“One of the best fishing lodges on this side of the world”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed January 2, 2014
I was here for 3 nights at the beginning of December and I have to say, this is one of the few places that lives up to the hype. I work in the sport fishing tourism business so I had heard a lot about this property and it’s 70K likes on Facebook. I have been living and working in Costa Rica for 8+ yrs so I’ve stayed at a lot of nice hotels and fished on a lot of nice boats, but I had butterflies the day before we arrived here I was so excited. From the moment we got there I knew everything was going to be amazing during our time there.
We were greeted with a welcome drink at the clubhouse upon arrival, then the bartender Kenny suggested we go up top to the observatory to take in the sunset. Pretty stunning 360 degree views of the mountains behind you and the Pacific in front of you. The food at the lodge was absolutely amazing. The chef, Zavier, is Panamanian but has spent years in Europe and the Middle East so he has broad horizons in the kitchen. The first night we had three giant Pacific lobsters in a curry sauce, the next night he prepared the snapper we caught earlier in the day, and the third night he made us a pasta of our choice. That wasn’t even the highlight though, his appetizers were Four Seasons quality. We had BBQ chicken wings, fresh fish fingers, chips & homemade salsa, roasted peppers with feta cheese, and even fresh caviar! I could not believe the quality of the food served, most all inclusive lodges serve local food or all seafood from the day’s catch, but this was amazing. By Day 3 we literally had to tell him to stop making so much food because there was only two of us and we never felt hungry.
The hotel it self is luxurious in every detail. It almost is misleading to refer to it as a ‘lodge’ as that implies basic accommodations and a “guys only” atmosphere, this place is anything but. All 4 cabinas come with AC, wifi, 55″ smart TVs, stocked mini bar (no extra charge), huge bathroom, and beds on either side of the bathroom. The beds can be customized to have king beds for couples for twin beds for singles. The clubhouse is where all meals are served and they have a nice bar and another 60″ smart TV in there to watch movies or big games. They also have a nice pool with swim up bar and beautiful views out over the island, and they put up a TV so guests can connect their cameras at the end of the day and share pictures while having a drink. They even have a heated jacuzzi!
Last but not least, we went there for one reason – to fish. This lodge is perfectly located in Isla Boca Brava so it is easy to get to from David and it’s close to world famous fishing spots like Isla Coiba, Hannibal Banks, and Isla Montousa. On any given day you can fish the various islands for huge snapper and roosterfish or head off-shore to search for giant marlin and their legendary ‘cow’ tuna. They have 5 main boats for the off-shore fishing, all of them identical in amenities and built for serious sport fishing. Here in Costa Rica most boats are loaded with 25W & 30W and carry one 50W for a marlin, on those boats they are all 50Ws because the fish are so big. All boats come with tuna tubes, lives wells, outriggers, downriggers, fighting chairs, air conditioning, and popping stations on the bow so a giant tuna doesn’t drag you overboard. To give you an idea of how luxurious this property is from top to bottom, the boats even have Shimano Stella spinning reels – which felt heavenly when pulling up big snapper from the bottom of the ocean.
All in all – from the service you get pre-arrival to the quality of the food to the luxurious accommodations to the world class fishing there isn’t much you’d change about this place. It has won numerous awards for excellence in 2013 and I can see why, the new owner takes a lot of pride in being the best and I can’t imagine too many places that could outdo the PBGFC.
