In this installment I'll be talking about dining and activities at Mashpi Lodge. All meals and most activities are included when staying here, so beyond the steep room rate, at least you're not being nickel-and-dimed for everything. All three meals are served in the hotel's main restaurant, which is also basically the centerpiece of the…
Continue reading: Review: Dining & Activities At Mashpi Lodge
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Very cool. I've an irrational fear of snakes. Do you think that's a deal-breaker?
@Ben Thanks for the detailed and informative review!!! We are going to Mashpi Lodge next summer as part of our honeymoon, and we are now even more stoked after reading about your experience.
Lucky, Ford is so much cooler than you. Nice job with the review, though. A very unique property that was exciting to read about. Great photos, too.
Lucky, Interesting location and resort. It looks beautiful and seems like a luxurious way to see South American rain forest. I’m curious how long the expert hikes were? Also I’ve never heard of Mashpi Lodge before this post; How did you learn about the resort?
I’m amazed that alcohol isn’t included for the price. I’ve paid less for two people per night at some African Safari lodges, and everything was included, and the activities were far better.
Ford's biceps are impressive! Wolf!
It all looks quite beautiful. I would go for the hummingbirds and the night hike. Otherwise, I'm too much of an urban bum to make a special trip there, despite the gorgeous scenry.
An episode of Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby (on Netflix) covers Mashpi Lodge. It's definitely worth watching.
Why did you say in the first post about Mashpi that you only spent money on alcohol and spa treatments was the skybike and dragonfly free or paid or did you get it for free?
I only travel these days for birding. It's interesting to see how other people visit these kind of lodges. A hummingbird tour of Ecuador is definitely on the bucket list for me, I understand there are several of these lodges all with different species a person could tour.
I can help you put a label on your other birds if you want them... Your chubby bird with the red breast is Toucan Barbet. Your toucanet is (probably) Crimson-rumped Toucanet. Your tanager is Golden Tanager. (Great photo!) Your dancing bird is Andean Cock of the Rock! A very famous bird! What a fun picture of Ford too. Seems like a trip you will always remember.
Given the price point of the hotel the food program as described seems pretty disappointing.
The activities looked amazing and I would have loved that skybike and would have wanted to take the dragonfly every day.
Can you discuss how you handle taking care of such a great personal guide such as Estuardo? Its clear that his enthusiasm helped make the trip, I am assuming you were able to reward him accordingly. How does one approach that? Is there a standard gratuity in the price, is there a gratuity that you add on that you put on the bill and hope its split accordingly, or do you give the gratuity directly to the guide?
Does not seem that impressive, particularly at the price point
If you are a nature lover, i would highly recommend Thala Beach Nature Reserve near Port Douglas, Australia. Far lower price point and has its own private beach as well.
Samusak, people who are going to Ecuador for a hummingbird tour don't care if it's cheaper to visit Australia. You can't take it with you! A cloud forest isn't a beach and it doesn't appeal to the same market. 32 hummingbirds at one lodge in Ecuador or 0 hummingbirds in all of Australia (hummingbirds are only found in the Americas). It's not a tough decision.
Those food pics look well-lighted. Just curious, do you use a flash and is it annoying to other diners. And wow, that’s a great pic of Ford
@peachfront
You clearly have no idea that Thala Beach nature Reserve is near the Daintree Rainforest which is the oldest Rainforest in the world. And it has a private beach.
If you want to see hummingbirds you can go to Healdsburg, California and will be able to see them all day long as long as you keep a water source nearby.
Finally, you are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to the facts nor are you entitled to my opinion.
Thala Beach Nature Reserve
@peachfront
Thala Beach nature Reserve is also one of the National Geographic List of Lodges just as is Mashpi Lodge. Please see the link below:
@samusak - Having stayed at the Mashpi Lodge and the Thala Beach Rainforest Reserve, I would say that they are equally nice. Personally, neither property lives up to my experience at the amazing Oberoi Vanyavilas in Ranthambhore, India. So, claiming one is better than another is senseless - tastes are subjective.
Well you have proved my point. Life is subjective. And so are opinions.
As someone who has been to Vanyavilas and Rajvilas and Amarvilas and Udaivilas and Sukhvilas, I can tell you that the Oberoi Vilas properties are apples compared to Mashpi Lodge and Thala Beach Reserve which are oranges. What I mean by that is the Oberoi Vilas Properties are different from National Geographic Lodges. The Oberoi Vilas Properties are luxe while National Geographic Lodges are not.
Go ahead and compare an Oberoi Vilas property to a Mashpi Lodge or Thala all day long.
They are just different.
However Mashpi Lodge and Thala are not that different. Thala in my humble opinion is more attractive at a lower price point.
However, as a shareholder of EIH Ltd. ( company that owns and operates Vanyavilas and other Oberoi Hotels) , I thank you for the free publicity.
Wishing you Happy Travels! Please frequent and publicize more properties such as Oberoi Vanyavilas and other properties owned and managed by the Oberoi Group.