The unique features of this hotel are its location (the only Cloud Forest other than Monteverde, and much closer to Arenal and San Jose than Monteverde), private casitas (3 types available, including Honeymoon Casitas which are the largest), and its focus on sustainable tourism using the Green Hotels Concept as well as a number of internal programs to promote environmental protection and awareness.

The hotel is rated 4-star and also boasts the 5 “green leaf” rating from ICT (Costa Rican Tourism Board). They are members of the Certification in Sustainable Tourism, a conservation program created by the ICT, for a qualified group of Costa Rican hotels. The goal is to diminsh the environmental impact of hotel operations, protect the natural resources surrounding the hotel, and promote the local culture including local employment. This hotel is truly committed to that goal, evident in many of its guest publications and signage in hotel rooms.

Another neat way that the hotel promotes the “green concept” is through another unique feature - it’s air-conditioned cinema! Each night there are 2 shows - the first is a selected portion of the documentary Planet Earth, and the second is a selected feature film (the night I was there it was DieHard 4). The cinema is excellent entertainment for guests, both couples and families alike, and a wonderful educational tool.

If you choose to be more active than the cinema, don’t worry as there are plenty of activities available through the hotel tour desk. Located nearby is a zipline tour, horseback riding, San Ramon historical & cultural tour, Cloud Forest hikes (daytime and nocturnal), plus day trips to Arenal Volcano & Tabacon Hot Springs, Carara Biological Reserve, or a combo tour of Poas Volcano, La Paz Waterfall Gardens, and the artisan town of Sarchi. Plenty to choose from! (Although I secretly preferred to sit in the cozy hotel lobby or wrap-around patio and read my book!)

The casitas at the hotel should not go unmentioned… they are so charming and inviting. My favorite part of the room was the wood-burning fireplace. Because it was wood-burning, it really set itself apart from the gas fireplaces I have seen at hotels like Peace Lodge and El Silencio. A fireplace is great no matter what, but a wood-burning one adds authenticity to the experience! The Queen size bed was extremely comfortable, and each casita has a small outside patio with amazing views of the surrounding landscape and farmland. (On clear days, you can even see Arenal Volcano from the Reception area and Gameroom - oh, I forgot to mention, they have a Gameroom with pool table, board games, and 2 TVs!)

My one-night getaway to Villa Blanca was refreshing, peaceful, and extremely enjoyable. It’s close enough to San Jose to avoid long hours on the road, yet you feel miles and miles away from the city. The staff, rooms, food, and ambience were fantastic, and I would easily visit this hotel again for all of those reasons plus more.

P.S. This hotel is great for those clients that don’t want to spend a night in San Jose, yet their flight arrives too late to travel all the way to Arenal. It’s perfectly situated 1/2-way between San Jose and Arenal, so an excellent logistical option.)

Rooms here range from Junior Suites to Master Suites and all include a smart remote control internal room command system that controls A/C and lights. Additionally, rooms are equipped with a security safe, Internet access (free use of laptops upon request), flat screen TVs, large private bathrooms with Jacuzzi, gardens, and hydro massage showers. Guests have the option of having breakfast in their rooms at no additional charge; rooms are spacious with a small dining area.

However, the open air restaurant is a great spot to eat as it boasts perhaps the best views form the property, aside from the Honeymoon suite which is located further up the mountain. The restaurant’s food is an international cuisine with a variety of plates from fresh seafood to meats and pasta dishes. I had a delicious couscous salad that was excellent and also sampled a savory jumbo shrimp skewer wrapped in bacon.

The best part of Mountain Paradise is its hospitality. Guests are greeted with cold towels and icy fruit juice. From the reception to the restaurant all staff members are friendly and helpful, and the overall vibe of Mountain Paradise is very Costa Rican. Adobe walls and earth tones are the theme throughout the buildings, and vibrant local art decorates the rooms.

As one of the “leading hotels of the world,” Tabacón is a five star resort that lives up to its famous name. The resort is physically located into two parts: the main hotel area where guests sleep and dine at the Ave del Paraíso Restaurant and the hot springs and spa area where guests bathe in the thermal pools, dine at the more informal Los Tucanes Restaurant and indulge at the awe inspiring Grand Spa. Transportation is provided to shuttle guests back and forth between the two locations, which are within a short walking distance.

While the views of Volcano Arenal at Tabacón aren’t the best, the overall class and quality of the hotel is where guests can expect to find value. Food here is top of the line, as Tabacón’s executive chef has been trained all over the world and provides an international cuisine bar none. Internet is available upon request at a charge per hour or day. An excellent gym is free to use. All rooms feature: Air conditioning, Cable TV, Phone, Safe deposit box, Coffee maker, Hair dryer, Mini-bar, DVD Player, Alarm-clock, Umbrella, Ironing board with iron, Bathrobes, Slippers, Vanity Kit, Shaver Kit and sewing Kit.

My favorite part of the hotel by far is the hot springs and Grand Spa. Tabacón is great for families looking to have a different and unforgettable vacation experience or for couples. The setting is very romantic and the hotel does its best to offer services that would even make strangers fall in love. Private romantic candlelight dinners are available upon request at open-air bungalows; this includes a personal chef and is perfect for engagements, honeymoons or a romantic dinner for the one you love. To top it off, the Grand Spa offers a couples massage also in open-air rooms that look out into the trees. The dual massage service is concluded with glasses of champagne and the private use of a Jacuzzi.

Located 2.5 hours from San José, the hotel Arenal Springs offers a good combination between relaxation, comfort, and exuberant tropical scenery, as well as great views of the Arenal Volcano from any vantage point in the premises.

The pool is stylish yet simple, with a very approachable wet bar. Excellent for kids. Though it’s a bit of a walk from the pool to your room, a golf cart is always on call to move you around. The design of the roof of the restaurant is very eye-catching, but perhaps creates an idea of something more than it is.

But if your looking for something spacious, good for the family and within a moderate budget around Arenal, the Arenal Springs Hotel is a good option.

Written By Adam Baker

A pickup truck transports you to where you do a little climbing to get to the first platform. The tour is composed of 18 platforms, 15 cables, some as long as 470 meters!

Before the last 4 cables, you’ll reach the Tarzan swing area, probably the highlight and most exciting thing about this tour. With a spectacular view, you jump into a void and get to know what Tarzan felt like (with a little added safety!).

After you’re done with the tour, they offer you a cold drink, and hot drinks (coffee mostly) are also available. You can also take home your picture or video for an extra charge to remember and share this wonderful experience with friends forever!

The Altamira restaurant offers a buffet breakfast that’s included in the nightly rate; as well as lunch and dinner menus featuring mainly international and local cuisine. Also, some nights per week they host special nights, such as Paella night on Tuesdays and Mexican or Pacific (seafood) night on Thursdays.

It has a great pool, also a wet bar where you can savour your favorite drink.

As part of the Arenal experience, there’s the spa offering several treatments offered such as massages, facials, etc.

The hotel is located about 10 kms from La Fortuna town, which should take about 5-10 minutes to drive.

They welcome you to the property with a cold aromatherapy infused towel and a cold refreshing natural fruit juice. Good service. The staff is always there to assist you in any possible way; they’re very friendly.

Highly recommended place for a nice, comfortable stay out of the ordinary.

I suppose I’ll get my gripes out of the way as there were not many, lack of a pier to disembark could be troublesome to folks who are maybe not so mobile, particularly the 89 year old lady staying there. The only other real complaint was the food, while there was nothing wrong with the quality or presentation the combinations did not work, I found some things to be overcooked and could also feel cavities forming after the uber-sweet deserts.

Now for the good part. The staff were very attentive and took care of any request instantly, it was the best service of any hotel I have stayed at in Costa Rica, bar none, and I can’t praise them highly enough. The location is excellent, particularly as you can enter Corcovado Park directly from the property and I loved the fact that there is no TV, internet or phone access meaning you have to immerse yourself in your surroundings which in turn allows you to forget about the material world in which we live. Even the gas-guzzling, air-conditioning loving, me, me, me types who were there saw that there are other ways to live than an oil-based lifestyle.

There is only one new building on the 170 acre property, the Colonial style restaurant which is too sterile for dinner, and the rest are holdovers from the property’s days as a Cacao Plantation (that’s chocolate to you and me). Originally opened in 1993 as a working plantation, this came to a sudden end when disease wiped it out along with most of the plantations in South and Central America and when the dust settled the owner decided to allow the rainforest to reclaim its land and open an Eco-Lodge on just a small part of the property.

While the rooms are basic, the beds are comfortable and I has 2 sound nights of sleep awakening to the sound of Howler Monkeys in the trees nearby, the lack of a fridge was a disappointment but I understand the reasoning with all electricity being generarted on-site.

To surmise, ideal for Honeymooners as they have 4 Honeymoon Suites and also larger groups as the Deluxe Suites can sleep up to 8 people comfortably but not younger families as the kids might get bored. The journey there and back can be a bit rough, but isn’t that the whole point after all? Service was phenomenal, the tours were very well run and the guides were excellent as they were very knowledgeable and I must give special thanks to Carlos and give his new Internet Cafe in Drake Bay a plug too.

The town of La Fortuna itself is a tipical little ‘Tico’ town that has been been strongly influenced by tourism. Just strolling down the highstreet you can see the numerous tourist shops and endless tour operators. However the looming Volcano at the end of the street is very impressive and makes for great photos.
The climate is much more humid than the Capital as it sits on a lower level, so expect to sweat, and around the green season it maybe hard to view the Volcano in all it’s glory but with a little patience at some point in the day the clouds should break for good view. It is well worth the wait for a night viewing of the volcano as the lava flows down its slops. A real must see when visiting Costa Rica.

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Written By Adam Baker

Friday morning we took a Sansa flight to Drake Bay and here we were picked up by the driver and tour guide in an old and rickety 4×4 vehicle. I was a little nervous about the transportation but once we started on the dirt roads driving through large puddles and even a river, I understood why they used this type of transportation. We were taken to the boat and had a nice 20 minute drive to Casa Corcovado. Overall to get to Casa Corcovado, it was long but a pleasant experience.

The minute we stepped foot on the property I really liked what I saw. The style is very Spanish Mediterranean and the grounds are beautiful. The manager was waiting for us, to greet us on our way in and to show us the first few buildings and his office. We were taken to the restaurant and lunch was ready which was perfect because we were hungry after all the travel. During lunch, our bags were taken to our rooms and we did not need to worry about any kind of long check-in process.

The rooms are nice, basic but comfortable and clean. Beds are not so great, but simplicity is the style in this area. Our room was very spacious with 4 beds but only one bathroom and shower, so it may be tight if all beds are full. What I really liked was a seating area in the middle of the room, it added a common area and a style. There was a bit of color and nice paintings on the wall which added to the room.

All rooms are like cottages scattered on the property. Everyone has space! On the property there are also two pools, one with natural spring water which is surrounded by the forest. It was a little too cold for me to jump in but I liked the idea! It is great to be on your day tours and come and relax at the pool in the afternoons. Before dinner there is a sunset bar overlooking the ocean which was absolutely stunning. This is your one free drink for the day so be sure to go!

All in all, Casa Corcovado has wonderful service and accommodations. The food was good, but very typical Costa Rican and they could have done better at planning out the meals and what goes with what. But if you are looking for some tasty Costa Rican meals, you can get it here!

After a fun boat ride we arrived to the Manatus dock, where we were greeted with a smile, cold humid towels and a refreshing drink! Once again, luggage was something we did not worry about, as we were drinking our complementary cocktail they were already taking it to our rooms.

The facilities were nice, simple but sweet. Due to the area there are mosquitoes everywhere! However I didn’t find any inside the rooms, this way we could have a nice relaxing nap without worrying about bugs or anything like that. The AC in the room also made it quite comfortable.

The restaurant was quite nice, all meals are included and you have about 4-5 options for a main course, this was great so we wouldn’t get bored from the food.

We had the opportunity to go on the down town tour and a tour in the canals as well as the national park. These were amazing, we saw a lot of wildlife and this made the tours very good.

We spent some time in the hotel just relaxing, I would recommend the pool and the pair of hammocks that are on the border of the property, you are almost swinging on top of the water, here I took a couple of naps or just relaxed while watching all the boats navigate on the canals!

This hotel is definately the best in the area, I have no complaints about it. Again, I think that the highlight of the place is the service and the people. The staff gave us the feeling that they were proud to be part of the Manatus team. They were constantly asking if we were ok with everything and they were striving to make the stay even better!