Hotel Belmar | Luxury Hotel in Monteverde Costa Rica — Hotel in Monteverde

AVOID THE RESTAURANT IF YOU HAVE ALLERGIES.

We came here as a family of 5, 3 of us are vegan with allergies.

We arrived on the first day and went to the bar for food - decent vegan options here but we had to wait over an hour just for snacks. We tried to find out which beer was vegan but the staff didn’t know and made no effort to find out and were actually quite rude about it. We asked at reception later who were very kind and helpful and told us it’s not vegan because of the the filtration process.

When we had dinner at the restaurant that night the menu is incredibly badly labelled for allergens. It has a V next to things which can be made “veggie or vegan” but not all of them can actually be and it’s also next to fish dishes. We asked what could be vegan and were told a list of things including the tortellini. When I asked if it had dairy in it as I was allergic the waiter checked with the kitchen and it did… so the staff don’t actually know what can be made vegan and thankfully I checked. This made us very untrusting of the information the staff told us which is not a relaxing experience at all having to double and triple check everything.

For dessert 3 of us had a tamale which made us all really sick in the middle of the night and the next morning. This was not allergy related so clearly the restaurant was either serving expired or unclean food. Completely unacceptable for a hotel of such high ratings and extortionate food prices. This really ruined our experience here on top of all the difficulty with getting vegan food.

For breakfast we had avocado toast which we were told was vegan without the cheese and egg. Not a great option but it was fine.

For lunch we wanted to have lunch at the juice bar but they had run out of tempeh for the vegan sandwich and we were told that the bread we had for breakfast was not actually vegan and only the ciabatta is. We went to the restaurant and we had a salad which was made vegan by removing the cheese. We asked if they could bring us bread instead as we were removing a major component from the salad and we were charged extra for it..

For dinner that night we had the vegan meat balls and risotto which were both very nice.

For breakfast this morning I asked for the avocado toast again and explicitly emphasised the milk allergy. I was brought avocado on a corn tortilla (?) which was taken away by a different waitress as soon as it was put in front of me. Still confused about that. I was then given avocado on ciabatta which they didn’t even bother to toast - confirming that the bread from the previous meals was not vegan. Just ridiculous.

Overall the food here was shambolic. When we first arrived at the hotel they checked with us who had allergies which was very promising but I don’t know why they even bothered. The food is incredibly overpriced especially when it made most of us sick and the staff/kitchen have no idea what allergens are in the food. Shockingly poor and also dangerous from such an expensive and highly rated hotel. Very...

This place made the false pretence of well-being when this over-priced stay turned out to be one of the least restful and replacing stays in the country.

We paid extra for the Belmar room and were treated (I used that word lightly) to one of the smallest rooms in the old building across the road. Under no circumstances, accept room 11 when you have paid for the luxury and privilege of a Belmar room. It is in the western corner which means the afternoon sun beats in and makes the room like an oven despite the windows being open. The room is adjacent to the parking lot and road, which means people can see into the room and shower as they drive up the road. Additionally, the room above has a balcony over the bedroom, and the floors are very transparent to sound, meaning very poor accommodation. We also complained about dripping water from the room above on three occasions, being woken up at 6am two mornings and 5am the third day – when all we wanted was a restful experience this place failed miserably. On checkout, we could not believe the excuse that it was the wind causing the noise – what an appalling excuse and surprisingly this dripping sound caused by the wind corresponds within minutes to when you hear footfalls on the floor above.

The food at the restaurant is promoted of natural and healthy, but when you pay almost double the price of anything else around, one would expect something decent. The food is overburdened with herbs and other ingredients which often cause stomach upsets. The service at breakfast is slow and the main course for breakfast on the first day of pancakes was small and cold with no juice and one small cup of coffee. We had dinner the previous night in the restaurant, which again was very slow service and the food overburdened with herbs and very small portions.

The vast majority of the time, the WiFi failed to connect, failed to provide an IP address or even when connecting fails to work (especially in the building across the road). Again we advised the reception multiple times of this problem, but it was not addressed.

All of this leads to a gross feeling of disappointment and definitely not one of wellbeing which this hotel promotes. We informed the hotel on checkout of the poor experience and that we would be doing an...

I stayed four nights at Hotel Belmar and honestly, I left with mixed feelings. The most striking issue was a complete lack of generosity, which is disappointing for a property that presents itself as a high-end wellness retreat. From the moment you check in, you quickly understand that you just have your room – and that’s it. Guests are not offered much beyond the basics, and you are left on your own for the rest of the stay.

Almost everything is charged at a very high price, even a simple tour of the property. When we asked about it, the answer was dismissive – that the property is “very small” and just to go down to the lake and back. Yet there is a farm, trails, and more, but access always comes with extra fees. This really gives the impression that the guest experience is not valued.

Breakfast, although good in quality, was repetitive and lacking in generosity. At this price point, one expects more variety, abundance, and care. The food in general was tasty, but one evening after eating shellfish we felt unwell – still, I recognize that overall the cuisine is of high quality.

The service, however, felt cold and detached throughout the stay. No one really checked in to see if we were enjoying ourselves. Ironically, we received multiple follow-up emails after our departure, but during the stay, it felt like we were invisible. The only warm and engaging staff were Steven, the cocktail master, and the yoga instructor. Both were excellent, but again, the yoga is limited to only one complimentary class – all the others must be paid for, which is unexpected for a so-called wellness hotel.

Facilities are also underwhelming: the jacuzzi is set uncomfortably hot (almost discouraging to use), and the common areas are not as spacious or relaxing as advertised. The restaurant is practically inside the reception, with no real separation – it doesn’t create the serene ambiance you would expect.

In short, there is a clear gap between what is promised online and what you actually experience. For the nightly rate charged, guests deserve more care, more generosity, and more authenticity in the service. Unless these points are addressed, the hotel will continue to feel more like a business than a genuine...