On our recent trip we booked a night in the tree house for my husband’s 40th birthday. hoping to make it amazing. We drove 5 and a half hours to get there. We had no cell or wifi service so Fiona was nice enough to give us a restaurant about 35 min away to use to let them know we were on our way. We let them know what time we would be there and they said the person meeting us would meet us in the parking area for the community. We were told to have a 4×4 vehicle and we did. On the way up the mountain on the horrible road filled with boulders and washed away areas we got stuck, for over an hour. No one came looking for us at all. my husband climbed for 45 min and found a house and they said over a 30 min more walk, up the mountain. He came back to the car. We finally got un stuck and headed back down because up was not an option. No one down the road allowed us wifi so we drove 35 min away back to the restaurant. I explained what happened and how we could not get up the mountain. We then got a call from someone in California becausethe people I was communicating with did not speak English. He explained we should park at the store and have their taxi service drive us up. So we drove 35 min back. Still no English, by the time we finished explaining what we needed it was pouring rain and close to dark. We got up there after a 25 min drive through washed away roads and through one of the worst roads I have ever been on and the worst part is we had to pay $40.00 for this taxi service. We get there, after they knew we were coming, and they locked the gates. We beeped and nothing. The taxi took us back down. We were left in the middle of know where with no cell service. Then they continued to say it was our fault and they waited all day for us when all we did was follow their instructions. We never got to stay and had to drive another two and a half hours for a place to stay. 4×4 will not cut it, you need a off road vehicle or land rover for sure.

Our stay at Fiona’s treehouse was magical! El Fenix is such a special property for folks who are looking for a bit of adventure and seclusion. The pre check-in instructions were very detailed, and we had no trouble finding and travelling the road to base camp using G00gle Maps since we had a 4×4 car (definitely essential!), and the hike in only took 20mins or so. Matt was also super helpful before we arrived – very responsive and made sure we got in and out alright. The treehouse itself was so beautiful and well put together – had all the amenities we needed, including basics for cooking (oil, salt, sugar, coffee), the linens were very comfortable, and everything was very tidy. The mammal guides illustrated by Fiona were a great touch – we used ours during our stay at El Fenix and for the rest of our trip around Costa Rica! Would highly recommend El Fenix for couples or small groups who are confident in the outdoors and want a quiet, simple place to stay while exploring the trails!

El Fenix is a magical treehouse in an incredibly beautiful location. The house is very comfortable and exploring the jungle was magical.

Tuvimos una estancia increíble en la casa de Fiona, nuestros hijos alucinaron con la casa del árbol y toda la experiencia en la jungla, no pudimos ver ningún animal pero disfrutamos de los paseos, la espectacular flora y los baños en las pequeñas piscinas y riachuelos.
Nos sorprendió lo bien equipada que estaba la casa para estar tan aislada!
Pd: Se requiere espiritu aventurero!

We really enjoyed our time at El Fénix. I wish we’d had more time to explore the area. We didn’t find the waterfalls (one of them may have been dry due to the timing of our trip at the end of the dry season). I also would have liked to see more of the treehouses to get a better feel of what the old community felt like. Our 2 night stay didn’t allow for this nor did the heavy rain that set in the afternoon of our only full day. We did have a few problems. These aren’t really complaints more of a FYI. The refrigerator never ended up working and the shower very quickly alternated between way too hot and way too cold which made showers a little difficult. I don’t know if both of these things were just a function of being off grid, but thought I’d mention them in case repairs are needed. Also, a mop onsite would be nice so we could wipe up the floors after getting rained on. Despite not seeing much wildlife it was a relaxing, incredible experience I’m thrilled I was able to experience it.