–170 d low season; $95–120 s, $150–190 d high season, including breakfast and dinner) is a more rustic virtual carbon copy of Iguana Lodge. It is run by California siblings Nico and Meggie Zimmerman, who specialize in yoga retreats. They have two tree-house cabinas and two cabinettas amid the jungle. Family-style dining is offered by candlelight.

Another delightful, classy competitor is the Yellow Coco Lodge (tel. 506/8811-4934, in North America tel. 941/376-0910, www.yellowcocolodge.com, $95–175 s/d low season, $135–290 s/d high season), between Iguana Lodge and Black Turtle Lodge. It has graciously appointed bungalows and a lovely beach house; a three-night minimum stay is required.

Further Afield

Looking for a true nature experience? Río Nuevo Lodge (tel. 506/2735-5411, www.rionuevojungle.com, $75 s, $130 d with meals), about five kilometers west of town, offers safari-style tents atop wooden platforms. Surrounded by rainforest, it’s a fabulous base for hiking.

Just when I thought I’d seen it all, architect Michael Cranford and Rebecca Amelia (aka Blondie) built themselves a dream tree house high in a 70-meter-tall guanacaste tree, in the foothills above the hamlet of Barrio Bonito (13 km north of Puerto Jiménez). Lapa’s Nest Costa Rica Tree House (tel. 508/714-0622 or 506/8372-3529, www.treehouseincostarica.com, $1,800 weekly low season, $2,275 weekly high season) was built entirely of naturally fallen hardwood timber. It doesn’t even touch the tree—instead, it wraps around it and is flexible (it moves!). Amazing! The six-level 950-square-foot, four-bedroom and two-bath house has a living room, kitchenette, gas-heated hot water, WiFi (most of the time), plus flat-screen TV, and wonderful 360-degree ocean views. This is no Robinson Crusoe experience; you enjoy luxurious Egyptian cotton sheets, making (says Michael) “Swiss Family Robinson’s tree house look like the slums.” One bathroom has a see-through floor to the ground below! Leave the door open and you may find an iguana plodding in. If you want to literally live with the monkeys, this is it.

The tree house is the highlight of Lapa’s Retreat, a villa with eight rental rooms and a huge mezzanine lounge. It’s part Gaudí, part Tolkien in inspiration and makes fabulous use of natural timbers and river stone, with open walls and a pool. All are set in a rainforest reserve, which has trails (tree-house guests get a private naturalist guide plus maid). Advance reservations are required; no walk-ins. To reach it, turn west at the soccer field in Barrio Bonito (about four km west of the Dos Brazos turnoff) and follow the Agujitas River for two kilometers—but it’s wise to ask Michael for exact directions.