Hotel Arenal Lodge — Hotel in La Fortuna

We had a fabulous 4-night stay at the Arenal Lodge. We booked a Chalet, which was spacious and well-appointed. Our room had a fabulous view of the volcano and gardens. We watched hummingbirds and other exotic birds fly around the tropical flowers outside our window. We appreciated the ample storage space in the closet, bathroom, and kitchenette. The hotel provides shampoo, and body wash. If you want anything else, you will need to bring it. The AC works very well and was needed even though it was winter. It also helped dry our hiking clothes. The winter is the rainy season and there are typically afternoon showers. The mattresses are firm and comfortable. ||The included breakfast menu in the Restaurant was very good! We looked forward to it every morning. It includes a good combination of traditional American breakfast food and Costa Rican food. We have some picky eaters and food allergies and everyone found delicious food that met their needs. They offer excellent Costa Rican coffee and tea, water and juice. The fruit in Costa Rica is insanely delicious. They featured papaya, banana, and pineapple. The pineapple is the most delicious we have ever tasted--truly special. ||The view from the restaurant is spectacular--a clear view of the Arenal Volcano and the fabulous garden with myriad birds visiting the feeders for that amazing fruit. We saw many species new to us. The view from the bar and deck is also memorable.||The historic main lodge building is very cool, featuring an atrium with live trees, bird nests, and a fabulous mural highlighting all of the wildlife on property. It is both open air and cozy with soaring windows and a fireplace. ||The hotel staff was incredibly helpful and went out of their way to ensure that we had a terrific stay. We really enjoyed talking with the owner and manager, Maria, about the lodge and wildlife on the property. She is so knowlegeable and friendly. She truly helped make our stay special.||The focus of our trip was on reptiles and amphibians and we saw many species on property. The trails are lovely and amazing habitat. We saw many new species. The landscaping and garden around the hotel are so beautiful and filled with life. There is a series of connected ponds surrounded by flowers and bushes that host myriad frog and bird species. We got some amazing photos. There are also snake species to be found if you know where to look, and easily avoidable if you don't.||The hotel restaurant is very good and we enjoyed several great meals there, including the grilled tenderloin with jalapeno sauce and the sea bass a la meuniere. The staff was very efficient and hard-working and did their best to please. There is a bar, also with excellent service. The fabulous fruit smoothies and tropical drinks are made with the amazing local fruits.||We spent most of our time hiking and visiting various nearby sites. We did not rent a car, but the hotel staff can arrange a local taxi. There is a 10-minute winding drive up a hill from the gatehouse to the lodge. We saw some cool wildlife along this drive. The seclusion is one of the best features of this property.||We had a wonderful time and cannot wait to return to Arenal...

Lodge: If you want a real Costa Rican experience, you stay here. It's in the middle of a 2,000-acre farm. Although, it could use some updates here and there, it is the very first hotel in the area, so it has great history for the area. There are other American-owned luxury hotels in the area, but you can get that in America. The owner works the bar every night, he was born and raised there and is a wealth of information. He was very helpful picking out frogs, showing us which snakes were poisonous, answering any questions we had, etc. Plus, he speaks four languages! The people at the front desk greeted me by name when we got there, and were very accommodating with every request we had. Breakfast was the same every morning juice, coffee, water, eggs, rice & beans, muffins, cereal, and lots of fruit. I'd recommend going out for lunch/dinner since their menu is kind of American and there are TONS of typical food places everywhere for cheap!

Tour Packages: DO NOT buy them! We did Mistico for $30 directly, it's 10-min away. We went directly to the LaFortuna Waterfall for $12, it's 30-min away. Do not spend the money for the hot springs, just cross the damn and park at the yellow gate on the left, walk down the hill, and you get a real local spot for free. At the damn, there are several locals just waiting to sell you boat and/or kayak ride from $30-$60. We hiked the Cerro Chato Volcano to the top for $10, it's close, but takes about 40-min because of the bumpy road. However, this hike is only for EXPERIENCED hikers, it took us 5-hrs. We saw three different kinds of monkeys and almost got attacked by a poisonous snake!

Driving: There are literally two main roads from San Jose, and it's impossible to get lost because there are signs everywhere. However, the driving in Costa Rica is crazy! Only drive there, if you are an experienced driver. Be prepared for people to honk instead of using turn signals, random people walking in the roads, people parking wherever they feel like it, homeless dogs wondering, people passing you on curves, etc. The roads are CURVY and have no shoulders, but they do have reflectors, so they're not as dangerous at night as you'd think. Once you get through all of this crazy driving, when you get to the lodge, it's another 2-K of even more bumpy/curvy driving. Renting a car saves you a ton of money, because you'd be stuck at the resort during your entire stay unless you bought the expensive packages that include...

Want to see Volcanos and have a new experience-you have arrived! How can one describe the wonder and beauty surrounding a Volcano? Spectacular! I did it! It’s a photographer’s delight and no like anyplace you have probably been too. We drove up from Alabuela, Tambor. That was an adventure in itself. But it was the most fun we’ve had on a vacation in a while. We finally arrived at our destination and paved roads to be greeted at the front entrance pointed in the direction reception area. Old cobble stone roads greeted our kidneys on the 2 mile ride up. We pull up and the quint reception check-in area was very welcoming. We saw the dining area and everyone seemed to be and were very friendly. We got out key and drove our 5 speed poorly underpowered car up the hill to our abode. We take our bags up and notice that there doesn’t seem to be any heating or A/C units. Hmm we just lift 97+ degree weather and no A/C. Well we found out real fast you don’t need any A/C up there. The view from our room took our breath away! It’s high up on a hill and you can see for miles.

It was pretty windy and misty every day. Something about the way the mountains and barometric pressure with wind shifts. Wait I’m no meteorologist. I have to say it was exhilarating. Had a little towel art on the bed and slept so well to the sound of something like rain. But it was mist pounding the windows. It was great. Some may find the bed a little lacking in cushioning, but we had not problems and slept very well. Breakfast was excellent and included in our travel itinerary, dinner was on us and very reasonably priced with a large selection. The only thing they didn’t serve the volcano drink here? Huh? The view from the dining room was stunning with birds, flowers and a small mammal that I couldn’t identify. They have a book in the restaurant with picture of the animals and birds. A BIG book!

We were minutes from everything. Location was perfect. We drove into the town of La Fortuna and enjoyed one of the hot springs that was very also very popular with the locals. They don’t know the treasure they have-oh yes they do-it was packed. We did find one that was pretty empty and really enjoyed ourselves. We took in the Volcano as you can see it from everywhere. I loved that. It’s a nice hike up the mountain, so be prepared. There are swinging bridges and other attractions nearby. So we hit the jackpot with...