Homestays in Alajuela, Costa Rica

This is a magical resort with amazing staff. We were welcomed with open arms and Diego made the check in super easy. Once we got to the room there was the coolest surprise waiting since it was my 50th birthday! The treehouse was literally like living alone in the jungle but with all the facilities you could want near by. Every morning we saw green cheeked parakeets from our window, toucans and lots of other endemic birds. The staff set up all of the tours we wanted to do including transportation. And when we had to be picked up early they always accommodated us for a huge breakfast! Jimmy was one of our new buddies as he helped with breakfast in the morning and also took us on a night tour where we saw a kinkajou, spectacle owl, and lots of frogs . He was super knowledgeable about the flora and fauna and it was an amazing tour. For dinner, the food was out of this world!!! If I could rate it a 10 I would!! A huge thank you to the entire staff . Hopefully we will be back one day!

We are so glad we chose the Arenal Observatory Lodge for our visit to Arenal in February 2023. If you have a car and want to be as close to Arenal as possible, come here. You'll be away from the hustle and bustle of La Fortuna with an extensive proprietary trail network from which you can spot all sorts of wildlife (we saw a yellow pit viper among other things) and come across waterfalls and swimming holes. The place seems to be hotspot for birdwatchers where you can see countless birds including Toucans which we spotted too. The property is not luxury, but it's comfortable, and gets you out into nature. There's a swimming pool and hot tub that we used once since we were more interested in getting out and about. We did buy a day pass at The Springs Hotel & Resort, but were so glad we didn't stay there. One of the unexpected highlights of our visit to the Arenal Observatory Lodge was our wonderful dinners at their onsite restaurant. After a long day of adventure, the ambience was comfortable, the service friendly, and the food variety and quality satisfying a fair-priced. We ate breakfast there daily and dinner three times. We would definitely return again to this property when we return to Arenal.

Stayed in room 404. Originally booked 4 nights 12/20 to 12/24 at the last minute through *******. Had a problem with the reservation and both the hotel and ******* reached out to fix the problem. ******* was rude and difficult to deal with so cancelled ******* and worked with Tanya the hotel reservation manager to rebook for three nights through the hotel. Arrived at the hotel and everything was great. Got a room upgrade to a larger 2 bedroom villa with two bathrooms, a small kitchen area and a private pool in the front. Gorgeous room and rainforest like grounds. Breakfast buffet was hot and exceptional with fresh food, fruit and service with views of Arenal. Really nice swim up bar with food service and room service. Excellent quality food for dinner. Restaurant service was very good, bar service was also very good with lots of cocktails and a swim up bar and food service. Beautiful grounds. Every room is a private villa. I’ve stayed at Tabocan, Baldi and other much pricier resorts during my many other different stays in La Fortuna and this one is far and away the best value. Looking forward to going back.

This is a magical resort with amazing staff. We were welcomed with open arms and Diego made the check in super easy. Once we got to the room there was the coolest surprise waiting since it was my 50th birthday! The treehouse was literally like living alone in the jungle but with all the facilities you could want near by. Every morning we saw green cheeked parakeets from our window, toucans and lots of other endemic birds. The staff set up all of the tours we wanted to do including transportation. And when we had to be picked up early they always accommodated us for a huge breakfast! Jimmy was one of our new buddies as he helped with breakfast in the morning and also took us on a night tour where we saw a kinkajou, spectacle owl, and lots of frogs . He was super knowledgeable about the flora and fauna and it was an amazing tour. For dinner, the food was out of this world!!! If I could rate it a 10 I would!! A huge thank you to the entire staff . Hopefully we will be back one day!

My daughter had booked us into this hotel for our two nights in La Fortuna. What a unique experience. The cabins are very nice and well equipped. Comfortable beds and well-functioning air conditioning in the rooms. The setting is very unique. The lagoon and forest are beautiful. Marco and his team took really good care of us, service and communication were excellent. Would highly recommend staying at the unique spot in La Fortuna.

We are so glad we chose the Arenal Observatory Lodge for our visit to Arenal in February 2023. If you have a car and want to be as close to Arenal as possible, come here. You'll be away from the hustle and bustle of La Fortuna with an extensive proprietary trail network from which you can spot all sorts of wildlife (we saw a yellow pit viper among other things) and come across waterfalls and swimming holes. The place seems to be hotspot for birdwatchers where you can see countless birds including Toucans which we spotted too. The property is not luxury, but it's comfortable, and gets you out into nature. There's a swimming pool and hot tub that we used once since we were more interested in getting out and about. We did buy a day pass at The Springs Hotel & Resort, but were so glad we didn't stay there. One of the unexpected highlights of our visit to the Arenal Observatory Lodge was our wonderful dinners at their onsite restaurant. After a long day of adventure, the ambience was comfortable, the service friendly, and the food variety and quality satisfying a fair-priced. We ate breakfast there daily and dinner three times. We would definitely return again to this property when we return to Arenal.

Stayed in room 404. Originally booked 4 nights 12/20 to 12/24 at the last minute through *******. Had a problem with the reservation and both the hotel and ******* reached out to fix the problem. ******* was rude and difficult to deal with so cancelled ******* and worked with Tanya the hotel reservation manager to rebook for three nights through the hotel. Arrived at the hotel and everything was great. Got a room upgrade to a larger 2 bedroom villa with two bathrooms, a small kitchen area and a private pool in the front. Gorgeous room and rainforest like grounds. Breakfast buffet was hot and exceptional with fresh food, fruit and service with views of Arenal. Really nice swim up bar with food service and room service. Excellent quality food for dinner. Restaurant service was very good, bar service was also very good with lots of cocktails and a swim up bar and food service. Beautiful grounds. Every room is a private villa. I’ve stayed at Tabocan, Baldi and other much pricier resorts during my many other different stays in La Fortuna and this one is far and away the best value. Looking forward to going back.

We had an amazing time at Arenal Lodge! We traveled as a family of 4 and spent the first half of our trip at Arenal Lodge and the last half at an all-inclusive along the coast! This location was by far our favorite! On arrival, we were upgraded to a family suite - two connecting rooms, one with 2 queen beds and 1 with a king bed. The beds were quite comfortable. Each room had a balcony facing the Arenal volcano. We (luckily) had amazing views of the volcano each morning/day! The lodge itself is a little outdated but we somewhat expected that due to the location. The pool was not clean when we arrived but by the next day, it was clear! We were not as lucky with the 2 hot tubs – they remained dirty and unusable for our stay. However, they were not a necessity with the temperatures! Falling asleep to all the sounds of nature and animals took a little getting used to, but was surprisingly relaxing. We enjoyed a late-night rainstorm, which was amazing! The drive to the lodge from the main road is cobblestone, quite windy, and takes roughly 15 minutes. I would recommend renting a car for your trip. It is difficult to obtain a ride into La Fortuna, which is roughly 20 minutes away, and you will be charged an extra fee from excursion companies to make the trek up to the lodge for pick-ups. The lodge does have a transport van but this is for staff use on the property grounds. We ate in the restaurant each night – there was not a large selection of items but each item we ordered was good. The bar area has large windows that open and occasionally green tree frogs make their way inside! We spent time each day on the balcony, talking and enjoying the spectacular view, playing pool in the bar, and taking in a very different culture from our everyday life! It was an amazing experience, to say the least!