La Fortuna Lodge — Local services in La Fortuna

We stayed at La Fortuna Lodge for 3 days, it's a very comfortable hotel, with beautiful little gardens and hidden areas to relax and of course, the staff were lovely. The lodge is very well located in a quiet part of the town, around a 5 min walk from the centre and th stunning views of the Arenal Volcano. Our ground floor ensuite room was very nice, with a super comfy bed and small private garden terrace. The place was very clean, breakfast was very good and we'd certainly stay here if we visited again. ||I was unsure about this town, it looked very expensive and I’d decided not to pre-book any activities. I was right, it was expensive, but it was also a fabulous, busy place, full of delightful, happy, local people and with lots of great bars, cafes and restaurants. We used Uber to get to self-guided hikes around El Silencio park, with a modest $10 entrance fee. The weather was perfect and views of the Arenal Volcano and the surrounding countryside, quite stunning. Lots of wildlife, particularly birds and monkeys with wonderful trees, in magnificent forest, as well as open farmland and, of course, the old lava fields from the volcano. The next day, in heavy rain, we travelled, again by Uber to the 1992 trail, a 40-minute drive away. We were the only people in the park, likely due to the awful weather, but it was a wonderful place that we'd certainly recommend and again, only a $10 entrance fee. ||Unfortunately, the Uber driver we used to get there didn’t turn out to be quite that. We think that, due to a scam, probably with one of his brothers, we had a driver who was not registered with Uber. He was a good driver, with a good car, but when I stupidly left my Leki walking poles in his trunk, I found that it was impossible to contact him and Uber had no record of the hire. When I explained to them what had happened they showed no interest - all very disappointing! Still, that was the only time we had a bad experience during our holiday and I should have taken more care. All the other Uber drivers we used...

The location of Fortuna Suites is great. 2 blocks away from the main street so maybe a 2 minute walk from many restaurants, car rentals, coffee shops etc. It was pretty quiet at night with the A/C running and we always play white noise when we travel so we didn't hear a thing. The memory foam bed was very comfy but pillows weren't as great. Room was clean with a fridge, safety deposit box, coffee, sink with some dish soap. Apple TV installed which I think we used once but still nice to have I guess! Ian, the owner, is pretty helpful in answering questions before you stay there...but he booked our transfer from the airport and then to the Nicoya peninsula and we weren't super impressed with their service and I wish I had booked the company I had found and research on my own. Not necessarily his fault but we kind of questioned the company he referred us to. Amazing breakfast included, by the way, at nearby Lava Lounge. Totally worth it and makes the value for money for Fortuna Suites even better. Options we enjoyed included banana pancakes, huevos rancheros, american breakfast and french toast with, of course, fresh CR coffee.

· The room was a bit damp and smelled a bit musty/moldy. I think this is an issue in much of CR as it is so humid there, especially up in the rainforest area. We stayed in a beach town later on in our stay and they had a dehumidifier that we turned on and this really helped things out. Could be something to think about. I tried to turn the A/C unit on dry for a bit but it didn't do much. The A/C itself did an excellent job cooling down the room though. Bathroom is also...

This whole BnB is extremely clean!! It's very cozy, with a big dining area for breakfast; there's sitting areas all in the property; a big sitting area upstairs with couches, easy (rocking ) chairs; a table with chairs for cards games etc; there is a dart board; board games. All these are outside, but covered areas. There is even a bench outside the property (beside it) where you can take your coffee, sit and have a smoke.|Our room was small, but really big enough, the bed; pillows and linens were excellent.It was nice to have a TV in our room with Netflix (in English)! The bathroom was perfect with a shower head in the shower (no bathtub).Water pressure and wifi were spot on.There was plenty of parking.|The breakfast were amazing. They give you a menu (the night before) and you can choose between 4 meals~ all homemade the next morning. So yummy!!|The shops; restaurant's; bars; and parks were within a 5 minute (or less ) walk from the Lodge. |The whole place is securely gated, and there is someone in reception 24/7. All the staff were very kind; helpful and polite ( all speaking Spanish & English).|For the price we paid for our 3 night stay, the price was excellent.|We would definitely recommend...