Buena Vista Del Rincon Eco Adventure Park, Hotel & Spa — Hotel in Cañas Dulces

I recently stayed here with my brother and niece, and it was such a fun and adventurous trip! First off, thank you to ChatGPT for recommending this place—it truly lived up to the hype.||From the moment we arrived, the staff was welcoming and accommodating. Some spoke perfect English, while others spoke less, which gave me the chance to practice my Spanish—a win-win. What stood out the most was how genuinely kind and hospitable everyone was. Your safety and comfort are clearly a top priority here. They even have motion-sensor cameras throughout the excursions capturing candid photos, which is such a thoughtful touch.||Highlights of our stay:||Horseback Riding: Carlos and Daniel guided us through breathtaking mountain routes and forest trails. They went above and beyond, taking photos and videos for us so we could enjoy the moment and still have memories to keep.||Ziplines: Leo and Gerald were amazing guides. The ziplines are high and the views are absolutely stunning. They explained safety instructions clearly, made us feel comfortable, and even captured videos and photos of us mid-flight.||Jungle Slide: Andres was such a joy! He encouraged us to try the slide multiple times (we were so glad we did—it’s addicting!) and happily took videos of us. His kindness and energy made the experience even better.||Thermal Baths: Such a unique experience. Multiple pools at different temperatures to choose from, and the bonus—watching monkeys climbing in the trees above you while you relax in the water. Magical.||Jose David: He made such a lasting impact on our experience. He educated us on the resort’s regenerative and sustainable practices, patiently answered every question we had, and it truly felt like chatting with an old friend. He also showed us how to spot wildlife like monkeys, birds, and coatis. On top of that, he went above and beyond to help me arrange a charitable visit to a local school. He accompanied us to the store, coordinated with the principal, and made sure we could surprise the children with goodies for their upcoming field day. We shared snacks, quizzed them on English, and wished them well in their studies. This was one of the most invaluable experiences of the trip.||Ana Rosa: The on-site massage therapist, who is visually impaired, gave me one of the most unique and heartfelt massages. ||Bismark: He was so warm and hospitable, always offering recommendations and making sure we felt spoiled at both breakfast and dinner. His care and attention made every meal feel special, and he always made sure we left happy and full.|Day Pass: If you’re deciding between booking excursions individually or getting the full day pass—do the pass. 1000% worth it. It gives you the best value and allows you to experience everything without overthinking it.||Wildlife: If you love animals, you’re in for a treat. We spotted a real-life toucan on the hanging bridges, flocks of colorful parrots, three species of monkeys swinging overhead, coati families climbing and eating together, and more butterflies than I could count on the way to the spa. Iguanas were everywhere too—it felt like nature was welcoming us at every turn.|||Things to note:||The property is about 30 minutes from the closest city. I’d recommend stocking up on essentials (water, snacks, etc.) before arriving if you plan to stay put.||The road up can be a little sketchy in spots, but manageable if you take it slow. With no light pollution in the mountains, I wouldn’t recommend driving at night unless you’re very comfortable in those conditions.||Food was a bit on the pricey side (by US standards) and the restaurant options were limited—only one was open during our stay. Still, the meals we had were tasty and fresh.||Final thoughts:|Buena Vista Del Rincón is so much more than a hotel—it’s an adventure, a cultural experience, and a connection to Costa Rica’s natural beauty and people. Between the incredible staff, unforgettable activities, relaxing spa and thermal baths, and the chance to give back to the local community, this was a trip we’ll always remember. I would absolutely recommend it and would love to return one...

Not sure where to start on this one. I’ll start by mentioning that this park consists of the adventure park, open to all, and the hotel. Many (positive) reviews here are from people who only did activities in the adventure park, but who did not stay in the hotel. We did stay in the hotel, and our experience (and as it seems the experiences of others who actually stayed in the hotel) there was not as good. The fact that reviews for the adventure park and the hotel are combined, leads to unjustifiably high scores overall.

The drive up to the park was torturous. Do not attempt without 4x4. Do not attempt if you are not a confident driver. I recommend those with motion sickness to take meds or bring something to vomit in.

Upon arrival the hotel part of the park was near desolate. We noticed quickly that this part of the park is in a state of decay. Footpaths are crumbling and covered in holes and green moss. The latter causes extremely dangerous situations when attempting to scale the steep inclines and declines in humid conditions, which is most of the time in wet season. Pool empty. Bars closed. Overall grounds not well-kept. Sad state of things.

We were given a standard room, which, also, was in a state of decay. The smell was atrocious. The door had been left open by the cleaning lady and was open when we arrived. There were now many bugs in the room, including a poisonous spider. Room was dated, no AC, no fridge.

Reception staff was accommodating and we were offered an upgrade to another room, which was significantly better, so we were grateful for that. In other situations though, not all reception staff turned out to be equally adequate. English of some reception staff is not good enough to have a clear conversation with; this led to many miscommunications. Times for activities and pick ups were not correctly stated. Communication amongst different members of the staff was also not very good; we booked a 3 hour horseback ride and were sent on a 1 hr ride with a very large group. Had there not been another guest to translate for us, we would not have gone on the correct tour. Eventually, Ernesto guided us which was great. Despite not speaking any English he did his very best to give us a great experience. Shout out to Ernesto. 🙏🏻

Sadly, this was not the only ‘miscommunication’, as we were downright scammed by the staff at Mirador restaurant and the bar staff at the thermal pools. At the thermal pools we ordered two coffees which we paid for in cash. Having some experience in CR now, we checked the change we got back after paying and found out that the lady had given us back insufficient money. When we confronted her with this, she begrudgingly gave us back what we were owed. In the Mirador restaurant we were offered the special of the day, which was not on the menu. Having some experience in CR at this point, we asked for the price. $25 was what the waiter said. I asked him to confirm: ‘so 25$?’ To which he said yes. You can imagine our frustration when the check arrived and we were charged 35$ each. At this point we were already so fed up with the place, we decided not to follow up on this, but beware if you decide to eat here. Food here was good, that must be said.

Breakfast food on the other hand was deplorable. Very few options. Scrambled eggs had egg shell in them. Sausages dry. Potatoes practically raw. Coffee lukewarm. Do not attempt lunch here. Lunch buffet for scandalous prices; $23 to get a handful of dishes to choose from. Food cold. Stuck to the serving trays. Looked old.

The problem seems to be that due to the remote location, the hotel does not compete with other restaurants/places. They can basically do as they please. The nearest town is a 30 minute drive down the aforementioned torturous road, which we decided to brave out of desperation on our second night there.

The adventure park, where people come for a day, is much better kept, which explains the positive reviews. But the hotel is not at all as advertised on the website. 3 stars for accommodating staff, the upgrade,...

By far the worst experience I’ve had during my two weeks in Costa Rica. Total waste of time and money. When we arrived for check in the staff was surprisingly rude. Not a smile, not a “thank you”. Wasn’t the biggest deal for me but really bothered my wife. We got to our room and I went to the bathroom to find skid marks in the toilet 🤯. Made me question if the even cleaned the bathroom and the blankets. Not to mention there was no shower towels In Our room. I went to call reception and there was no phone in our room. I had to walk all the was back across the huge property to the rude people in the front office to have them switch our room and they would not. Instead they wanted to have us wait while they went to clean the room. What an annoying waste of time! We walked over and waited at their restaurant at the top of the hill and ordered some over priced food. The portion of food was really small and by that time we were completely annoyed with the place. On top of that it gave us both diarrhea. We finally got to our uncomfortable hot room with no air con and opened the blinds to see the window screens had rips in them. We had to keep the windows closed to keep the bugs out.. even though there was already bugs all in the room. Spent 20 minutes killing the bugs. Not what I want to be doing during an expensive vacation. We decided we’re going to try to let it all go and walk to the pool and hot tub. We stripped down to our bathing suits and went to get in.. it was cold 🤦🏼‍♂️. I was in such disbelief there is a place like this charging people expensive everything and they can’t even maintain a warm hot tub, or remember to clean the room before renting it to the next travelers. We canceled our hopes of relaxing in the hot tub and decided to walk the property. There was some cool looking hanging bridges we approached. Started out on the first stretch of bridge an noticed right away that all the cable clamps holding the walk way up we’re completely rusted out. They looked like that haven’t been switched out since the 90,s! Couldn’t believe there was families with kids walking across. Maybe they were guna wait for an accident to start changing out the clamps. At that point we just wanted to leave. We went to the front desk once again, this time asking for a refund so we can leave the ran down tourist trap. They would not refund. They said it’s against their policy. 😳 they wouldn’t even refund one of our two nights and we were only there for 2 hours. We decided to take a $220 loss and leave. 😒. Better then wasting two days of our vacation at this horrible place. It was a nightmare! As we left we saw the pen with all the horses. About 50+ horses in a small enclosure, they were crammed in there n looked like they all were depressed with no spirit in them. Left the place completely disgusted! It’s hard to believe the good reviews on...