Hotel Eco Arenal — Hotel in La Fortuna

This hotel was NOT the highlight of my trip! This place appeared to be working on a shoestring and one step away from a disaster! Start by saying the staff was very friendly. They didn't speak English, and I didn't speak Spanish, but the communication back and forth worked out well. They were great! Down side....All kinds of rules....the list was so long that I forgot most of them after number three. Things like can't flush toilet paper, turn off air conditioning, unplug this and that. WiFi was terrible unless you were at the front desk or eating area (FYI - only 2.4 GHz.). Had to have someone help to figure out how to plug in the refrigerator. Compared to all of the other accommodations while in Costa Rica, this was the most disappointing. So much so, that I made a list. ROOM - The room was sparsely decorated, yet spacious enough for two people. However, it lacked a luggage rack for suitcases. Complete with a queen (or king - can't remember) sized platform bed topped with a worn-out mattress. The springs made the bed look uneven and they popped and squeaked with every movement, which made for a restless nights sleep. A single bedside table placed next to the bed (only on one side), which was topped with an old lamp that struggled to light the room. Yet the overhead lighting was stark and blinding - overkill for the space. SHOWER - The shower was spacious and big enough to accommodate more than two, but the wet tiles are slick (in fact, the entire room and hallways are tiled) so it requires someone agile to prevent slipping and injuring ones self. The shower handle in my room was broken (see attached photo). Also, they used wood for shelving, which was warped and mildewed (see attached photos). They skimped on the towels and the room was stocked with only two shower towels and a single hand towel. The towels seemed exceptionally small and were rough, like a piece of sandpaper...so if you like a towel that peels the skin off of you, this is the place! Shower and bathroom window (for all the rooms) open into a central hallway so if you are one to make noises while on the commode or sing in the shower, the sounds can be heard up and down the entire hallway. Flip side is you can also hear everyone else. At night central hallway the hallway echoed with a cacophony of sounds. The windows can be closed, but in the case of the shower, everything fogs up (no fan) so all drying and dressing is done in the room. PATIO - The patio was short on furniture so several times I had to steal from a neighboring patio. TELEVISION - Television was available. The selection of channels was adequate, but the TV was tiny (I'm guessing maybe a 24" in size) when a 60" (or larger) was needed. It was mounted about 1/2 way up the wall - so five feet in the air and across the room. ICE - It is warm in Costa Rica so I enjoy ice in my drinks. An ice bucket was provided, but no ice machine in the building. I had to make a run across the muddy parking and up to the front desk for ice. By the time I arrived at the front desk, the knob on the lid had come off and the handle broke! The clerk provided a replacement bucket and filled it with slab of ancient ice that had been melted and chiseled out of the bottom of a refrigerator somewhere. ANNIMALS - Stray dogs (one cat) roam the premises. If the door to your room is open, they will make themselves at home. It is difficult to get them to leave. One evening while playing cards with friends, three of the dogs gathered and started fighting under the table. They are pests and the owners should be more diligent at keeping them away. Meanwhile, there is a cat which roams the breakfast area hoping for a handout. It too tends to get in the way. BREAKFAST - The breakfast is excellent. Plenty of juices, coffee and tea available. Eggs are standard with a variety of fruits, but they skimp on the meats. Bread and pastry type items are also provided. LOCATION - Excellent for nearby Don Juan Coffee & Chocolate tours. Short drive...

Staff was excellent, hotel rooms itself are poor

The Staff here especially Laura (who I would consider the manager) were just absolutely amazing. From the initial moment you stepped out of your car, you were greeted as if we were relatives who haven't been seen in a while just thrilled to have us there. Through-out our stay Laura just took the reins to make sure everything about our visit would be wonderful, making us laugh, feeding the birds during breakfast so we could see them, or even when I was frustrated that I had to use the internet from the dining area at 11pm (poor room reception) she still managed to turn my frustration around into being cozy and happy. I can go on and on about Laura, but let’s just say we both wanted to hug Laura upon leaving, which who hugs staff? But would of done it here if it wasn’t for Covid and distancing.

Now onto the rooms, well these rooms are just not something the wife and I would stay in again. So on our first night the wife and I were put into one section of the resort, in which both of us felt the room was wore down. It truly needs a refresher and the bath room needs to be fixed up including few spots of mold and a new toilet seat that basically broken. As mentioned above neither of our (3) phones or my laptop could get internet reception from this room, hence we started off having to go to the kitchen area to utilize internet to get tour/activity information. Laura picked up on our frustration and moved us on our second night to a really nice view room that ran along the rushing water creek, the sound at night with your window open was incredible. However the room itself was extremely small, perhaps one of the smallest rooms we've stayed in. Felt as if the wife and I had to constantly shuffle around each other to get our clothes, use the bathroom, etc. I like a room where I can layout my toiletries for ease of use, but there was nothing more than a small shelf. There is no closet in the room, but instead a coat rack with hangers. The room safe was not only not working, but wasn’t even secure to the wall. Anyone could pick up the safe and walk away with it, or I could of thrown it in my suitcase as a souvenir. Just didn’t make sense and needless to say was not used by myself. I seen that they were in the middle of construction of another series of rooms being built the same way, that this is their latest floor plan for upcoming rooms. So it’s disappointing to see this is how their upgrading what I’d consider the original rooms the first night, to these latest more modern rooms in which are lacking the basics in a major way.

So to sum it up, the staff and Laura were just amazing people and so dang kind. She's the sweetest lady that you really don't want to say anything bad about this place. However the rooms themselves were quite disappointing and nothing we would stay in again, but will for sure stop in to the bar that Laura said they have plans for...

Many tour companies use this hotel for groups including mine. Our tour company, Exottica, downgraded our 3 night stay from LaFortuna Del Volcan to Eco Arenal so I arrived frustrated. |The hotel itself is set among beautiful gardens full of birds, bugs, chickens, a few sweet cats, and lizards that scattered on the roof above us at night. The bugs seemed to run right in from the gaps between the doors and the floor. I unknowingly carried a roach from this hotel to our next stop so keep your bags closed at all times. I don’t know how much attention is given to the cats that reside there so I fed them when I could and it was scarfed down quickly so please be kind to them. |The shower is large but the walls are thin. I could hear our neighbors and they could hear me. I enjoyed the breakfast but they did not offer lunch or dinner options so be prepared to walk across the street to the only walkable option or get an Uber/taxi closer to town for food. |There is a fridge in the room but no microwave. The employees were all helpful and me not knowing a lot of Spanish didn’t seem to be a barrier in communication. They sell bottled water, soda, wine and beer and a few toiletries in the office. |The pool was okay during the day but there is no way that I would get into it at night. There is very little light at the pool so you have no idea what you are swimming with. |If I had planned my own vacation stop here on a budget my experience would have been as I expected. But this stay did not meet my expectations because our original hotel was a four star hotel and this one is a three. I was expecting meals on sight, a spa, updated rooms and pool, and a walkable location. I blame the tour company Exottica and not the...