Fodor's Expert Review Cotton Tree Lodge

This jungle lodge is named after the silk cotton tree (also called the kapok or ceiba), and, fittingly, the lodge strives to provide a silky-smooth experience for guests. The lodge sits on 100 acres beside the Moho River about 15 miles (24 km) from Punta Gorda. Guests are usually brought in by boat (though you can also come by road) and stay in one of the thatch cabanas sitting among wild fig trees along the river's edge, or in a garden-view room. The property's walkways are raised; in the summer rainy season the river sometimes floods. The lodge is off the grid, and everything here is solar- or generator-powered. The lodge operates a small chocolate factory—and shop, of course—in downtown Punta Gorda and offers cacao tours and chocolate-making classes. Good meals are served in a huge thatch palapa. All-inclusive packages are also available.