I’m back with part two of my report from the lovely Costa Rica! I was out last week on a tour of Northern California with my family (which I’ll write about shortly), but with the excitement of their World Cup performance, Costa Rica was never far from my thoughts. It really is a great country, and one of the highlights is most definitely the Arenal volcano and its surrounding area. Located up in the hills a few hours north of San Jose, the little town of La Fortuna serves as your base to explore all the region has to offer, which really is a lot (apologies for the long post!). Lush jungles lead to excellent adventurous activities, and the natural thermal springs abound for multiple relaxation opportunities. Me and our group of fellow travel consultants toured four different excellent lodging options and had the opportunity to experience a few of the many adventures possible in the region.
Firstly, you have to know that resorts here are either very family-friendly, or very romance-friendly, (or sometimes both!) with tons of choices on suites, decor, mood, ect. Secondly, I would have been more than happy to stay at any of the four places we visited, so it really depends on your personal style and budget. On the less high end of the budget question, there is the very pleasant boutique Hotel Royal Corin. This is located just a few minutes outside of town, and features a lovely spa along with a large pool complex (most of which feature naturally hot water). It is probably the most traditional hotel of all of the properties we saw, while still being modern and sleek in decor. Unfortunately, we were visiting during another downpour, so the normal views from the rooms out onto the volcano were non-existent, and we didn’t get to test out the pools! Here are some shots from the hotel:
Next up is one of the more typical sprawling resorts called Arenal Kioro Suites and Spa. This property featured amazing views of the volcano from every room, the pool, the hot springs, the garden, and even the restaurant. Of course, we had a sunnier day, with nearly all of the volcano emerging from the clouds, so perhaps that changed my opinion on this place, but overall I really liked it! The rooms are all the same, with a little day-bed on one side of a half-wall and on the other side the main living area w/the view, the bed (either a king or two queens) and, somewhat oddly, a hot tub. Not a jacuzzi bathtub, an actual hot tub. So, assuming you don’t need a tub for bath-time for any kiddos (the bathroom features a giant shower, no tub), this is a really great option! The spa wasn’t anything spectacular, but there was a fun game room with pool tables and ping pong, and the hotel also does own a separate thermal springs complex that guests can visit. Again, for the budget this would be a great family option. Some of my pics:
Third up in this tour was our host for the two nights, the Tabacon Grand Spa Thermal Resort. Now, this property is incredibly lucky as it is located directly on the source of the thermal springs, so its hot springs resort is ridiculously awesome (and boasts the hottest waters available). If you can’t swing a stay at the hotel, you can (and should) get a day pass to experience this gorgeous place. Hotel guests do also have a more private area (including a bar) to avoid any over-crowding, but there are so many little pools tucked away I can’t imagine it being a problem. The spa is also spectacular, with private outdoor bungalows, free fresh fruit smoothies after your treatment, ect. I did a volcano mud wrap that was simply heavenly. Another plus? The whole thermal resort and spa is located just a 2 minute drive down the hill from the hotel, with on-demand shuttles to take guests over if they don’t feel like walking. Here are some shots of the springs:
The hotel itself has tons of different suite options, from the simply large and romantic, to the ridiculously huge and opulent 8-person apartments. The standard rooms are going through a refresh now, but even those are fine (if a bit dated at this point). Though some of the suites are certainly large enough for families, I will say that the whole resort had a decidedly more adult feel to it, in general. You don’t have the same sweeping views of the volcano as some other properties offer (though you do see it from the restaurant & small on-site pool – which we finally saw the last morning when the clouds parted), but instead you’re treated to extremely lush grounds. The restaurant also served possibly our favorite dinner of the entire trip. The breakfast buffet was tremendous, with lots of choices and fresh fruit galore. (I simply could NOT get enough of the pineapple in CR. Better even than Hawaii!) Here are a few pics from in & around the hotel grounds:
Finally, the big daddy of the area: The Springs Resort & Spa. This place is a) huge, and b) the sister resort to The Peace Lodge that we saw at the beginning of the trip, and c) the site of an apparently popular date episode of a former Bachelor Season. Like many of the resorts in the area, they also operate a whole second area called “Club Rio” which has tons of adventures available from a rock-climbing wall, horseback rides, guided nature hikes, kayaking/tubing down a river to a natural hot springs, and even a wildlife center, somewhat like the one we visited at Peace Lodge. Like Tabacon, non-guests can get a day pass to Club Rio, but even for guests many of the activities offered there require an additional fee. The good news is that the hotel itself offers two different hot-springs options – 1) a series of pools just off the back of the main hotel building, complete with swim-up bar and differing levels of heat, and 2) a series of waterfalls and pools in a more “natural” setting in the area between the hotel & Club Rio (called Los Perdidos). The best part of Los Perdidos? A totally awesome slide, which, being adults, we stupidly avoided until the end of our time enjoying the hot springs. We were almost late for dinner it was so fun! Here are the shots of the various springs here (though I didn’t even snap one of the awesome slide…):
As for the hotel itself, like Peace Lodge, the rooms feature lots of local wood finishings. Unlike Tabacon, almost every room was basically the same set-up, with the amazing view over the jungle to Arenal framed perfectly framed with a huge window over a patio or balcony. There is a great family suite with extra beds in a loft overlooking this same view, and there are lovely honeymoon suites that feature their own little plunge pool overlooking the view. The only negative I had about the rooms were that they were a bit dark, especially some of the hallways (mostly b/c everything is all about the views). There are also a few villas, that famous people like Will Smith & his family stayed in when they visited, but we didn’t get to visit them as they were occupied. There is of course a huge and beautiful spa, several restaurant options, and an activities desk to help you organize your time in the area, though staying at Springs Lodge for 2-3 nights & never leaving would probably be just fine for some people (it’s pretty isolated from everything else). We were able to have dinner in the casual restaurant, and I’m sorry to say, but the food and service left much to be desired… I’m sure the gorgeous light-filled formal restaurant is a completely different story. Here are some shots of the actual resort:
So, to sum up, Royal Corin is a nice, more basic hotel close to town, Kioro is a more family-friendly resort with great views, Tabacon has the best spa and hot springs and tons of romantic suite options, and The Springs is a combination of a family-friendly adventure resort and luxurious, yet rustic, romantic resort. Take your pick – any would be great for doing any of the wonderful adventures in the area. Speaking of, we had one morning where we could do something adventurous, and we had the choice of zip-lining or canyoning. Now, Zip-lining through the jungle canopy was really invented here in Costa Rica, and I actually still have never done it. The vast majority of our group decided to do this, and every single one (including one lady over 80, and one who was a bit overweight) LOVED it. They all had a blast, and really bonded over the fun experience. I however, decided that the prospect of rappelling down waterfalls was just too good to pass up. There were only 6 of us on this excursion, and every single one of us LOVED it as well!! So, apparently you can’t go wrong. There may be a few more zip lines than rappels (I think 6 full lines vs. 4 rappels), and I think the views are a bit more sweeping from the zip-line, but we had the challenge of dropping backwards off a 165-ft cliff, with a waterfall thundering next to us… definitely got the heart pumping a bit! Another thing to consider: the canyoning does require a fair hike back out of the canyon after your last rappel – nothing terribly difficult, but certainly not as easy on the body as zip lining. Here are some of the shots that PureTrek so kindly provided to us (normally available for purchase, unless you bring your own go-pro like fellow traveler Marcus did!):
Before I let you go, I just have to share one more thing to check out, and that’s the man-made reservoir of Lake Arenal, located just on the other side of the Volcano from La Fortuna. We used it as a bit of a short-cut for our drive over to Monteverde, but in fact you can kayak or stand-up paddleboard on it with amazing views of the volcano (on a clear day, of course). Our little cruise was a really nice pause away from the bus, and though we didn’t see any monkeys, we did see plenty of birds and just more beautiful scenery:
In other words- DO NOT MISS visiting Arenal – it’s spectacular. 🙂 Up next, the magical Monteverde Cloud Forest.