Location is beautiful and we took full advantage of the grounds and hikes, including a night tour. They have a little cafe and museum. Even when it rained the entire day on our 2nd day we still got out and enjoyed the beauty. Do the waterfall hike! Night tour with Cristian was fantastic. Free breakfast was tasty and generous. Lodge was perfect distance from town. We liked popping into town for snacks, hanging out in the plaza and then retreating to our quiet paradise. We didn't use it, but they had a little recreation room in our building with a ping pong table and foosball table. The dining hall had a chess table, and the lobby has a tv room with checkers. Highly recommend you book your free guided tour as soon as you check in. The 8am and 10 am were all booked by the time we decided to do it.

Dinners were expensive for the quality. But, we knew that from reading other reviews. We decided to eat on grounds anyway because its just super convenient. Rooms could use some updating but were clean and comfortable. Wifi was very unreliable and kicked us off frequently. But, I wanted my kids to unplug anyway.

Arenal Observatory Lodge offers excellent service, accommodations, and the optimum location for experiencing Arenal Volcano, the surrounding nature, and ziplining adventures! We enjoyed a spacious Smithsonian room and bird watching from our patio. Everything was quite clean and comfortable. We had drinks after we arrived (Happy Hour 5-6pm) and an excellent breakfast in the morning, which was a combination of ordering an entree and then going to the buffet for fruit, cereal, juice, coffee, tea, etc. After breakfast, we did some bird watching from the deck outside the restaurant; in the garden, they have a very tall metal sculpture they put fresh melon on to attract birds. Even in the pouring rain we saw many birds, including a male and a female Great Curassow! We wish we would have stayed a few more days to enjoy all the amenities, such as the spa and different on-site tours. These options weren’t apparent from looking at the Booking.com profile. This is essentially a resort; one night was great but I would recommend staying at least two (or more) days to maximize your experience. (This is the perfect location if you plan to do ziplining at Sky Adventure early in the morning.)

The property is beautiful, you are more secluded and there is beautiful gardens and wildlife to observe. There is also a hot tub which was nice to have after a long hike. The restaurant was fantastic for bothe drinks and food, breakfast was included which was a combination of a la carte for your mains and buffet for your fruit, drinks and yogurt

Only drawback was is more secluded so you are not nearby town and the road to get to the property is not paved. If doing activities, tours they would not pick up at the property. We did not know but it might be worth booking with the property directly as they would provide transportation.

The entire property was beautiful and if you like to walk/hike, there were great trails. The observation deck was good for bird watching and the restaurant had wonderful views. The breakfast (included) was good, as was the dinner (not included in the price). The room was comfortable, but there was no airconditioning. Thankfully, there was a fan. We also liked our deck that looked out at the lake.

To be improved: their front desk staff did not explain things that well. We were only there one night and the morning when we were leaving we found out there had been a happy hour the night before; they also should have explained the tail system better. Also, check in was crowded--they needed more people at the desk. I'd still stay here again, but it was pricey.

This review is specific to the Casono I to V building, which is the budget end of the AOL complex. This has five rooms sharing two toilet/showers, three sinks, a common room and wide balcony with four chairs. We were concerned about the shared bathroom but it was perfectly ok. It’s a steep 500m walk to the reception and restaurant; and even further to the pool. A free taxi service is provided or you can drive; there are plenty of parking spaces up there. I grew to appreciate the separation. Set in a beautiful garden that attracts birds including the humming type. There are glorious views of the volcano and lake. The volcano seems very close here. It’s much quieter and more intimate down here than the main complex. We really enjoyed our visit here. Room has a fan, safe and a coffee/tea maker.

The hotel restaurant is far too expensive. It’s poor value for rooms with a shared bathroom compared with other hotels.

The shower was awesome, and the beds are very comfortable. The room was spacious. There was no AC, but the dehumidifier was perfect for getting clothes dry as the hung in the room. There was plenty of space to unpack and feel settled. The trails were very nice, though most of them were rainforest-adjacent or through fields, the few that were in the rainforest were lovely. Breakfast was good, especially the banana bread and fresh pineapple!

We stayed for 4 nights and never saw the volcano - it rained the whole stay. The driveway was very long and unpaved - about a 10 minute drive to get to the road, so even though many things were close, we felt a bit trapped after sunset.

There is so much history attached to the Observation Lodge that it makes for a fascinating place to stay. It's the first and only hotel located within the national park due to it being an observation location for volcanologists, so the trails, wildlife and landscaping around the hotel is incredible. There are endless walking routes with tropical birds, hanging bridges, waterfalls and crossfit challenges waiting to be found. There's an onsite spa, pool, restaurant, bar, museum and shop, and reception offers additional information around tours and practical things like laundry services. The hotel offers a complimentary nature walk, plus a tractor ride around the grounds to get the most from your stay plus paid for activities such as a night walk. The room includes complimentary breakfast each morning overlooking the Arenal lake and volcano - I'll never get bored of that view! So many birdwatchers come to the hotel, as the grounds attract over 500 species of bird.

Once you discover the history of the lodges (available in the onsite museum) the hotels aesthetics makes more sense, but nonetheless rhe rooms are a little dated and could do with a freshen up. We were located in lodges away from the main building and it was a 10 minute walk uphill to get to the reception. More information on how to order the shuttle would have been great. The hotel is quite a distance from the town of La Fortuna so you definitely need a car to get to the hotel and the road is bumpy in parts. There is an online restaurant and bar so you don't have to head out in the evenings, however I personally wasn't a huge fan of the evening food on offer so it became a little repetitive.

The location is amazing and well worth overcoming any discomforts. The sounds of the jungle were amazing, the animals we saw from the observation locations knocked toucans, coati, and spider monkeys off our bucket list, and we were next to a Volcano! Staff was tremendously helpful and kind. We also found that being a bit remote and a bit rustic and animal/nature/science focused, we also liked all of our fellow travelers at this resort, who were there to experience the environment. The beds were comfortable and my kids felt like it was a home away from home with other kids they really liked meeting and playing with.

Be prepared to experience some minor bugs in/around your room, toilet paper goes in the trash rather than the toilet, and there is a completely satisfactory, but not exceptional pool and jacuzzi. No air conditioning, but it really wasn't missed. Depending on your room location, it might be a long hike or super brief drive to the main lodge/restaurant.

We loved that it was in the national park and so close to the volcano. So many wonderful trails to explore with the opportunity for fantastic morning and night guided hikes. The views from the dining room were spectacular and the watermelon and papaya laden bird feeder attracted many colorful and interesting birds. We also saw coatis under the feeder and watched the spider monkeys traveling through the trees at dusk returning to their spot in the forest after spending the day near the river. The restaurant’s food was very good especially the breakfasts which were included with our lodging.

We stayed in the La Casona Rooms which had 2 shared bathrooms for the 5 units…a bit inconvenient though we loved the location and hearing the howler monkeys. The one problem was that it was too easy to get locked out of the bedroom and unit which we did by both taking a bathroom break at 4 am one morning. There is an emergency number and phone but difficult to see without glasses! A staff member came and let us back in though we felt bad to inconvenience him.

The room was spacious and well appointed. The view of the mountain was exceptional from our wall of windows and the balcony. The food in the restaurant was delicious, and the servers (especially Eziquel and Marcela) were very professional and friendly. The grounds of the property were magnificent and well-tended, and the many trails were quite interesting and easy to follow with very clear signage. The incredible variety, beauty, and accessibility of birds, plants, and waterfalls gave us everything we wanted in a calm and relaxing Costa Rican vacation.