Does anyone have any experience staying at the mountainside chalets in the National Park owned by Los Quetzales hotel or their main hotel at Guadalupe?

If so, did you like the chalets? Any drawbacks? What month is best for birding?

Thanks for your help.

We have reservations for one of the chalets next month. I would be more than glad to write a report and send some pictures when I get back around the end of Feb. We will be gone for about 3 weeks. Also staying at Coffee Inn Estates, and Cielito Sur. We started our reservations with Coffee Estates and they recommended the others.

Birding is excellent right now because you have all the migratory birds as well as the local. Oct is the best time to view the incredible hawk migration from what I understand. We are dying to see that.

Jessie: Can you provide a website for these chalets? They look fabulous from the outside! Thanks!

Lisa in CR

Our group of six birders stayed in one of the chalets and at the lodge in August of 2000. It was a fantastic experience! We were booked to stay two nights at the chalets, but we had a mix-up with the rental car (Budget) at the David airport (they didn't have the 4WD we required on arrival--or any cars for that matter). After much waiting they scrounged up two regular cars and promised to bring us 2-4wd vehicles the next day (we were skeptical!) We arrived at Los Quetzals Lodge in Guadalupe in the dark and in the rain and the were very accommodating, they squished the six of us into the only two rooms they had available (since we had been scheduled to stay at the chalets.) They also served us a delicious dinner even though the restaurant was closing.

Sure enough at 5 a.m. we got a knock on the door and there were the 4wd cars that had been driven up from Panama City during the night!

We embarked early to our cabin and believe me, those 4wd vehicles were necessary. Make sure you get good directions to the chalet...we at first took a wrong road which got progressively worse and deteriorated into nothing, but people along the route kept assuring us we were on the right road (we weren't!)

The cabin was very comfortable and the setting fantasic and swarming with birds. The lodge brought us up our dinner (which we'd ordered the night before) and it was hot and delicious, eaten via kerosene lantern. We saw several Resplendant Quetzals right at the base of the road up, near the small village. Our only regret was that we didn't get to stay the two nights we had planned up on the mountain. (Although there were many birds around the lodge in Guadalope, as well.)

If you are birders and would like my birdlist from that area, you can email me at jzinn AT jczinn.com

I'd highly recommend.

Thank you so much for the report. I am really getting excited now. I had no idea they were so far out! They sound just perfect for us. One question, what was the temperature like in that area? I understand that it will be cooler the higher we go but just a general starting point would help with packing. We are birders and would love the [email protected]

Lisa this is the site I have. You have probably already seen it. I will take lots of pics.
http://www.losquetzales.com/e_accomodations.htm

Jessie, How did you like the chalets at Los Quetzales? Which one did you stay in? Which one would you recommend?