Montaña de Fuego All Inclusive

THE PROPERTY: We had initially had booked 2 days but decided to add an extra day to be able to enjoy more of the property and get in a few excursions. It is marketed well. I paid $2180 for 3.5 days of all inclusive. That being said, we were pretty disappointed with what was actually available at the property. The main pool with the swim up bar was under construction so aside from 3 tiny mineral baths, there is no way to cool off during the day. There’s no bar access to these tiny pools. There are only 3 lawn chairs on the premises. There are really no other activities or entertainment available to guests on the property. There are a variety of fun excursions available to purchase, but you’re basically stuck in your room afterwards. There’s really nothing to do. Pros: everyone is friendly, like, really nice. There are plenty of excursions available to purchase (the river rafting was a lot of fun and worth the expense) Cons: there is literally nothing to do on the property so you have to spend more money to purchase excursions. Also, WiFi doesn’t work. ROOMS The bungalows are really cute but the rooms are a bit dated. The room we received was not the family room that we booked. We did not receive the welcome drink advertised on the booking. Our first morning we woke up and could not use the bathroom as there was no running water for a couple of hours. There has been a strange fishy odor coming from the middle kitchenette section. Not sure what is causing it but it’s unpleasantly there. Pros: great view of the volcano Cons: Not enough blankets, water pressure ; fishy odor; not the room shown on my booking; no welcome drinks as promised and woke up to an invoice for a water bottle and soda from the fridge that we did not take! Also, we purchased an all inclusive package so the soda and water should’ve been covered!! FOOD & BEVERAGE There is only one restaurant with specific times for meals. If you end up doing an excursion, you miss your all inclusive lunch time. There’s no snacking or other places to get food. This is it. Lack of bars available due to swim up bar construction. Pros: the waiters were so courteous and attentive; food was well portioned and delicious Cons: just one restaurant on the premises; lack of choices; small alcohol selection; not all drinks are included OVERALL, in my opinion the cost for this resort is not justifiable without access to a pool. Only a tiny bar with limited alcohol under a pop up canopy which was closed on the 3rd day; It’s hard to get a drink!! Guests should have been notified of this at the time of booking so they could make a more informed choice given bookings reasonable cancellation period or been offered a discounted rate. While the property did offer us to access their sister property, they would not provide transportation there or honor the all inclusive packages that we purchased for this property. It felt like such a waste to purchase all inclusive but not be able to use it just because

Perfect location with great view of Arenal Volcano. The rooms are nice, beds are comfortable. The grounds are absolutely stunning. There is a mineral scrub area. After a scrub, rinse off in the shower and then relax in the Hot Springs. There is also a massage studio on site. The grounds are just fantastic. Lots of hiking trails, a zip line and other on-site activities. My niece and I really enjoyed the hiking trails. Whole family enjoyed the Hot Springs.

We just had the most amazing massage from Carol - super relaxing! The resort is wonderful and the staff, especially Oscar is very attentive and always helpful. The landscape is beautiful and so close to the volcano - can’t beat the location. We are in a jr suite, so the room is spacious and the bed is really comfortable- I slept really well! We are having a great time!

The views are spectacular and the spa services were excellent as were the wait staff. Unfortunately, someone stole my sneakers from my bungalow area where they were left to dry and management did not feel it was their responsibility to replace them. There is a gate from the street to the property which is open and unmonitored and could be the source of the problem. Also, the hotel advertises thermal hot springs but we were told that pool was broken. I'm not sure how that could be broken unless it is really a jacuzzi whose jets were broken.

Upon arrival, we received a welcome drink as we completed our sign in process. We drove to our Junior Suite 244 where we parked right in front. We chose the full-board package that also included a couple of hikes on property and all meals. Concierge followed us to our suite to bring our luggage in and give us the anniversary celebration gift they had prepared for us waiting in the fridge. Next, he told us that we could meet him in the lobby between six and 6:30 PM to do a night walk of the property to see insects and animals. This was relaxing and fun. Dinner at Rocca— on-site restaurant was amazing! The waiter set our lava stone on fire 🔥 at the table for our steak to be served sizzling. Be careful with your plate. The next morning we woke up to enjoy our coffee with an amazing view of Arenal volcano From our front porch! We slept with our windows open the entire trip just for the views! There were many options in the Breakfast buffet. The juice was absolutely Delicioso. The staff was super helpful with everything. They even brought our towels to the hot tub When I sent them a WhatsApp message asking where the pool towels are located. October is prime time to visit if you want the property to yourself. At the regular pool by the bar, hot tub, 3 thermal pools, and mud bath area— we were the only ones around. Romantic, serene jungle setting for sure.

The staff is very friendly but there is a lack of management and training. From the moment we arrived, they could not tell us what room number, so even though we could use the facilities before check-in we had to carry money to pay for consumables since we could not give a room number. We booked a promotion that included an activity, but when we made the reservation we were not specified or shared specific requirements such as the use of closed toe shoes for tubing, so we could not choose the activity we really wanted. The chicken was dry as cardboard and the meat was also disappointing, the name of the plantain niguiri of tuna or salmon is confusing because it has banana in its name and one assumes that it would have a slice of banana between the rice and the fish. At dinner they kept turning off the lights for the show of fire of the meat with the stone etc, really an agony the dinner process, plus to our misfortune the menu was the same as lunch, the spaghetti had a very salty sauce, and the chicken was dry again. At breakfast the poached eggs were so cooked like overcooked hard boiled eggs that I and the people at the next table did not even eat them, and also the name was misleading again because the Benedictines should come with Bernese sauce and these did not have it and the egg could not be drier. The bartender at the Wet Bar and the two girls at the Spa were excellent, the rooms were very nice and clean and the cleaning service was also very good, but not enough to come back or recommend the place.

Let me start with saying the majority of the staff very friendly and helpful. Karol and Melissa did a great job at the spa. Book with them. Now the BIG downside, my family put her sneakers in the covered area outside of her room to dry, someone stole her sneakers. Management failed to appropriatley address the issue. Instead they sent her a 'whats app" message the day before our departure to say they would like to search her room. How insulting. That was her only pair of sneakers and management pretty much insulted her and stated she was lying. Checkout management still did not respond. She took it as a loss and decided she would make it known so other guest will not know about her experience. The other downer, is the long long ride from the airport to the hotel. It was grueling. Not much to do, no music at the bar or anything. I would never return especially after management did nothing to address the issue.

Excellent hotel, the staff was friendly, my suite with stunning view of Arenal volcano, the termal pools clean, pool bar with good choices for cocktails and snack, the restaurant also good with buffet breakfast and large menu choices for lunch and dinner. Also had great service to book tours at the surrounding areas. And a Spa to relax after.