Encantada Guest House & Encantada Arenal BnB — Hotel in La Fortuna

My partner and I decided to book the Encantada Arenal B&B for the second leg of our babymoon in Costa Rica.

We knew we were in for a treat when we drove up the winding road that leads to Marty and Nita's beautiful home. The property is secluded and private, and it is surrounded by lush rainforest, tropical plants and a great view of the Arenal volcano.

We were greeted by our hosts, who showed us around their thoughtfully-planned property (Marty is an architect who designed Encantada), which includes an infinity pool, a jacuzzi, a stretch/yoga studio, a massage studio that offers several services, and a maintained, 10-min trail that cuts down into the rainforest. I especially loved meeting Cinco, one of their cats, and their sweet dogs.

We stayed in the Parrot suite, which was decorated in a Costa Rican-chic style (lots of bright colors and plant accents) and featured a king-size bed, walk in shower and cozy robes for the two of us. Marty and Nita had also provided a welcome basket of snacks, drinks and handmade chocolates.

A shining point in our stay was the made-to-order breakfast. The night before, we made our selections from a menu of offerings (the eggs Benedict was a highlight), and Priscilla and Michael, the on-site staff, served us our orders the next day in the open-air breakfast area. It was so lovely being able to enjoy a breakfast before heading out on the adventures we had planned, and everything we had was delicious.

We also decided to add on a private dinner experience, which Nita and Marty organized for us, and we really enjoyed getting to taste dishes made by a local chef. Everything (the sea bass ceviche, jerk chicken, and arroz con leche) was perfect.

The B&B is located close to several restaurants and a bodega for supplies, and even though it isn't "right next" to La Fortuna, it was pretty easy to get to the major attractions La Fortuna offers, such as the volcano hikes, hanging bridges, hot springs, etc--no more than a 20 minute drive for most of these.

Overall, we highly recommend checking out Marty and Nita's spot! It's a gem of a place, and where else can you say that you woke up to an alarm clock of howler monkeys? If you're looking for a private, romantic place to spend some time with your significant other, this fits the...

We stayed in the Parrot Room of the main B&B rather than the holiday cottage, but wanted to leave a review of our amazing stay with Marty, Nita and their pets

Wonderful hosts who have thought of everything in the home that they've designed, built and clearly love. The parrot room itself has all that you need for the stay, including fridge with some welcome drinks, a comfy (massive) bed and other essentials (binoculars, sunscreen, poncho etc). The shower is powerful and just needs a little second to warm up and water from the taps is drinkable. We also enjoyed sitting right outside with the little table/chair or the hammock swing with the nature sounds and views.

Breakfast each morning was one of the nicest we have enjoyed, prepared freshly by Priscilla. The best omelets we've had with such good taste inside and out, plus a full range of other options (you select the night before whatever you fancy).

Nita and Marty encouraged us to enjoy the property "as our home", and we had a lovely day staying by the pool with the idyllic volcano views. There is a little trail on the property that runs down to a creek and we enjoyed seeing various wildlife (birds, hummingbirds, lizards, frogs) right on the doorstep.

We also took advantage of the ability to arrange massages on-site with Julie which was super relaxing with the natural soundtrack of the forest.

Our stay was over Christmas, and we arranged for Mira to cook for us as offered for a private dining on Xmas evening itself. We had a delicious set of courses which left us stuffed and ready to roll back to our room.

The road to the property will be easier in an SUV/4x4 (like many in Costa Rica), but again Marty/Nita planned everything and have blocks to help with traction when wet and we saw motorbike and sedan make it fine - the flip side of being closer to the forest out of the village. That said, it's a quick 5min drive to a number of great restaurants locally (we tried the full list of suggestions during our stay and had great food everywhere).

Overall a fantastic stay with wonderful hosts, delicious food, private nature and volcano views from the doorstep. You don't need...

We stayed in the Parrot Room of the main B&B rather than the holiday cottage, but wanted to leave a review of our amazing stay with Marty, Nita and their pets ||Wonderful hosts who have thought of everything in the home they’ve designed, built and clearly love. The parrot room itself has all that you need for the stay, including fridge with some welcome drinks, a comfy (massive) bed and other essentials (binoculars, sunscreen, poncho etc). The shower is powerful and just needs a little second to warm up and water from the taps is drinkable. We also enjoyed sitting right outside with the little table/chair or the hammock swing with the nature sounds and views.||Breakfast each morning was one of the nicest we have enjoyed, prepared freshly by Priscila. The best omelettes I’ve had with such good taste inside and out, plus a full range of other options (you select the night before whatever you fancy)||Nita and Marty encouraged us to enjoy the property “as our home”, and we had a lovely day staying by the pool with the idyllic volcano views. There is a little trail on the property that runs down to a creek and we enjoyed seeing various wildlife (birds, lizards, frogs) right on the doorstep||We also took advantage of the ability to arrange massages on-site with Julie which was super relaxing with the natural soundtrack of the forest. ||For Christmas dinner, we arranged for Mira to cook for us as offered for a private dining and again, we had a delicious set of courses which left us stuffed and ready to roll back to our room||The road to the property will be easier in a SUV/4x4 (like many in Costa Rica), but again Marty/Nita planned everything and have blocks to help with traction when wet and we saw motorbike and sedan make it fine - the flip side of being closer to the forest out of the village. That said, it’s a quick 5min drive to a number of great restaurants locally (we tried the full list of suggestions during our stay and had great food everywhere)||Overall a fantastic stay with wonderful hosts, delicious food, private nature and volcano views from the doorstep. You don’t need...