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| Thank you for the wonderful stay. Best Host and Hostess we have ever stayed with. This was our 6th visit to costa rica, The osa is definately the way costa rica should be. There is constant movement going on around you, from the macaws, monkeys, to the oceans surf. Great hiking with our guide Elias to the bat cave, (Thanks for saving me from the snake.) Elias also led us to the Corcovado national park where we came across a Tapir, many monkeys, ant eater, deer, spiders, Agouti. I have amazing pictures to remember our trip for a long time. The food was amazing also. We can’t wait to return. Thank you Terry and Katya, and your staff. Favorite Activity: Hiking Best Wildlife Seen: 4 snakes,macaws,red eyed frog,tapir |
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| Saw and photographed lots of Scarlet Macaws every day, feeding, flying, and bickering. Also photographed spider and capuchin monkeys. Check my website in a couple of months, for some wildlife photos taken here --- www.freshairphotos.com Went for a short swim on a fairly powerful surf day for an exciting afternoon. This is an awesome setting. One could easily spend a week here and still feel when it’s time to leave that you missed some of the many opportunities available. Favorite Activity: Photography Best Wildlife Seen: Scarlet Macaws |
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| So there we were again! After having visited Terry, Katya and the rest of the crew (man, I can’t remember the cook’s name) back in 2004, me and some friends decided to get back to Costa Rica last December. We basically did the exact same trip as the year before, starting in the North, and saving the best for last... The Southern peninsula is really great. Despite of everybody comments about the bad roads, I actually like to drive there. I’ve heard people say it takes you about twelves to fourteen to get to Carate from San Jose but that’s probably if you don’t take the coastal highway. If you drive straight to Dominical and South from there, you should be able to do it in 8 to 9 hours and the coastal highway is one magnificent ride! The Inn is simply great. It’s the best hotel-like place I’ve ever stayed. The crew is awesome, the food is great, the feeling of being at the end of the world (well, almost) is the best! We stayed from December 29th I think until January 2nd and joined in for the famous pig roast. Well, despite the moskitos (I think I had about 100 bites on my legs only) it was great fun. The next time I’m in Costa Rica, I’m sure dropping by again! One thing though: Terry doesn’t always keep his promises. Back in 2004 he said his next project was a 50 meter water slide, but I haven’t seen it yet Favorite Activity: The hammock Best Wildlife Seen: Wildlife, that's not what I came for |
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| Throughout all of my travels, I have never felt “choked up and teary“ when I left a place until our stay at the Lookout-Inn. We played the soundtrack to The Grizzlyman as we pulled away and didn’t say a word for many, many miles. We have never experienced anything like the Lookout Inn before. We try to pinpoint exactly what it as....the awe, the beauty, the Ocean, the wildlife, scarlet macaws that look like kites flying in the sky, the food, the company of other guests, the sunsets, the rainforest, our wonderful, wonderful hosts......whatever the reason or reasons we spend some time EVERY day we’ve been home reflecting on Carate. We listen to the soundtrack at night before bed to capture the feelings we had at the Lookout. Thank you, thank you, thank you to Terri and Katya. Thank you Terri for sharing your dream with us. We know we’ll be back. How could we not??? Favorite Activity: being on the beach Best Wildlife Seen: scarlet macaws |
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| You know how you have a favorite fishing hole and don’t want to tell anyone for fear of it changing...well, I want to keep this spectacular place a secret. I want to keep Lookout Inn all mine, I don’t want to share, and I don’t want it to change. Sorry Terry, I’m just not going to tell the whole world about the perfect place and my greatest wish is for the Osa to remain untrampled. Favorite Activity: Looking Best Wildlife Seen: Too many to choose |
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| Staying at the Lookout felt like a stay in Paradise. Terry, Katya, Chelsea and all the other staff here are very welcoming, have lots of good advice for hiking, horse riding and exploring and the food, to which we were summoned by a call from a conch shell, was excellent. We stayed in a tiki hut and I regard taking a hot shower in the open-to-the-forest bathroom at the inn as one of the best experiences of my life! Going to sleep to the sound of the waves crashing just at the foot of the hill, the night sounds of the jungle and the sounds of the purple and orange crabs making their long hike back up from the beach to the mountains, through the leaves under our hut will long stay with me as an experience from a dream. We loved every moment of our stay, including an encounter with battling monkey species on a short walk just up the road from the Inn and a close-up sighting of the rare squirrel monkeys. My advice for travellers to the inn would be to stay at least three or four nights, longer if you can, since it is quite a trek to get there. Also, I would STRONGLY recommend taking an internal flight to Puerto Jiminez rather than trying to drive. It is really not possible to imagine how bad the roads are or how exhausting it is to drive them until you’ve been there. It’s a good twelve hours from San Jose if you drive, or about 40 minutes by air-taxi and then two hours by road from the airport if you decide to fly. We cannot wait to return to this amazing place and will certainly be staying longer next time.Thank you everyone at the Inn for a stay we’ll remember for a very long time. Susanna and Greg Favorite Activity: travelling Best Wildlife Seen: squirrel monkeys |
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| We were on our way to San Jose and decided to stop by the Inn for a quick lunch...we left the next morning. We’re both university students and while the people at the Inn were older, it really didnt matter. It is a very easy going atmosphere. “No shoes“ allowed is their first rule and one of the best. The beach is all yours, there are boogy boards so you can spend hours in the waves. The food doesnt need to be commented on besides to say that it was AMAZING. Everyone is simply super friendly but its all natural. I usually leave a hotel or resort thinking “this was great and this was great, but i really would of liked if they had done this“. Well in the case of Lookout Inn we just rambled on throughout the ride back home about how amazing it was, there was no room for improvement...honestly. The staff is great too, they’re just such friendly and approachable people. Terry (the owner) provides you constant entertainment. It was one of those places i have been telling everyone about (well not quite, because its soo isolated, its the only place on the road to the park and thats a 2 hour road, and I kind of want to keep it on the low, so it doesnt get overrun with tourists If you want a place to stay at and come back 100% recharged, then this it is. We spent one night and it was honestly enough to recharge usfor the rest of our trip which involved a lot of traveling around. Thank you sooo much for the stay!!! And Terry if you’re reading this, let the staff know we’ve got the pictures from our night get together, I have a picture of Estrella that i think they’d like too! Favorite Activity: Eating and the Beach Best Wildlife Seen: Monkeys |
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| Hey, we can’t quit talking about our vacation with Terry and Katya at the Lookout Inn. It was way beyond expectations!! Thier home, the beach, the pools, the monkeys, the food, the birds, the gardens, the stairway to heaven, the waterfalls, the lagoon, and it goes on and on. We fished and fished (hats off to Kay and Mark at Osa Sport Fishing) Thanks to Jaun Kee and Terry who cooked our fish in many delicious ways. Terry and Katya really do make everyone feel at home (quite a skill considering the variety of folks that visit them). Jaun Kee was great fun and produced plenty of great food. All the staff was helpful and happy. It was the perfect vacation and we hope to return. “Alrighty then“ Favorite Activity: vacationing at the lookout Best Wildlife Seen: terry (just kidding) |
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| Terry and Katya’s business card that declares “Come as a guest but leave as family...“ couldn’t be more accurate. I had planned a month trip to Costa Rica, came to the Look Out on my second week, and ended up staying a full three weeks with Terry and Katya! The place is absolutely stop-you-in-your-tracks awe inspiringly beautiful. One of my favorite activites was watching new guests do the same thing I did: endlessly yammer about how they can’t believe how beautiful it is. I mean, it’s a fabulous website that makes the place look like paradise, but wait till you see it in person- it doesn’t do it justice- it’s astounding. New guests would always ask me “Where’s the best birdwatching?“ and I’d always answer, “Right here, on the grounds of the hotel.“ So many species of birds seem to live and roost right on the grounds of the Look Out Inn itself and help themselves to the vast array of flowering Haliconias and other beautiful nectar producing beauties. (In fact, I suggested they change the name to Look Out Inn and Hummingbird Sanctuary.) The morning and late afternoon were the best times to observe ’bird traffic’ as those that roosted in the mountains (like most parrots) came down to feed, or scores of smaller songbirds (that seemed to roost right on the property) got together for one last little noisy flurry of activity to discuss the days events. You can hire the hotel’s guide Elias to take you on a variety of hikes , including into Corcovado (which I did) , but one of the best hikes with the most wildlife was right near the hotel down “Shady Lane“. I did this hike virtually everyday and it was amazing the abundance of wildlife we saw so close to home. We saw all four species of monkeys on a regular basis: Capuchins,(come to the hotel to feed all the time) Spiders, Squirrels, and Howlers. (Heard the howlers more than we saw them.) You see Coatis everywhere. And did you ever think you’d find a place where Scarlet Macaws are so common that you barely react, like “Oh, it’s just another beautiful, red, exotic bird..“ All the guide books told me that the food in Costa Rica was going to be very mediocre, but the food at the Look Out was spectacular- thank chef Juan Ki. I ate so much fresh fish and locally grown produce- the agriculture in this country in amazing. And I’m presently going through fresh fruit withdrawal- everyday we had mango, papya, watermelon, pinneapple, and banannas. (thanks to all these fresh ingredients, Katya makes the best Pinnecolada and Bananna Daquiri that I’ve ever had in my life- and i’m a bartender!) And the bugs were not bad at all. You need a little bit of bug spray after dark, but it was by no means as bad as I expected. Definitely bring a flashlight though- I brought one of those L.L. Bean LED headlamps and it was the hero of the trip! It’s amazing the amount of wildlife you can see with one of those! Having seen the other hotels on the Osa in proximity to Corcovado, I really think this is the place you’re gonna want to stay. First of all, you have beach access and a small pool- things that will be very much appreciated. (Many are so high up a cliff that you can’t access the ocean.) And there’s so much wildlife watching right on site! If you want to go into Corcovado, you can either walk or arrange to do an overnighter at the Sirena station- they can help you set it up... I’m coming back.. Favorite Activity: watching hummingbirds while in the pool Best Wildlife Seen: All the many species of monkeys on Shady Lane |
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| Sometimes you wonder if the website will live up to expectations. well i can tell you that this place is way better than the website shows! i stayed at lookout inn for 8 great days in mid november. and although it was the end of the rainy season, and there was rain.. i had one of my best vacations ever! the tiki room was a joy to stay in. i had hummingbirds, butterflies and fireflies visited me. and just a few feet from my room in the nearby trees i could watch iguana, whiteface monkeys and magnificent macaws! it is easy to really slow down and never leave the beautiful gardens, decks and pools of the property, but it is well worth taking some walks. the near-deserted black sand beach has a tremendous pounding surf. the short walk to corcovada national park - with guide Elios - who can show you animals and plants you might struggle to see yourself - is a must! If that is not enough, the food is exceptional and the hosts -Terry & Katya make you feel like family. This is a very special place, at the ’ends of the earth’, with solar lighting, clever architecture and lovely gardens and boardwalks on which to wander. This place is only for people who are ready for an extraordinary experience with wonderful people. Be ready for a very memorable vacation! Favorite Activity: waking up in my tiki room and hearing birds, surf Best Wildlife Seen: family of coati, squirrel monkeys, countless hummingbirds, macaws, toucans.. the list goes on & on! |
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