Casa Cubuy Ecolodge

I honestly do not understand all the complaints people have written on here about Casa Cubuy. This is an ecolodge in the middle of the rainforest. It’s remote. If you’re expecting high-​end hotel-​style accomodations, you’re misguided– not about Casa Cubuy, but about any ecolodge in general.
The lodge is the highest of any in the area. This means that you get stunning views of the mountains, rainforest and waterfalls, all the way out to sea, where you can glimpse the island of Vieques and Monkey Island in the distance. It also means that it is a long drive up a windy, tight road climbing up the mountain and about a twenty minute drive from amenities in the closest town of Naguabo. Did you expect to have a variety of restaurants and shopping within walking distance? If you did, you wouldn’t be able to enjoy the peace and quiet and lack of people.
But you are by no means stuck here. If you’re here, you have a car. Use it if you must. Put your headlights on and drive slowly. You’ll be fine. You’re not «forced» to eat at their restaurant, it’s just the closest option. And it was fantastic, by the way. It’s cash only and is open for dinner only from 5pm till 8pm, has a full bar (beer and wine $ 3-​$ 4, mixed drinks $ 5, bottles of wine $ 20) and has excellent food. The shrimp mofongo ($ 12) was to die for, and the butter fried fish with rice and beans (at $ 14, the most expensive item on the menu) was a perfect way to refuel after a day of hiking.
The breakfast that they include is bountiful and filling. My first morning it was platters of fresh fruit, coffee and tea, fresh squeezed juice, rich, thick oatmeal, breads, cereals and hard boiled eggs. The following morning was all the fruit, oatmeal and beverages with pancakes and deviled eggs. Delicious!
The rooms are HUGE. It can get a bit chilly at night with the breezes so bring a sweatshirt or long pants. There’s no need for A/​C up here even during the day. Yeah, the rooms are a bit bare bones, but my bed was comfortable, my shower was hot and my toilet always worked. Two thumbs up. And the balcony where I watched the sun rise every morning and rocked in my hammock at night listening to the coquí chatter while looking up at the stars was superb.
A short walk up the paved mountain road (191, which dead ends where the trails start, as the middle of the road that connects the north and south end of the park is closed due to major landslides) are hiking trails that are much more private than anything in the north of the park, where there are loads of tourists and easy, paved walkways that pass for hiking. Here, you’ll be walking through the forest, crunching over leaves and grass, spotting birds, lizards and coquí and swimming in pools under waterfalls with a good chance of never seeing any other people. You’ll sweat, you’ll get a little dirty, you’ll be tired at the end of the day, but it is well worth it. I wore hiking boots but many in my group went with tennis shoes and were fine. The trails are well marked and doable without a guide, but I chose to join a group led by a guide named Robin who has lived in El Yunque for over thirty years and turned out to have a wealth of knowledge about the plants, wildlife and history of the forest, making the hike far more educational than a solo experience would have allowed. If you want to drive north it’s about 45 minutes around the forest to the entrance with the visitor’s center, but everyone I spoke to who had done it said to skip it, the south is a much better experience.
All in all this was the highlight of my trip and well worth the drive and the money. I would encourage anyone looking for a quiet, peaceful trip off the beaten path to come and stay here for a night or three. You won’t regret it.

The ecolodge is located in a gorgeous corner of El Yunque rainforest. We saw it in both dry and flooding weather and the views are gorgeous all around. The owners are welcoming and knowledgable about PR. It was expensive for the level of accommodations. The rooms were cold and the hot water was broken, a fact that they failed to mention when we booked our stay less than two weeks before. You should be aware that there is not a connection between the south side of the rainforest and the north side of the rainforest, so felt a bit remote. It does have a real charm to it.

Beautiful location. The watering hole nearby, itself is worth the stop here. It’s only a few steps down a trail from the rooms and you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere. The rooms and décor are a bit outdated, and not up-​kept, but the rooms are HUGE, with huge glass balcony windows which is all you will really want to be looking at anyway. There are hammocks throughout for lounging, and you can’t help but feel calm with the rainforest sounds.
My only gripe was that they offer free breakfast, which looked delicious but we had a plane to catch to Vieques, and they didn’t offer us the breakfast to go.
I don’t know how this place compares to other eco lodges in the area, but it served its purpose for us — it was relaxing, clean, spacious and surrounded by nature.
The restaurant they own — was DELICIOUS — 5 stars on its own. Like other reviewers we also felt kind of stuck eating there (driving down this road at night in search for other food did not sound safe or fun), but we were so wrong. After seeing some of the dishes come out, we ended up ordering half of the restaurant. Even their simple salad was great — huge chunks of fresh avocado, and oil and vinegar on the side so you could create your own dressing. It was so simple, yet so good. Their soup was very filling and also flavorful, but healthy. We had their pork mofongo, and ate every single bite. Lastly their dessert — flan was perfect. Comparable to real flan from Mexico city.

Beautiful location, but pretty overpriced for what it is. The couple who own/​manage this hotel are friendly, but I can tell they don’t have an interest in keeping the hotel in good shape, which is a shame. If I went around with some cleaning supplies, replaced the musty pillows/​bedding, and coated everything in new paint, it would have made a big difference. However, I just think they don’t really care to keep up with repairs because they get enough business from their «top pick» feature in the Lonely Planet guidebook (which is from 2008, so Casa Cubuy could have looked better back then).
The wi-​fi only works if you’re at the table below it, so if getting connected to the internet is important to you, keep that in mind.
As another reviewer said, you’re pretty much forced to buy dinner at their restaurant, unless you want to drive 20 – 30 minutes down a windy (and quite frankly, scary at night) road. The restaurant food wasn’t great and wasn’t worth the money. I did really enjoy the salad and the soup I had the second night, but their pesto pasta was bland and I could have made better. Pretty bad service at the restaurant, but not super different from service I’ve been seeing elsewhere in Puerto Rico.
Also — skip the $ 60 massage. Pricier than massages I’ve gotten elsewhere in the states, and it wasn’t anything impressive.

We stayed here hoping to get a more relaxing experience of El Yunque than we expected to get staying near the north entrance and visitors center area. I suppose it was that, but I felt rather disappointed. I think that there are a number of places where «ecolodge» effectively means that you will pay a fat rate to stay someplace that hasn’t been kept up and at which you should expect minimal services, etc. Paying more for less because you think you are being a good steward of the environment is a con.
The views are tremendous and it is definitely a tranquil spot to soak in the mountain vistas and fall asleep to the coquis. But the place would be worth the money if it had been given a fresh coat of paint, had some decorative touches, supplied sufficient bedding, etc. More problematic is that you are really trapped there once you arrive. Want to eat dinner? You can go to the restaurant run by the same folks (if it’s open, which it wasn’t when I was there). Want a lunch? You can buy a pb&j sack lunch for $ 8 (note: then sign seems to read $ 3, but it is actually $ 8).
The trails behind the lodge lead to a nice set of pools and then continued on to another waterfall with pools. However, be warned that the trail is not as simple as the proprietress would have you believe. Crossing the first river is a precarious endeavor that requires leaping across rocks. Not a big deal if you are youthful and/​or you have more energy than sense, but it isn’t practical or safe for a large number of people. If you choose to hike this trail, be prepared for a very muddy walk through thick jungle. An alternative is to go up highway 191, which is closed to traffic just above the lodge. There are nice views available.
All in all, I really don’t think that it’s worth the expense unless you want to empty your wallet in order to confirm your identity as a hippy.

I went here as part of a group of 19 people. The owners were well aware of our arrival time and accommodations that would be needed. When we arrived they didn’t have all the keys ready for our rooms. Also, a couple of the toilets and lights weren’t working. Their restaurant is no longer open. They did however give us access to their kitchen and everything in it. The manmade trail leading down to the waterfall can be dangerous, especially for the inexperienced hiker. It’s an eco-​lodge in the middle of El Yunque… nuff said.

If you want to get away and disconnect from the world, this is the place (no cell service, internet or TV). Big clean rooms with an amazing view of the rainforest. The sound of the rushing waters and tree frogs will make you sleep like a baby. The family that owns the lodge were super hospitable. Breakfast is included with the room and I expected a continental style breakfast, but to my surprise it was a home cooked spread of fresh fruit, fresh squeezed juices, eggs and more. It would have easily cost $ 20 at a nearby restaurant. Bring swim wear and extra shoes to get wet when hiking the rainforest. The swimming holes are AMAZING! I recommend you stay a couple of nights at this lodge because one day isn’t enough.

I loved LOVED Casa Cubuy. I traveled to Puerto Rico during Hurricane Issac and left Vieques a few days early, had a car rented and wasn’t quite sure where to go. I picked Casa Cubuy out of a guidebook because it was ‘recommended’ and there was promise of a waterfall behind the guest house.
I was very happy when I got there; the common areas are mostly ‘open air’ but there were no bugs or mosquitoes. Breakfast was home made/​fresh and awesome (another reviewer complained that the owner was insistent about knowing if they would be having breakfast– it’s because they make it just for you!).
I paid $ 10 (or $ 20?) extra to rent a room with a balcony and was very glad I did– if you can afford this (not much extra!) I would highly recommend it– an entire wall of the room opened up– and with no bugs or mosquitos it was pretty great for this New Yorker!
My partner and I were going to check out the waterfall in the a.m. and the owners son suggested we go for a swim in one of the natural pools under the waterfall– I’m so glad we did it was wonderful! It’s only about a 5 minute walk to the first waterfall.
Casa Cubuy is not a fancy or ritzy hotel, it is a small family-​owned and operated guest house with beauty and a lot of charm.
I would 100% go back and recommend it to anyone who is excited about sleeping in a room with no TV and a beautiful view.

Stayed here for 6 nights. Great views !!! Musty bedding (pillows and blankets. from rain forest !!! allergies acted up like nothing before. Never enough coffee in the morning, only had 1 pot for all the guests. No wifi as listed on web site AND when asked, did not offer their laptop. Charged $ 20 to call a kayak tour company. Will never stay there again.

We recently stayed at Casa Cubuy for two nights… we stayed upstairs in room #3… Our friends were in room #1. While the set up was wonderful, private balconies, fairly spacious rooms, absolutely gorgeous scenary and plentiful fresh breakfasts, there were a few drawbacks. Our room smelled like a gym locker room for the first 24 hours, it tended to air out after we were there a while. The water pressure in the shower was very low and the hot/​warm water was not plentiful. I did not follow the «don’t flush the toilet paper» rules! The bedding did not smell fresh. It was quite an experience… the environmental aspects were unbeatable. We had dinner down the road at Norelias, and the one woman show was fabulous, she made our Valentines day. The second night, we ate at the Casa Cubuy restaurant, it was very good. While I doubt I would stay at the Casa Cubuy Lodge again, I am glad to have had the experience.

As stated above, the location is amazing. Stunning view. There is a well-​maintained path that leads to a gorgeous waterfall steps from the lodge. We were going to camp, but that fell through, so, as there are limited options, we stopped in here.
The room was pretty shabby. Like the comforter was all pilly and ratty. I understand it’s rustic up there, but for $ 110 a night, i expect the bedding to be in good condition.
The woman who runs the lodge (with her husband, i presume) is a little spooky. We had to leave pretty early for a fishing trip that began at 10:00 about a half hour away. She said breakfast was at 9 (really? 9?) and she needed to know right then if we would be having it or not. We said we weren’t sure as we had the trip in the morning. She was visibly annoyed and said, «Yes or no? I need to know.» I’m not saying she should have made us a to-​go breakfast, but we were 2 of 6 people staying there. Work with us. Maybe i’m spoiled, but I’ve never stayed at a small guest house or B&B than didn’t offer some flexibility with breakfast. Then she said, «Are you eating at our restaurant?» (Down the road a bit)“You have to go now or it’s going to close.” It was like 8pm. We didn’t eat there.
The other thing she did that bugged us was she put all of our info– including credit card– on an index card she said she kept «for reference». When we said we weren’t really comfortable with that, she got very huffy and offended, and basically said that was their policy, so too bad for us. if we’d had another option, we would have left then and there. But we didn’t. (She reluctantly gave it back to us the next morning, however).She seemed to genuinely resent us. It was bizarre.
We did have breakfast, and I have to say it was awesome, Fresh fruit, fried bananas, french toast, oatmeal, fresh juice — i had 2 full plates. Delish.
Overall, a strange experience. Maybe you go a little cukoo living up there in the rainforest.

Very nice spot. Beautiful views and nice trails. Complimentary breakfast is also quite good. Price is a bit steep ($ 120 per night w/​tax) lonely planet 2008 lists price starting at $ 80 so I wasn’t expecting to pay so much. Still, a nice place.

This place has a fantastic location. It’s unbeatable. At night the jungle comes alive with frogs and chirping insects. It’s amazing. The waterfalls are right below the lodge. Rooms are pretty sparsely furnished but adequate. Breakfasts are delicious with fresh tropical fruit. There are some drawbacks that wouldn’t make this a go to place for all travelers however. Room service is once in five days… which is a bit tough since you aren’t supposed to flush toilet paper down. Coffee is only served at 8:00 or right after, and they make only one big pot for all guests. When it’s over it’s done. Dining options are pretty limited… only one place (run by the same owners) exists on the mountainous road. The cook is good. However, service is variable depending on how busy they are. Having drawn your attention to all these potential drawbacks, I would return for the unbeatable location and the fact that it affords relative comfort in the midst of the El Junque rainforest.