Arenal Backpacker's Resort in La Fortuna … Loved it! Rented a private room with my bf and it was as nice if not nicer then a hotel room for a fraction of the cost. They have a restaurant with fairly cheap food, a pool with a swim up bar, free internet, laundry service, and an amazing view of the volcano. Alonso, one of the staff there, is extremely helpful when it comes to organizing tours but be prepared to pay about $5 more for having them do it. Also, if they tell you a public bus will not get you somewhere that you need to book the shuttle, be wary, the shuttles are triple the cost of the bus and not comfortable at all. Great experience staying here though and highly recommend it.
Gringo Pete's - La Fortuna in La Fortuna … This was a fantastic place to stay -- four dollars a night and a great social setting where you will meet people from all over.
Arenal Backpacker's Resort in La Fortuna … The staff always seemed friendly. The dorm rooms are immaculate. The AC goes on automatically at certain time slots. Very organized internet room, pool, and good cheap restaurant right at the hostel. You get into the rooms with a key card, which was really surprising to see at a hostel in Costa Rica. I admit, the tours they posted were much more expensive than what you could get in town. They also have a security guard at the gate door at night and he will only let you in as long as you are wearing the wristband that they give you at the front desk. It definitely seems more like a resort than a hostel.
La Choza Inn in La Fortuna … This place is great. It's extremely clean. (It didn't matter what time of day I was in the reception area, there was always someone sweeping or cleaning the kitchen. They're a little fanatical, but it was much appreciated!) The rooms come with linens already on the beds and the community bathroom is huge (and also very clean)! The staff are the best though. They helped us arrange a canopy zipline tour and a night tour to the Arenal Volcano and got us a super cheap cab back to San Jose. All this for $5 a night! (We stayed in a three-person dorm with no a/c. We didn't need the a/c though cause it gets cooler at night.)
La Choza Inn in La Fortuna … I highly recomend La Choza Inn, just outside the balcony you can watch incredible birds who live in the nearby trees. The tours are good except the horseback riding tour to the nearby waterfall was done with sickly and overworked horses, so avoid that one if you can. But do go to the waterfall, it's amazing!
Arenal Backpacker's Resort in La Fortuna … One of the best I stayed in in Costa Rica! Nice sized room and a great big bathroom with each room was great! (no wandering around the halls looking for an available bathroom) The people were very helpful with tours... definitely do the canopy tour and baldi hot springs and if you are going to Monteverde, opt for the jeep-boat-jeep tour. Its shorter and more fun! I didn't go in the pool but it looked like fun.
La Choza Inn in La Fortuna … A really nice budget place to stay! The rooms were very clean (although there were a couple of cockroaches) and the owner was very friendly and helpful. The view of arenal from the hostel is spectacular, and you can organise tours through the hostel to visit it at night (as well as for other activities). I would also highly recommend these tours!
La Choza Inn in La Fortuna … Absolutely do not book any tours with the tour company that runs through La Choza! The tour company is called Eagle Tours. We paid them $88 to go to Monteverde for a canopy tour and they failed us every step of the way. They forgot to hire enough vans to drive us to Monteverde on the "Jeep-Boat-Jeep" part of the tour so were stuck sitting on the dirt road for an hour waiting for one to come and pick us up. Then they forgot to book the canopy tour and we had to accept a time that was two hours after our arrival date in Monteverde. After it was over they didn't pick us up from the canopy tour office and we had to wait another two hours in the dark for another van. (We were hungry but told that there would be no time to grab food because the van would get there "any minute.") When we were finally dropped off on the side of the lake there was a man with a flashlight who helped push our boat onto the water while our driver navigated back without any lights on the boat! It was pitch black…
Hotel Fortuna in La Fortuna … This budget hotel was perfect: clean, safe, and cute, with hot water and comfortable beds. The family who owns the hotel was incredibly friendly and helpful.
Jardines Arenal Lodge in La Fortuna … I loved this hotel!!! The environment is great and the service is excellent!! The owners are very, very attentive and the rooms are just great! These reasons make this simple but cozy hotel a five-star hotel!!! I highly recommend this hotel to everyone!!!
Cerro Chato Eco Lodge in La Fortuna … We found the owners to be extremely friendly and helpful and enjoyed our stay greatly. The lodge is magnificent and we have never experienced such incredible service before.
Elizabeth Danielle
USA / New Haven
elizabeth.danielle@yale.edu
Hotel Villas Vilma in Quesada … One of my favorite places to stay ever! Walking from my room at 6:00 AM in the morning, and seeing an unobstructed view of the volcano was breath-taking! Great and Friendly service. A++ (Just there 2/23/06 for two days.) EF
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