Hotel Arenal Springs Resort & Spa

Arenal had a great staff, food and hospitality but due to the one incident I give it a 2 *. The incident happened on Christmas day where we had left the hotel room 505 to go to the Mistico gardens for 4 hours but left my passports and $950 in the room safe. I found out later when I needed the money as it was emergency funds left to cover surprise expenses that the whole amount was missing. Since the passport (and the money was ticked in a pocket in the passport envelope) was in the safe on the first day only as it was not needed after check in, I had left the funds inside and in the safe on the first day and took it out to keep with us from the second day onwards and did not check until later when the money was needed that the funds had been taken out of the safe on the first day when it was in the safe. This one incident was the downer in the otherwise fantastic trip with fantastic people and sights. Truly a bummer to get robbed from your hotel room safe at such a nice place.

Loved this resort. Started by greeting us with cool towels and a welcome drink. Smooth check in. They drove us to our rooms and provided an orientation. The grounds are beautiful. The room is cute. On smallish side and not much room for putting things away. Also, the walls are not soundproofed so you really hear your neighbor- probably my only big complaint. Mini bar had a few complimentary items for first night. Loved the patio which had great view of volcano. Sat out every morning listening to birds and howlers. Hot Springs are great. Loved the one w swim up bar. Pool area not overly crowded. Always found a chair/barstool. Food at restaurants pricey but we enjoyed the meals. Included breakfast was big and had good food. Staff were all very friendly and helpful. Town is about 10 min drive. Would definitely stay here again.

This hotel is superbly situated just outside La Fortuna and on the way to the lakeside. The resort in in top top condition with immaculate surroundings. The service levels were excellent (but I'll return to that a bit later). The amenities such as the gym and the thermal pools were excellent. It is quite clear the efforts made to maintain the highest of standards. The restaurants were excellent and even the buffet breakfast topped out as our No.1 for all 5 hotels we stayed at on our tour. If you wanted picking up or of dropping off from/to your room you simply had to call reception and a happy buggy driver would be with you in a matter of minutes (60 seconds in some instances!). Now here's the service critique / feedback... at our first dinner we asked for a glass of Malbec, the waiter came back to say that they had run out but could offer us an alternative which was fine. When we got the final bill for the meal the ticket was faintly printed and hard to read, fortunately my wife's vision is better than mine (and I had contacts in!). She found a bottle of Malbec had been added to our bill at a cost of $130. If I had just trusted the bill and signed this off it would've lead to an awkward conversation at the end of our stay. I know it's down to us as the customer to check but it becomes a little embarrassing asking for another bill in large bold font just to ensure we pay for what we got. Surely the staff should've noticed the wine had literally doubled our bill? Secondly, and this may come across that I'm moaning, I'm not, I'm just trying to give you my full experience, when we swam up to the pool bar there were a number of beer bottles on display. We chose a bottle each. When we got the bill we didn't realise that these were artisanal beers that were at a vastly inflated cost apposed to the normal beers on the menu $12 verses $6.50. We just wanted a beer for the pool, we're not connoisseurs. The line up of these beers lead me to believe that they were the selection, it was a little misleading and I'm sure nothing more than that. On our second day we went to the onsite coffee shop, we ordered two coffees but one with plant milk, when we got the bill we had been charged for two coffees AND plant milk (increasing the bill by $4. When we pointed this out the member of staff said she was new and was unsure how to correct this, she had to find a manager to instruct her on the correct way to price for our request. Finally (your probably rolling your eyes by now), on our second night in the bar we ordered a cocktail and sparkling wine from a very pleasant and friendly young bartender. The cocktail was fantastic but the wine when served was completely flat, it was the last serving in the bottle. We asked for a replacement which wasn't a problem. There wasn't another bottle of fizz in the fridge so his companion proceeded to spin the bottle in an ice bucket in a bid to bring the wine down to the right temperature, this was never going to work although I

One of the best resorts we have ever stayed in. Location is perfect, waking up to close view of the volcano was a dream. We saw monkeys, Tucans, iguanas everyday on our walks. Pools and hot springs are wonderful, swim up restaurant and bar, morning breakfast and evening dining was excellent. THE STAFF tops this resort off! From check in, room attendants, restaurants and concierge with help planning our excursions before and during our stay. Marilyn and Carilyn were two ladies that made our day each time in the dining room along with all the other servers. Joel was hilarious with our daily greetings. All staff were extremely friendly and professional. Rooms and all amenities are top notch, Highly recommend.

We had a great stay, the hotel is beautiful luxurious, and the rooms have parking at the door, with a view of the volcano. Hot springs are superb we went a lot, and the swim up bar is great for a cool down drink. Breakfast is a vast buffet, great choices and you can even make your own smoothies with fresh fruit and vegetables, we couldnt fault it. We eat at the Italian restaurant, very disappointed, starter bread was stale and the pizza wasnt nice and the pasta was salty, nothing authenticity Italian, you must do better with this restaurant and it was the most expensive meal in La Fortuna. The gift shop was great with the prices no different to shops in the town. Would go back without hesitation.

Everything from the multiple pools with varying temps to the professional staff and the wonderful food make this resort something special. I absolutely recommend vacationing here! Even though it is all-inclusive, it's impossible not to want to get out and explore all of the adventures that are so close by. After a day of hiking around the rainforest and volcano, it was so nice to pick a pool and soak. At 7 and 11, even the kiddos were impressed!