El Encuentro Surf Lodge

Carlos kept us laughing the whole time, and the rest of the staff were good too. We also loved the food, and our room was beautiful and well equipped. The place is close to the beach, quiet, and the staff were friendly and attentive.

We spent two weeks in the king beach bungalow and really appreciated how clean the room and grounds were. The staff were so friendly, and the breakfast each morning was something we looked forward to. We walked to Kite Beach to the east and Natura to the west. The weather was our only real issue, but it was still better than the snow back home!

This was our third visit, and we still love it here. The surf spots are great for every level and just a four-minute walk away. The rooms are comfortable, and the friendly staff are always happy to accommodate us. We'll definitely come back.

We had a nice week as a couple, but a few things would keep us from returning. If you want to explore beyond the beach, you'll need a car or bike; there wasn't much to do in the village, though the beach is only a two-minute walk away. The pool was spotless, the lodge itself was beautiful, filtered drinking water was available, and the restaurant food was pretty good. Anna and Gale were incredible, as were housekeeping and the gardener, but a couple of the servers often had an attitude. We support the schoolchildren having swimming lessons in the pool, but the lessons seemed to run Monday through Friday from 10-12 and again from 1-3, so we couldn't use the pool during those times on a pool getaway. When we asked about the schedule, we just got a shrug and “Caribbean time.”