Paraíso Orocay Lodge — Hotel in Paraíso

I wish I could recommend this hotel, but I had one of the worst experiences here. A couple of weeks ago, we had my wedding nearby and made a reservation at this hotel about 5 months in advance, reserving all the rooms available. Initially, we spoke with the manager, or at least who we thought was the manager according to the restaurant staff. It turns out, the person we spoke to was the son of the owner and the manager of the restaurant. He assured us that we could have a post-wedding gathering with friends, keeping the restaurant kitchen open until midnight for snacks, and having the fire pits lit for us by the time we arrived. He also mentioned they didn't mind the noise since we were reserving the whole hotel and there were no nearby neighbors.

We communicated via email with the person in charge of reservations without any issues until a week before our reservation. When we called the hotel to finalize details and check-in times for the rooms, my husband reiterated the promises made by the "manager" at the time of booking. This person became upset and started yelling, claiming he didn't need the money and wouldn't allow us to have the after-party, even with an additional $1000. He insisted that the person we spoke to didn't have the authority to make such offers since he, the owner, was in charge. His rudeness caught us off guard, and unfortunately, we couldn't find another hotel with enough space for our 37 guests, as we had reserved all 16 rooms.

Our intention wasn't to host a wild party, as most of the guests were family and close friends, including kids and parents. We simply wanted to gather, roast marshmallows, have a few drinks, and reminisce about the wedding.

Upon speaking with other guests, we learned about their experiences. Some liked the view, while others complained about the expensive restaurant, subpar included breakfast, and the owner's meticulous inspection of rooms during checkout, searching for damages that weren't there.

After we left, the owner claimed we stained a towel and demanded payment for dry cleaning. We explained it was due to my hair dye and assured him it would wash out easily, but he insisted on payment.

It's disheartening that the owner never takes responsibility for negative reviews, always blaming guests for their behavior or citing financial constraints. In our case, he'll likely claim we violated clear rules regarding parties, which isn't true. The lack of customer service and communication among the staff was astonishing. This review isn't meant to be malicious; it's simply our honest account of our experience, which is why we cannot recommend this hotel to others or...

Stayed four nights, beautiful views, great breakfast and comfortable beds/ rooms, but everything wasn't OK.

When I arrived I was handed a laminated rules sheet for me to study. Things like no guests are allowed to have non approved guests visit. As I was visiting my local friend and his family, I found this very rude to direct me on as I am paying for the view. Instead I spent all day out and only returned to sleep; not sitting and enjoying the view with my friends and a bottle of wine. Costs per infringement were also detailed and the staff member even repeated a few rules to me advising Costa Rican plumbers are very expensive....I got it, i got it.

Unbeknownst to me, they are construting a building just in front of the rooms (see photos). The workers come in about 6.45am and start moving things and small amounts of talking. No power tools but the clunks and scraping in a quite location are very easily heard and so is the doorbell repeatedly pressed to let them in. Ah the serenity.

As one of the few guests, if not the only one at that time, I was surprised it took them 4 days to get a working TV remote to me (they keep them behind the desk for unknown reasons). When they did, all the channels were locked with a pass code which knowing I kept asking for a remote I would have thought they would give this to me, too late at night to be bothered. Clearly they aren't interested so I gave up.

Vibrating noisy bar fridge placed on uneven log next to the head of the bed... Why? Unplugged it immediately and sacrificed cold drinks for sleep.

Animals scurrying around in the roof. Sounds were inconsistent with what I was told are 'birds'. This will happen in a nature area. Not a massive issue.

No flyscreens on windows so it was stuffy or let the bugs in.

Sorry but I wouldn't stay here again. I easily give 4 or 5 stars to places based on what I paid but I feel that there are better places for...

NO LO RECOMIENDO. Pésimo servicio. El 11/12/2021 hice una reserva con meses de anticipación ya que me quedaría con mi familia por 2 días y 1 noche, porque me casaría cerca del hotel, pues para mi sorpresa cuando llegamos nos cambiaron la reserva del cuarto familiar que era más caro, por una cabaña pequeña y totalmente incómoda, de más esta decir que no nos hicieron devolución del dinero de diferencia (3 camas totalmente pegadas entre sí, sin espacio para movilizarse, exageradamente incómodo), una de las peores experiencias. Cuando seleccione en la página web el cuarto familiar fue porque amo las montañas y la vista en esta habitación era hermosa, pero cuando llegamos al hotel nos cambiaron a esta cabaña que no tiene ningún acceso de vista a las montañas, entonces pregunto para que pague un servicio si al final me cambiaron la habitación que quería, no me hicieron devolución del dinero y no me dieron lo que pagué? Me quejé ya que era el día de mi boda y aún así no les importo ya que según me dijo el señor que atendía en la recepción a la hora de la noche, que la habitación solicitada “se les había quebrado justo ese día un tubo del baño a uno de los clientes anteriores”, le consulté a otro empleado y me indicó que las habitaciones que habíamos reservado lastimosamente se las tuvieron que dar a un grupo de extranjeros alemanes que les llenó el hotel, nuevamente pregunto cuál de las 2 versiones podía creer, ya que claramente alguien estaba mintiendo! Vuelvo a preguntar y mi reserva con la antelación debida para que sirvió? Nos sacaron de lo ya pagado por un grupo de extranjeros, totalmente inadmisible. Y el hecho de decirles que era una fecha importante para mí, por mi boda, simplemente no les importo. Al día siguiente la pequeña cabaña que nos dieron se abarrotó entre los maquillistas, mi mamá, mi hermana y yo, todo porque les dieron nuestro espacio ya pagado de previo a un grupo de extranjeros sin avisarnos al respecto hasta la llegada, totalmente inaudito. Lastima el servicio porque el lugar tiene hermosas vistas, un gran potencial, pero de que vale si el personal es lo más bajo que he podido ver en servicio al cliente, por favor ahórrense la pena de vivir estas experiencias y visiten lugares de calidad. No puse el comentario con anterioridad porque lo había olvidado, pero estaba buscando en estos días un lugar para hospedarnos en Cartago y cuando vi este lugar inmediatamente recordé la terrible y traumática experiencia, por eso quise dejar por escrito y de manera pública nuestra tétrica experiencia, para evitarles el vivir un momento desagradable. Cartago es un lugar hermoso y su gente es amable y servicial, pero este lugar tiene a su servicio totalmente lo contrario, lo más deplorable que hemos visto, no vale la pena. Si el propietario de este lugar lee este comentario le pido que busque en sus registros las reservas de Diciembre 2021 para que corrobore la reserva a mi nombre y pueda trabajar con contratación de personal calificado ya que el lugar como indique tiene potencial por sus vistas principalmente pero se pierde lo bueno por el personal con el que cuenta o al menos con el que contaba en ese momento, son factores que con una buena administración...