Lavas del Arenal

The grounds are beautiful, the rooms are reasonably priced, modest, and clean, and the staff is super friendly and so helpful. Miguel, the owner, showed us toucans in the trees, and fed us fresh coconuts from trees on the grounds . Francisco helped us plan excursions, and gave us lots of good tips about local places. If you come, don’t be discouraged by the rough 1/2 mile road in, because once you get here you’ll love the surroundings.

Lavas del Arenal is a small hotel situated just ouside of the main town in La Fortuna. There are plenty of benefits to staying at Lavas del Arenal. The first that I noticed is that the common areas of the hotel are surrounded by beautiful plant life, various birds, and a stream in the back. There is a pool available that wasn't overly occupied during my stay. I used it in the morning, so there wasn't actually anyone but me, but even in the afternoon, I only ever saw a couple people using it. The owner and the kitchen staff do a great job. The owner in particular was helpful in suggesting activities to do around La Fortuna, and went the extra mile in ensuring that I got to my destinations on time. They serve a complementary breakfast, which consists of rice and beans or pancakes, eggs, fruit, and a yogurt-like dip. Dinner is also available, though it is not complementary. The rooms themselves are simplistic, though you should be aware of this prior to showing up based on the budget pricing. Mine had a single bed, a mini fridge, air-conditioning, and a bathroom. An unexpected perk was getting to play with the owners puppy Mia. One of the friendliest dogs around! I would have no problem suggesting other people stay at Lavas Del Arenal. Just be aware that you'll be taking a taxi into town, which can be up to 5000 colones.

I booked this hotel with Expedia.ca and got a great price. In hindsight the price was likely too low for the Arenal area. This hotel is quite far out from Fortuna and Arenal. The night we arrived they also had two bus loads of young people staying there, running around like animals. They moved us to a quieter room at the front of the hotel. The staff is very kind and helpful. The accomodations are good and it is a good value for your money.

We found this hidden treasure last minute. The rooms are big and spacious. The staff very nice. The beauty of this place is there outdoors. They have a river / creek in the back that makes a beautiful peaceful nature sounds. The landscaping is beautiful with flowers and trees. The pool area is surrounded by trees and flowers. If you are looking for inexpensive, natural beauty and not all the amnesties of an expensive hotel. This is great.

As I said, we should get a 4x4 when we had a rental car. I had a sedan at that time, it was really hard to get this hotel. Almost 1 Km was off road. When we reached this hotel, we turned around to get another hotel. I don´t believe this hotel had 3 stars.

Just enough to stay quiet in that place. It's far away of bustle, cars, cities and parties. If you want to be in a pacefull place, it's a very good option.

Refused to stay there. Filthy dark and dingy Not our choice as booked other hotel in September and were told only around 10 days prior to leaving that hotel I initially booked was overbooked

We had two rooms-a single whose shower head was cracked & the room smelled moldy, neither showers drained & water stood in the bottom. Our AC unit had to be tweaked every time to get it running, and it just couldn't keep up. Beds were uncomfortable & room not very clean, both smelled awful. Our second room had 5 beds-a double and 3 singles which fit our family but those spreads made me shudder. For this price I'd try another one, there are a lot nearby.

This was a last minute booking so I didn't do a lot of research. Dirt road to get to the hotel but found it ok. No problems getting checked in but the place reminded me of some old fishing cabin. Not a very clean room and it smelled a bit musty. It was quiet there which was good. The big surprise when I woke the next morning at 5am was that there was no hot water for the shower! Talking to some of the locals they seem to take cold showers but for the price of the hotel, I expected a hot shower. Due to the overall condition and lack of hot water for the price, I decided not to stay the second night. Unfortunately they wouldn't refund the cost for the second night.

Beds were dirty, No hot water. Air Conditioner did not work. Basically, whatever they provided (which was not much) did not work.......:(