Casa del Rio — Hotel in La Fortuna

This place is amazing. I would wholeheartedly recommend! I'll tell you why its great... But first I had two issues... booked on airbnb

(Issue #1) Checkin and Checkout process was bad. It is difficult to get anyone to answer the buzzer. We arrived at 6pm. I hit the buzzer for 10 minutes before someone casually answered that they would "down in a while". After another 5 minutes, someone finally opened and let us in, and gave us a quick tour.

At Checkout we were ready to go at 9AM (as we were traveling to another region) - but no one was anywhere. I knocked on the doors, peaked around the corners, called out, sent an airbnb message... 15 minutes of this. My gate keycard had worked during my stay, but on the morning of checkout it no longer worked - I can only assume it was deactivated for checkout morning? Unfortunately, the ONLY buzzer is OUTSIDE the gate... Finally another guest opened the gate with their keycard (I was blocking the driveway), I stepped outside to use the buzzer, and FINALLY after 5 minutes of buzzing someone answered. He had just woke up (at 9:15 am).

(Issue #2) AC complications cost me a few hours of my vacation. The host's pre-arrival message describes a sophisticated AC system, with sensors aware of open windows and doors... that will lock up system if doors are opened to often. Because of the host's communication, I had believed each cabin to have a 'smarthome' setup likely connected by wifi.

While the AC units are plenty strong, when it is off the daytime temps become unbearable inside. The AC was off when we arrived, but it would not turn on. As the remote's screen did light up when buttons were pressed, I assumed that either (a) the remote became unpaired from this "super-connected smart home system" or (b) one of the "smart sensors" was falsely detecting an open window or door... And I couldn't find any help. (Gaspar cabin's cordless phone is broken, it dies if you lift it from the cradle - so no dialing the extension for help. We had a cellphone, but our checkin employee did not leave a phone number.) I had to track down people (owners?) in the kitchen/lounge above the jacuzzi... who said they would get the employee soon... and after 30 minutes a new young man finally came to help. It turns out that there is NO smart home system or sensors. The host’s message about the “automated system” was outright false. AC is just a normal wall unit. Even though the remote does display selection, remote's batteries are VERY weak. Remote has to be within 3 feet of the AC unit (high up on the back vanity wall). I felt quite inept, and all this for assuming the host's message was a fact. It is not. I speak Spanish, and the Young Man knew nothing about an “automated AC system" or "sensors”. He even seemed mildly amused that I had such grand ideas about the AC system (great kid though!).

Obviously, this AC misinformation is designed to change guest behavior and to save host on their electric bill. Maybe they saved money, but they wasted my time and sanity...

THE GREAT STUFF: I still enjoyed my stay, and I would still recommend. The grounds are absolutely beautiful. The plant life is picturesque. The large saltwater pool is so relaxing. My wife loved sunning there. The jacuzzi tub is unique. I was stunned that such a small waterslide could be so thrilling! The pond and the ducks are a surprise. Birds visit every few minutes. The river has a calming presence. The rooms are stylish, comfortable, and clean! Proximity to La Fortuna means soooo many activities are just a short drive away. I did not expect the complex to be so large. There are many cabins, but each is well designed for the right amount of privacy, and the place never feels crowded. I did not even take advantage of the soccer field. Perfect for both a couple's hideaway, or a...

I wanted to leave a 5 star review but couldn’t due to an unfortunate experience we had in the middle of our stay. I’ll start with the positives: the staff were nothing short of incredible. We were always greeted with a smile and treated with kindness. Staff adored our baby and he loved them too! A special shout out to Maria, Katherine, and José for being so wonderful :) We also enjoyed the breakfasts and found portions to be generous. Our original room faced the Rio de Fortuna and it was a gorgeous view (which is why we chose it). We loved listening to the sound of the river from our balcony. Our room was new, clean, and modern. The grounds were lovely.

The negatives: halfway through our stay construction began in the river directly below our room. A large excavator was lifting and dropping massive boulders and as you can imagine, was extremely loud. We have a baby who naps multiple times throughout the day. The noise woke up our baby in the morning and he could not fall asleep at all in the afternoon because it was simply too loud. After an hour of him crying we decided to talk to management about the noise. They said it was outside of their control and offered to move us to a different room farther from the noise, as the construction would be continuing for the remainder of our stay. While we appreciated being moved somewhere quieter, the room we were moved to felt like an obvious downgrade from the room we paid for. It was much older, farther from the pool, restaurant & parking, and did not have a view. It was facing the back of another unit and was very dark. We assumed the hotel management would account for the difference in rooms as well as the inconvenience of having to move all of our stuff hallway through our stay, by offering some sort of refund or other gesture (a free meal at the restaurant etc) to apologize for this disruption. Not to mention the disruption of our baby’s sleep (if you are a parent you know how crucial the nap schedule is!) When we inquired about this, they took no responsibility for the situation and said it was outside of their control and even claimed we had been “upgraded” implying we shouldn’t complain. This response felt dishonest, disingenuous, and just downright unprofessional. We paid for a service that was not provided and were very disappointed with how management handled this incident, essentially shirking all responsibility. They could have simply communicated to us about the planned construction ahead of time, and then we could have made proper arrangements.

In summary, this experience left a very bad taste in our mouth despite loving our original room, the staff who work there, and the other positives...

We just finished a four night stay here. What a fabulous place! So unique and so comfortable.|We stayed in the two bedroom villa. It consists of two beautiful bedrooms with a shared living room (patio), which is indoor/outdoor.|The grounds are absolutely beautiful. There’s a lot of wildlife to see. We saw birds, howler monkeys, and huge iguanas. We also had a regular raccoon visitor. |The restaurant is fabulous. Wilbur, Diego, Summer, and Axel took such incredible care of us! Between going there for breakfast and most dinners, they got to know us, and we got to know them. The food was excellent! Given that the hotel is not huge, it was particularly impressive that they had such an extensive menu and everything was so well prepared.|We enjoyed the pools, which were in such a quiet, perfect setting. Again, the grounds are magnificent. Bring your binoculars!|Our needs were very well taken care of. They basically set you up in a WhatsApp group, so you can text whatever questions you have. Generally, someone responds nearly instantly. Each morning they would send a text to see if we wanted housekeeping. Hayward took care of just about everything else! He was amazing.|The bedrooms is in our unit were absolutely beautiful. They each came with a huge TV and an air conditioning unit that didn’t disappoint! And you know what? It’s not one of those super loud units you find at some places. This was quiet and worked incredibly well. It’s interesting because there are no windows in the bedrooms. It definitely helps you to get a goodnight sleep. The beds were very comfy!|The two bedroom Villa came with two separate shower rooms and two separate toilet rooms and a shared vanity area with two sinks. This was perfect. We were here with another couple and it was just what we needed.|Given that the living room is essentially a patio situated in a rainforest, common sense dictates not to leave food out. We learned this the hard way when we set a granola bar down on the counter and left for dinner. When we returned, it was no longer there, and there were some adorable little handprints instead. Obviously, we were more careful afterwards.|Be aware that there are no laundry, facilities or laundry service here. This was probably my only gripe, but not a major one. There is a laundromat in town that you can use. Alternatively, they were able to find a rack for me to hang the things that we washed in the sink. |There was a safe in our bedroom, although we felt pretty secure the entire time we were here. |Thank you, thank you thank you for such an amazing stay!...