Mandala Ojochal

We had a great time at the Mandala.
The resort is beautiful. Clean, spacious, bright, and welcoming rooms with a kithen - everything is lovingly furnished, making it a truly comfortable place to stay.
Our retreat was excellently prepared, we were well looked after and able to focus entirely on our work. The team is exceptionally attentive and we would like to express our sincere thanks for that.

And let`s not forget the food! The catering was excellent, too. A heartfelt thank you to the chef and the entire team,
Gilda and Bernd Pelster

What a wonderful experience! The staff are friendly; it feels like they are part of the Mandala family. Communication between and amongst staff was excellent, and they always looked genuinely happy to be at work and to be helpful. They even organised last-minute changes to plans because of the weather, with the kitchen staff seamlessly.
Rooms were comfortable, clean and tidy, with everything you need if you are staying there as an Airbnb client.

The grounds are magnificent, with an abundance of wildlife, especially an incredible variety of birds. Even being there during the wet season did not put a damper on the experience. A fairly new venue with bungalows decked out with all the mod-cons plus the interior decorating has been done to a high standard. Some bungalows even have hot tubs, plunge pools and outdoor showers.

The Cacao ceremony and Sound bath healing experiences we participated in were amazing. We had a bird that came and 'sang' with the guitarist. The thunderstorm and rain just added to the experience in a good way. We all came away feeling relaxed and in awe. The staff can organise a variety of outings for you off-site as well. We did a mangrove tour, which was well worth it. Seeing fish, crocs, raccoons, owls, bats, a variety of monkeys, an anteater, an abundance of birds and others.

The Sophie Standing (textile-embroidered art) Workshop was also incredible. We all felt relaxed. Sophie's teaching style is excellent. Working with small groups at a time and regularly checking on us individually as well to provide guidance and support. So many of us walked away saying this retreat falls into our top 3 or top 5 of life experiences. We laughed so hard until we cried. We made new friends for life. Learnt so much and have all said we will be back again.

Since the resort is new, the staff actively sought constructive criticism on how they could improve. This was challenging because we were all having such a wonderful time. The only things we could really come up with were to add some reflective tape to enhance visibility at night. The resort provided everyone with torches for the duration of their stay, which was a great help as some people had not brought torches with them. The only other thing that could be different would be additional lighting in the workshop room so that we could continue working on our projects (we were using sewing machines) after dark.

If you are looking for a place to hold a retreat that everyone will love, this is the place to hold it. The food was great, and the chefs were able to cater individually for all dietary requirements, even difficult ones (celiac, vegan, alliums, eggs, dairy, vegetarian).

Thank you to all the staff for making this such a memorable experience. I cannot wait to come back and visit again, whether it's for a retreat or just for a break.

I recently attended a workshop retreat at Mandala and it was an exceptional experience. The location is perfect—it feels like a hidden jungle sanctuary, yet it's close to the ocean, restaurants, and activities. The grounds, including the gorgeous infinity pool and yoga shalas, provided the perfect peaceful setting during our workshop downtime. The food was fresh, healthy, and delicious every day, and the staff truly went above and beyond. I stayed in the Jardin casita, which was spacious, private, and so comfortable it felt like coming home. I highly recommend this beautiful resort to anyone!

I had the most wonderful experience at the six-day textile embroidered art retreat at Mandala Ojochal. It was the perfect combination of creativity, relaxation, connection and a little bit of self-care.

The embroidery sessions with Sophie Standing were inspiring and enjoyable, with plenty of time to create, learn, share ideas and simply immerse myself in the joy of stitching. Having all meals and accommodation provided made the whole experience so easy and relaxing — there was nothing to think about except enjoying the retreat and being creative. The facilities at Mandala were excellent. Daily housekeeping, access to laundry facilities, the pool with its gorgeous outlook to the mountains. And Chef Darwin never failed to provide three generous, healthy and delicious meals each day.

The extra activities made the experience even more special. The sound bath healing session was incredibly calming and restorative, while the Cacao Ceremony was a beautiful and meaningful experience that encouraged connection and reflection.

The wonderful food, comfortable accommodation, creative environment and lovely group of people made these six days truly memorable. I came home feeling refreshed, inspired and grateful for the experience. I would highly recommend Mandala Ojochal to anyone who is looking for a venue for a retreat of any kind. It was a warm, welcoming and nurturing environment. I can’t wait to do it again!
Leanne.

I recently went on a yoga/wellness retreat at this location. It was the first retreat that had been held here. The leaders of the retreat did a great job, but the organization of the retreat could have been better. The physical facilities were not completely finished. There were no washers and dryers in many units which we had been told would be there so many people did not pack enough clothes. The rooms were kept very clean. There were kitchens with appliances, etc., but we had no way to buy any food to prepare in the rooms so they were useless. There was a lot of walking up and down hills and a lot of steps which some of the older participants were not prepared for. The chef was excellent with the included meals. The Mandala shala
was absolutely beautiful with a moat, the apartments themselves were very stark with concrete floors and concrete walls with no framed pictures or decorations of any kind. Some of the rooms even had the sofas on the outside balconies so they were very hot in the afternoons with the sun shining on them in the humidity all day long. The air conditioning worked well, but in the bedrooms, the large bright white light on the unit actually cast shadows in the room. The grounds were beautiful with all the tropical plants and a huge Kapok tree in the middle.. the one swimming pool available to all was very small. Some units had small square pools You could sit in and the Rio units had a larger, very pleasant pool and outdoor area. I can’t speak for the other people, some of whom were from Florida and used to this type of heat, but for me, the location is miserable because of the humidity.