Lost Iguana Resort

The Lost Iguana has a beautiful setting, nestled in the rainforest with a great view of Arenal. I was concerned about staying there without a car since it was 20 minutes from La Fortuna, but it was not a problem. Most of the tours include transportation, and the Lost Iguana is actually closer to Hanging Bridges, Volcano National Park, and Sky Tram/Sky Trek than many other hotels closer to town. One night the staff even arranged for us to be picked up from Eco Termales by the hotel van since they would be out at that time. I can't say enough about the helpfulness of the staff. Their recommendations regarding tours and itineraries proved to be excellent. It was also a nice touch to be greeted with welcoming drinks at check in, and to receive a free welcome dinner in the restaurant.

We stayed at the Lost Iguana for 5 nights in a luxury suite. We went under the ROMANCE PACKAGE which was nothing less that romantic. The view of the volcano nightlythat we watchen from our porch was fabulous. One night the moon even rose from behind the volcano which was so incredible. We zip lined. went to the hanging bridges, the float safari and the Aernal Volcano hike. The jucuzzi and the shower which was kinda outside with a screen over the top made you feel as though you were part of the rainforest even though no one could see anything with a high rock wall and all the trees. In the mornings the Hummingbirds were 2 feet from you on the porch as you sat in rocking chairs. We found the spa, the restaurant and the staff to be the best we've ever been. The price was great and the best time we've ever had. If you like adventure and yet you want romance and quiet time this is the place for you. Sincerely, the monacos margate/florida

Great place. We had booked 4 nights and then at the end decided to stay one more. With the extra day we took advantage of a couples massage at the spa - which was wonderful! The food was good. The staff was great! The room was fantastic with the outdoor lava shower and of course the view was ... WOW!

Eight of us traveled together to the Lost Iguana. What a magical experience!!! The room was enchanting, with the jungle surrounding us. The staff was amazing, especially Jose and Michael from the swim up bar and restaurant. The grounds were amazing. Would go back in a second!!!

Stayed in Lost Iguana for 2 nights at the end of April. Our room was Room 37 - on the 2nd floor. The room was very clean with tropical decor. The porch has 2 rocking chairs with an amazing view of the volcano. Also since the rooms are nestled on beautiful grounds, we would wake up early every morning and just sit and listen to the birds etc. So prety and peaceful.

Service here is great. The pool is great. The grounds are really nice. They have a golf cart that can take you up and down to the main building at any time. The food was delicious.

I highly recommend this place.

Also, we took the volcano hike through them with a tour guide named Daniel. He was excellent and we were the only 2 on the tour.

Ask for rooms 36-38 on 2nd floor. Best views.

I have only good things to say about The Lost Iguana. Spent 3 nights there. Location was perfect - nestled in the Rain Forest on the side of a mountain with PERFECT view of the volcano. We didn't see Red Lava but we did see daytime eruptions (Until it rained and rainded). Service, accomodations, restaurant, and SPA were fabulous. Get a massage at the spa - its wonderful. ONly problem here is that eventually you have to leave. - Happy Trails! - Pamela of Venice Florida

We stayed at Lost Iguana for three nights in late April and loved every moment. The various building of the hotel are perched high in the hills (we were thankful for our 4x4 when it rained) on a gorgeous property. We were welcomed from a long drive with fresh fruit shakes and gracious service which was a hallmark of our stay. We gasped when we saw the view of Arenal from our patio. The room was large and comfortable with great beds, cable TV (although we mostly watched the hummingbirds in the garden outside our window) and great large shower and even a small bar. The pool was lovely, nothing like ending a long day after hiking with a swim and guaro cocktail at the pool bar while watching the sun set over the volcano. The restaurant was very good and service excellent. We saw wonderful wildlife all around, what a treat. We did use our truck to go up and down some of the steep trails but wasn't bad at all. The front desk helped us to purchase discount tickets for a variety of attractions and had free internet and local phone calls. We would highly recommend the Lost Iguana to anyone visiting La Fortuna. It was an easy drive into town for dinner and a very quick drive to the Volcano National park and Tabacon Hot Springs and we miss seeing that view each morning now that we're back home and hope to become one of the regulars that go to Lost Iguana frequently!

Overall: My wife and went to Costa Rica for our honeymoon. Lost Iguana was our second stop in a series of 3 destinations (San Jose, Arenal, Manuel Antonio). This was our favorite. If you are looking for a romatic, scenic, comfortable, location this is the place! This resort would completely satisfy any one looking for a romatic getaway.

Pros:

- Service was great

- Restaurant was good

- Not alot of kids

- Beautiful large rooms (king bed)

- Huge almost wall-to-wall windows with bed overlooking the volcano

- Jacuzzi on the deck (had to clean it ourselves a bit, but it's outside so it wasn't a hassle)

- Golf cart picks you up at your door

- Free or minimal cost scheduled transportation to the nearby city La Fortuna

- Spa -- Amazing! They were able to arrange a private custom spa treatment for both of us. The Spa set up is in a seperate outdoor hut with a wood burning fireplace with a nearby stream right outside that sounds so wonderful!

Cons:

- Don't get your actvities planned through the hotel (i.e. canyoning, ziplines, hiking, etc). Rather go into town on the first day. We found more options and they were 50% cheaper

- The location is the furthest from La Fortuna in the line of all the resorts. The tours we signed up for picked us up but charged a $5 premium for having to drive out so far.

We rented a car and drove up from San Jose. I found the roads to be in pretty good condition, which I wasn't expecting at all. Twice we saw part of the road washed into a river gorge and the bridges are mostly one lane, but the roads were generally smooth and easy to drive.

After several hours of fun, winding roads, the volcano finally came into view. We were so excited. But then I started passing hotels that I had seen on Trip Advisor and they were all right on the road. I was so disappointed. I wanted authenticity, charm, rustic beauty. I was really sweating about Lost Iguana at that point. Then the GPS said, "Make a sharp right turn ahead." We saw a steep drive off the main road that went down into and winded through a valley to our right. The road was so steep in places, I had to shift in to 1st gear to get up the hill. The drive continued right into the heart of the rain forest and there she was, Lost Iguana Resort.

The resort was magnificent. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. Lush tropical jungle, great hiking trails through the rain forest, a chorus of birds and frogs, humming birds, a hedge maze, it was all a dream come true. The room was beautiful, air conditioned (though we preferred to leave the patio doors all open and enjoy the jungle ambiance instead). The room was full of beautiful hand carved wood furniture. We had a private deck overlooking the volcano. We even saw lava on the second night. In fact, they will call your room and wake you if lava appears late at night!

We couldn't have been happier with the resort or the room. There were towel animals left on our bed and in our bath room every day, just like on a cruise ship. We had the couples massage and it was the best massage I've ever experienced. The resort booked all our tours happily and bill them conveniently to our room.

By the way, DO NOT miss out on PureTrek's Canyoning experience. It involves repelling down waterfalls into a canyon. It sounds scary and difficult, but it turned out to be easy, safe, and SO SO MUCH FUN!!!! We were also treated to a tipico lunch with Tamarindo juice (the greatest juice on the planet!).

Do yourself a favor, stay at the Lost Iguana! You will be so glad you did. And get the romance package if you can. It's a great deal and the massage was wonderful.

Our family of 4, two daughters aged 10 & 13, absolutely loved Lost Iguana! We splurged and booked a deluxe suite with King Bed and adjoing standard room with 2 doubles. The kids wanted our suite!! It was fabulous with a natural rock shower with 2 shower heads and an outdoor jacuzzi tub on the patio facing the volcano! Comfortable beds and spacious rooms! The pools were great - the hot pool with swim up bar was 104 degrees and the "cold" pool was about 80 degrees.

Although some reviewers don't like the food here, we really enjoyed it. You just need to get to breakfast early for the best selections. Enjoyed the complimentary welcome dinner - we had the tilapia and the beef fajitas - they were wonderful.

Hanging Bridges tour with guide was well worth it - saw 2 macaws, a toucan, poison dart frog, butterflies and more. The hikes on property were also very good and the kids liked the hibiscus maze. Free internet in the lobby was also a plus. Cell service was non-existent and calls made from the hotel were difficult to place - hard to get a line out.

Highly recommend The Lost Iguana. We could have spent a whole week there!

Wow! My family of four just returned from Costa Rica. Our first stop was the Lost Iguana, and we could not be happier with our decision to stay there. We loved the Lost Iguana!!! The grounds are beautiful! You are staying in the middle of the rainforest! You will see beautiful flora and fauna! The food was outstanding! The staff was excellent!!! I cannot stress enough how much we loved it! I chose the Lost Iguana based upon the view and the views on TA. The pool was beautiful, as well. We hiked to Hanging Bridges which was beautiful. We did the Safari Float which was a little bit long and slow for my children. However, we had an excellent guide - Jaime from Sunset Tours was phenomenal! Also, we took the advice of the hotel and used Carlos Bogarin to drive us from the airport to LI and from LI to Manuel Antonio and back to the airport. Carlos was excellent!!! Can't say enough how happy we were at LI and we are already talking about when we can return. It is a slice of paradise!!! We also loved Tabacon Hot Springs - absolutely beautiful!!!

My boyfriend and I just got back this weekend- from staying 4 nights @ the LI (4/5-4/9). It was incredible.... I couldn't wait to share my review with the world! The hotel itself is literally in the middle of a rainforest! and the grounds are maintained daily!! you will never see anything on the floor, or garbage, pure cleanliness. The staff were great in answering any questions we had.. and making reservations for us! We felt like celebrities. Now the best part of it all was the room!!! We had a luxury suite on the 1st floor- garden shower and Jacuzzi on the balcony it was so nice we took showers like 3x a day to enjoy it all. LOL... the rooms have amazing views of the volcano- and albeit we didn’t see any lava flow... it was still nice to see smoke come out of it.... the smell of the flowers and forest was so peaceful and waking up to the tropical birds felt like a treat.

The food was also very good- we had breakfast there each morning and had lunch and 3 dinners- try their tilapia- it's so delicious!!!! I also ate guacamole everyday- they had one of the best I have ever tasted!

Also, the spa service is great.... you can hear the river and birds...and smell the sweet scents of the creams, I always get massages- and this is the 1st one I have ever fallen asleep on.. lol a must do after a long day of activities.

For activities, do try the zip lining it is amazing!!! my BF is afraid of heights and he loved it! We also did the canyoneering (water rappelling) it is also very great!!!! we also went to the Tabacon hot springs!! I site that must be seen!!!! it is so nice!!! I feel everyone in life needs to experience it- it's amazing how the volcano heats these pools to those degrees- word of caution may be best to go @ night the waters are to hot for the day time but the grounds are great to walk around on.

The hotel itself also has trails and a maze which we did- you can do a 2hr hike or 1hr... we had combined them both and did 3hrs. got a great workout and it was good!! u see a lot of cool trees- and lastly the hanging bridges is unique to see as well- I would recommend a tour- bc if not you can walk pass things that really have a great story or an animal you would have missed had it not been w/ a guide.

Finally, Costa Rica is a beautiful country! and the ppl are amazing as well as the service you will not be disappointed! We cannot wait to go back! Feel free to email me if you have any questions!

Pura Vida!!!!

I've got to admit we are very fussy about our rooms. So once again upon check in we didn't like the room they assigned. However, it was no problem to change ( we wanted an upper level room). The room had an amazing view of the volcano and was very spacious, but nothing luxurious, this is no 5 star hotel. But it doesn't matter because you are surrounded by the most gorgeous nature- the resort sits is on 100 hectares of it's own nature reserve with trails throughout the property that you must hike (recomend in the morning), it's better than many guided nature trips we've taken. You'll see the most amazing plants and birds, it's my new "happy place" the visual memories I have of the place, just fantastic. The restaurant is also very cute and rustic, facing the volcano and at night you can see lava flow from your room or the restaurant if the cloud cover allows, we were lucky enough on one night to see the whole beautiful thing, amazing. Breakfast at the restaurant is very good, the costa rican rice and beans thing is the best we had. We also had lunch and dinner at the hotel restaurant and both were very good. We made the mistake of not renting a car, highly recomend having a car in Arenal as distances are pretty big and otherwise you are dependent on guided tours. The hotel does not have shuttle service although they do have an employee bus that can take you to town but not anywhere else and they are a bit fussy about allowing you to use it. We wanted to do a day on our own to go to the National Park and the waterfall (highly, highly recomend this, one of the best waterfalls ever) and Tabacon Hot Springs. The hotel offered us their van-- at a price, we spent $80 to do this fairly simple itinierary, I think the driver spent a total of 40 minutes driving us around. For this price I would have wanted a car and driver at our disposal for the full day so we could see more places at our leisure. Thought this was a bit of a rip off, but it was our fault for not renting a car. Small blemish on an otherwise great experience. We also highly recomend white water rafting trip the hotel arranged through Rios Tropicales. Fantastic bunch of guys and super, super fun, the best organized trip we had in the area. The Lost Iguana is a great place to relax and commune with nature and the entire Arenal area is a gem, one of our favorite destinations ever. Would definately recomend and come back.

My husband and I stayed at the Lost Iguana three weeks ago for 3 nights and have nothing but fabulous things to say about it. We selected the Lost Iguana based on recommendations from this site, as well as others, and are so glad we followed those recommendations.

After a long and winding drive from San Jose we were thrilled to see the hotel-especially after our van service dropped some other folks off at what appeared to be rustic accomodations. The lobby is open and wonderfully displays the rain forest. The staff was super friendly. We were driven to our room-#7- and what an amazing view; we had a clear view of the volcano and all of the lush plants on the property. The buildings were spread out on the property, which is quite hilly, with hiking trails throughout. The gardens and buidlings were well maintained and each had that open airy feel. You can tell that the staff take great pride in maintaining the property.

The first evening, before our delicious complementary dinner, we went to the lobby to discuss tours and adventure options. Michelle was wonderful. Within 45 minutes she had helped us craft the perfect itinerary for our stay. As we did not have a car she was very attentive to helping us secure transportation. Michelle was able to arrange a visit to the newly public hot springs , Titiko, with dinner included for half the price of the other locations and even had the staff shuttle stop and pick us up on their way back to the hotel. We would not have had such a fun filled time if Michelle hadn't been so attentive and helpful.

The breakfast each morning, included with the cost of the room, was substantial and delicious. It was quite enough food to hold us over to lunch. All of the staff were quite friendly and attentive. There were guests of all ages there and all seemed to be having a wonderful time. We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the Lost Iguana and will return.

We just returned from a week in Costa Rica and we began our trip with 2 nights at the Lost Iguana and could not have been happier. My parents had stayed there a few years earlier and highly recommended it, and it still surpassed our expectations. The hotel's location is gorgeous, we stayed in a standard room and it had a beautiful view of the volcano, our own balcony, and great high ceilings. The bed was comfortable and the bathroom was nice. We only ate in the restaurant for one dinner but the food was delicious. The included breakfast buffet was great too, lots of fruit as well as hot food. Aside from the amazing location, the best part of the hotel was the help we received in making plans. The reception helped us to pick out hot springs to go to (I highly recommend Ecotermales for couples) and helped us to get a ride down into La Fortuna to explore and have dinner. We couldn't have been happier with our stay at Lost Iguana and would definitely recommend it!

My husband and I stayed at the Lost Iguana from March 7- March 10, 2009. We flew into San Jose and used the driver recommended by the Iguana to get from the airport to the resort. After shopping around, he was one of the better prices, and it was a private transfer. Unfortunately for us, it rained the entire time we were there so we never got to see the volcano.

While we were there, we did the Canyoning tour and the Hanging Bridges tour. We had a fantastic time with both. Carlos helped us set up our tours and offered a lot of assistance when we were making our decisions.

The food was fantastic. There was enough of a selection of both Costa Rican dishes and those with the American touch.

The property is beautiful and there are trails you can walk on. Another reviewer had mentioned it being a hike to your room and I agree with that. Our room was at the top of the hill and the restaurant and reception were at the bottom. While at times it left me a little out of breath, my husband and I thought it was a good way to burn off our meals.

My husband especially loved the heated pool at the bar area. And found a new drink that he really enjoys. The pictures of the restaurant that other reviewers have posted are accurate and seeing the wildlife hangout with you while you eat is really cool. The staff was incredibly friendly and those working at the restaurant and bar knew our room number when we went to dinner. Some of the staff even knew our names and always said hi to us. The front desk was really helpful. As I mentioned, Carlos helped us with the tours, and we got some other assistance from the girls when our transportation arrived to take us to Tamarindo. There was some confusion and a language barrier between us and the driver. The girls helped us to straighten everything out.

The only negative thing I have to say about the Resort was that our room and clothes were always damp and sometimes had a musty/mildew smell because of the rain. We also lost power a few times because of the weather. Losing power during the day wasn't a big deal, but at night, it was really dark and we were without a flashlight. However, that being said, I know it's not the Resort's fault that it rained and we finally saw the sun when we got to the Hotel Capitan Suizo.

We really enjoyed our stay at the Lost Iguana and have both said that we'd like to return.

My Husband and I stayed at The Lost Iguana the first week of February, 2009. The weather was very rainy but the resort was great! Michael the bartender at the swim up bar took good care of us rain or shine! The water in the hot pool was not very hot one night but the staff took care of it for us.

We stayed in one of the celebrity suites - jacuzzi on the balcony, outdoor grotto shower, fabulous view, nice housekeeping staff. Could not have been nicer.

Would absolutely recommend it and would stay there again.

We stayed at the Lost Iguana from Jan 28 to Jan 30. Checkin was smooth and easy. The staff very friendly. The room was set up to take full advantage of the tropical climate. We never used the air conditioning. We were on the ground floor. Which gave us an open air shower with tropical plants growing on the rock wall. When you opened the doors to the balcony and turned on the ceiling fan it gave a wonderful tropical open air feeling with a great view through the jungle to the volcano (clouds permitting).

The restaurant was excellent and resonable. It, like the lobby was open air. Their was a bird feeder right outside where they fed the birds. Many types came down including Toucans.

Breakfast consisted of tropical fruit, a Spanish dulces of some sort and whatever you ordered for the breakfast itself. It was all well done.

They were very efficient at giving advice and booking tours on the spot. The roads were very steep, but golf cart service was available and prompt.

Their spa was terrific with an oriental motif, in an open air room with fire place and sounds of the stream outside. They used hot rocks, etc and it was very relaxing.

What we most enjoyed is that it is set right in the jungle. The hotels has its own trails that were very enjoyable, although steep and muddy. We recommend that you use hiking boots and hiking poles. The nearby Arenal Hanging Bridges are also a must see through the forest. This is a much easier walk and a guide is available. I would do both.

Personally speaking, I found the Lost Iguana Resort to be the best resort I have ever found. I have traveled extensively and have really found a place where I felt totally relaxed, cared for, and pampered, while being adventurous at the same time. The entire staff was courteous, knowledgeable and just fun people. Outside the open air restaurant there is a bird feeder, where the restaurant staff puts out bananas for the birds, a Toucan came by each morning during breakfast, very exciting for the kids. I explored the trails through the rainforest, bridges across a beautiful river, and up and down hills, and saw monkeys and birds in the trees. I fell asleep in my bed while watching the lava flow. I got a wonderful message at the spa, which is located next to a river, has a fireplace, and all you can hear is the water crashing over the rocks of the river and the birds singing in the trees. I highly recommend this resort to anyone: those who want to get away to relax; go on an adventure through the beautiful rainforest, or any combination of the two.

There was lots to adventurous stuff to do away from the hotel too, within walking distance was “Hanging Bridges” 680 acres of rainforest with hanging bridges crossing from low to high. The Sky Tram was zip lines cress crossing a ravine, the lake…

I totally enjoyed this trip and will visit this resort and spa again.

My husband and I stayed here 3 nights in November and had an amazing time. We had an upstairs room with a hot tub on the balcony and the most amazing view. It's as if you are looking out on the dawn of time, where everything is so pristine- vibrant colors, humingbirds flitting by- wow! We were welcomed into our room with a card accompanying a bottle of wine and notebook for our honeymoon stay. The room itself is amazingly spacious, with unique decor. I have so many positive things to say about Lost Iguana that I'm not sure where to start, so I'll just list them.

- Great gift shop. The best of all the hotels we stayed at in Costa Rica.

-Wonderful food- we ate almost all of our meals here- yes, we did have a car, but we were so exhausted from all of the "adventure" activities we did on the previous part of our honeymoon that we just wanted to hang out and relax. And, even if we didn't have a car, we still could have eaten all of our meals here with no problem. My favorites- the specialty soup, guacamole, hearts of palm salad, ceviche

- The most beautiful spa I've ever seen. There is a large spa building near the gift shop with saunas ( & tubs in the saunas) available for all guests. Even if you don't want any services, you should just go and check out the building for it's gorgeous design. You can also order spa services which you receive in a hut overlooking the river. It was phenomenal receiving a couples massage, listening to the actual sounds of the rainforest with a fire roaring next to us.

- Great service- We had some pretty rank laundry from our rafting trip- all damp clothes that had been closed up in a plastic bag for over 4 days. They laundered it and had everything fresh, clean, and folded back in our room in just a few hours. Also, at about half the price of some other hotels' laundry service we stayed at (the good prices go for the mini bar too!). Room service also went smoothly. And, in the middle of the night, we heard some loud thuds on our roof. We called down & someone was up in 5-10 minutes (never discovered what it was).

- Great pool. Nice happy hour scene here. They have some 2 for 1 specials you can enjoy in a heated swim up pool bar. Very nice.

- On the lava flow side of Arenal. We were able to see the glowing cone of the volcano at night and a little bit of lava flow.

My only complaint at all about the Lost Iguana was that the room smelled a little musty, and sheets were a little damp due to humidity. My only suggestion would be to improve the AC to block out more humidity to the rooms. We brought a scented travel candle and that helped.

Perfect for a honeymoon. We had a car, but actually didn't use it that much. Went to the hanging bridges & saw a monkey, lots of birds, and great views. Also went to Eco Termales hot springs- I would recommend going at night- very romantic. Overall, very nice place to stay, with the best view we had in Costa Rica.

This review is very late in the coming, but the quality of my stay has stuck with me, so I wanted to contribute my thoughts. My husband and I were married here in October of 2005. The location was beautiful, the rooms spacious and well appointed (including outdoor bathtub with volcano views) and the staff was wonderful. We will be back for our 5th Anniversary!

My family and I had a fantastic time at the Lost Iguana. The property is beautiful, the staff is friendly and the views are amazing. We enjoyed the pool, the sites such as "hanging bridges' near by and the hiking trails. The food and the amenities on the property exceeded our expectations. We would definitely stay at this property again when we visit Costa Rica again!

We visited Lost Iguana Resort for 3 nights beginning December 21, 2008. We stayed on a Luxury Suite and could not have been happier with the accommodations. Our room was very spacious with a large king size bed. The bathroom was roomy as well, with a very vigorous shower which we enjoyed after a day full of activities. The staff of the hotel was very friendly and helpful. The spa was very nice and the location of the spa rooms next to the river made the experience that much better. The food at the restaurant was excellent and the service was very nice. Please note that the hotel is in a secluded location. You will need a car to move around the area or to go to dinner in town on your own. Since we had a car, this was not an issue for us – we actually enjoyed the remoteness of the hotel. In all, we enjoyed this hotel so much that we are planning to visit it again next Christmas holiday.

We stayed at the Lost Iguana the nights of the 18th, 19th and 20th of November and had a great time. The staff were all helpful and courteous, though you could tell that they were ready for the rainy season to end.

The room wasn't as nice as the Peace Lodge, but it was very cool to have the option of sitting on the balcony, relaxing in the hot tub or just laying in bed to watch the volcano (even if it was overcast most of the time we were there). We had a big yellow tarantula in the bathroom one morning and a lizard the next. Though I can see many people not being comfortable with that, neither the wife or I had any issues with it. We figured we were in the rain forest so it was pretty much expected to have some kind of critters in the room - heck, we live in the city and still have (worse) bugs in the house all the time (I'll take a tarantula over a black widow any day).

The food was above average and the restaurant service was excellent. We even had a coati visit us while eating breakfast one morning. The dinners were not expensive and the breakfast was complimentary.

We enjoyed hiking on the grounds and it was a short 15 minute hike to the Hanging Bridges. The grounds were very well maintained, with splashes of color everywhere you looked.

We booked our canyoning and zip line tours from the front desk and were picked up at the resort for both. The fees for both tours were charged to our room, making it easier to manage the finances.

On our third, and last night, the clouds gave up enough for us to watch the volcano do its thing. Though we could not directly see the lava flow, we could see flares on the right side of the volcano and at the end of the eruption the whole top of the volcano turned bright orange and then exploded, sending molten rocks into the air and down the visible side of the volcano - very much worth the wait.

All in all, though it was remote, we thought the Lost Iguana made a great base for us to experience all that the Arenal area has to offer.

We recently had an opportunity to stay at the Lost Iguana and my wife and I agree that it was an amazing experience. The seclusion of the property was perfect. The rooms were beautiful. I love how they are laid out so you can lay in bed at night and watch the lava flow down the volcano. The chef, Martin, put together some fantastic dishes that both tasted wonderful and were asthetically beautiful. We arranged a couple of excursions through the resort. The first was a hike to the volcano. The guide who the resort set us up with (I regretfully forget his name) was very knowledgable about the entire area. The second was the zip line tour we took, which was both exhilerating and terrifying! The spa at Lost Iguana was amazing too. The spa facility is beautiful, and the masseuse I had was incredible! The spa experience was top notch. The little building that the massage table is in was next to the river. The combination of the fantastic massage and the sounds of the river and rain falling all at the same time made for a perfectly relaxing experience. I highly recommend The Lost Iguana if you ever find yourself in Costa Rica!

This review is a little late but I wanted to let everyone know that this resort is the best. My husband and I stayed here in October of 2007. We still talk about it as the best vacation ever. I researched every resort in the area and decided on the Lost Iguana because of the view of the volcano. We couldn't have been more pleased. We booked a regular room but when we got there they had given it to someone else...which turned out to be a blessing because they gave us a room with a jacuzzi tub on the balcony. This was so AWESOME. Our room had 3 sets of large glass doors that faced the volcano. We got up at 5 every morning and sat in the hot tub and listened to the monkeys and watched toucans about 5 feet away. It was absolutely breathtaking. They also had a really nice pool and bar. Right up the street, walking distance, was a huge rain forest park with hanging bridges, it was great hiking. We booked a white water rafting trip through the resort and that was also a highlight of our trip. We also booked a zip line tour...this was by far the best thing we ever did in our lives. It was so fun. We had rented a car so we went into town for dinner each night (the resort food wasn't that great). It was nice to eat with the locals. Feel free to write me with any questions, I could talk about this place for hours.

Recommended by a co-worker, we found this place to be FANTASTIC. Complimentary bottle of wine, low-cost EXTRAORDINARY food and beverages. Superb service from the hotel staff. Excellent location, secluded ... I can't say enough. It had all the amenities and luxuries to make an excellent honeymoon. Private outdoor jacuzzi tub, swim-up bar with beautiful landscaping.. you name it, it was here. Any requests were over-fulfilled (in the best sense of the word.) The owner is from San Antonio, Texas, and took the greatest features of modern hotels and set them in the middle of pure nature with awesome views of Arenal volcano.

No trip to Costa Rica would be complete without a visit to Arenal, and this hotel puts the entire experience over the top!

I must add that the hotel recommended a private driver for our week, Carlos Bogarin, and he made our trip 1000 % better. No matter where you are travelling, I'd recommend a call to the resort and a request for Carlos. His knowledge of the entire country brings you to places that you'd NEVER find on your own.

We stayed in Arenal in September, 2008. This was the rainy season and I was hesitant about going there because of the rain. It did rain nearly every day but the experience was still great. Usually the rain only lasted for a breif stint. Overall we had more good weather then bad. The volcano is amazing. I can't imagine any hotel that has a better setup for viewing the volcano then does the Lost Iguana Resort. Every night we watched the laval flow from our bed. What a fantastic experience. Costa Rica was our fifth country on this vacation trip. And we are still travelling now as I write this in October. We really miss the volcano. It was such a treat to be able to watch it from our room. I highly highly recommend this resort to anyone considering accomodations for Arenal.

Warm regards,

Jeremiah Thompson

We stayed at the Lost Iguana for part of our honeymoon in Costa Rica for four amazing nights.

This hotel was my favorite by far (although DH preferred Issimo Suites in Manuel Anotnio). The rooms are large and comfortable, with to-die-for views of the volcano and lava at night. The hotel is hilly, but really – we were there to hike, so it wasn’t a big deal. The hotel was also empty, so we were the only people at the bar at night which kind of was too bad. We didn’t want a rowdy crowd, but one or two people to talk to is always nice. And it is VERY far from any other hotel and from town, so we couldn’t go out at night, really. The restaurant wasn’t great. It was overpriced, for one, and the food wasn’t very good. There are much better places in town (I recommend the Lava Lounge for lunch – REALLY good prices ($3 sangrias!) and good food). There is SO MUCH to do in Arenal – we did a zip line/canopy tour, an ATV tour, we went to Tabacon Hot Springs, we did a Volcano hike, we hiked the Hanging Bridges, and a sunset boat ride on Arenal lake – and we were only there for 3 days! I would have stayed MUCH longer if we had the time.

OMG this was THE most beautiful place to stay! We had a king sized suite with a jacuzzi tub outside overlooking Arenal Volcano. The garden shower was OUTSIDE but surrounded by gorgeous plants and river rock for privacy. We got to see the Arenal's peak throughout the day, but we could only afford to stay one night and because it was a cloudy night, unfortunately we did not get to see the red lava flowing down at night. Try to stay longer because it'll be worth that lava experience.

We had the most perfect view of the volcano, the staff was very nice and accomodating. You can walk or get a golf cart ride to the Arenal Hanging Bridges or you can sit out on your private desk with a rum and coke and ponder life while listening to the birds and animals (monkeys) of the forest. They offer free internet at the front desk and the food in their restaurant is excellent, but expensive. They let us store our bags after we had checked out and did a lot of tours with Desafio, which picked us up from our hotel and made everything easy.

I can't wait to go back!

Our family of 4 recently stayed at the Lost Iguana, two adults, a four yr old, and a 15 yr old. It was beautiful. The rooms were the largest and most comfortable rooms we had ever stayed in on vacation. We were given the celebrity suite with 2 bedrooms a living room, a huge balcony with jacuzzi and a lava rock shower. The whole place was so nicely decorated and gave our family plenty of space.

Probably the most incredible part of our stay was the direct views we had from every room of our suite of the Arenal volcano. We would sit up in the middle of the night and look over through the french doors to the volcano and see the lava flowing!!!

this hotel is a unique experience with the owner bringing some beautiful touches from exotic countries. The spa had interesting doorways and doors from Indonesia. It was obvious that the owner very carefully selected the decor all around the hotel and her most recent addition was this beautiful spa. The attendants were more than gracious to me and my daughter and did and excellent job giving my daughter a facial.

I would highly recommend this hotel over any of the hotels in this area if you plan to stay in Arenal. It is a gem and definitely away from the crowds you will find at some of the larger hotels like Tabacon or Kioro.

We were at the Lost Iguana Resort August 1st through 3rd and hated to leave. We found our room clean, private and with a wonderful view of the Volcano. We had absolutely NO problem with insects, or other critters making their way into our room. We sat out on our patio every evening with the doors wide open AND (here is the important part) with the lights OFF. Of course you are going to attract bugs with the lights on. In fact we only applied bug spray one time during our entire 11 day stay in Costa Rica.

We really enjoyed the hiking trails on the resort property, and especially enjoyed the nightly pool side happy hour where we met alot of really nice families. We had no problem with pool temperature and the hotel literature states that they dont turn the heater on until after noon or one p.m. We found the food good and the service great!! We booked one tour through the hotel and had no problem what so ever.

One reviewer stated that it competed with the Tabacon Resort.....all I can say is that every time we drove by the Tabacon we were grateful that we didnt book there as it was a crowded mess. (Once you've seen one hot spring pool, you've pretty much seen them all)

We loved the setting and the fact that it WAS a little bit outside of town....away from the crowds. We had a rental car and had no problem getting back and fourth from town and all attractions.

Outside the town of La Fortuna, this is the place to stay when going to see Arenal. Our view of the Volcano (Room 37) was excellent and you could see some lava at night. The Hanging Bridge tour is right up the road and they will take you up in a golf cart. It is a good little hike with excellent views of the area and some wildlife.

The staff was great. We needed batteries late at night and they went across the road to the closed gift shop, opened it up just to get us some batteries. They were also helpful in booking a repelling trip with Pure Trek, also highly recommended.

We just returned from a 3-night stay at the Lost Iguana and loved every minute of it. We had the LI arrange for a driver to pick us up at the airport because we really wanted to relax and enjoy the ride; our driver Carlos was wonderful and very thoughtful - he even brought pillows and blankets for us so we could take a nap since we were arriving so late. I'd highly recommend using him if you don't want to make the drive yourself, although we found the roads to be in very good condition.

This was our second stay at the LI, and it was just as great as the first. We had the upgraded room with the jacuzzi tub on the balcony and a wonderful view of the volcano. The room was spacious with a seating area, flat-screen t.v., air conditioning, very comfortable bed, and a small refrigerator for keeping drinks cold. Our favorite things were the two rocking chairs on the balcony so we could enjoy the view, and the jacuzzi tub which seemed like a real luxury in the jungle. The LI is set on 120 acres and slightly removed from the town of La Fortuna, which means it's a quiet property. We loved hiking the grounds and saw lots of toucans, an olingo, and an agouti right near our room. There's also gorgeous landscaping with beautiful flowers and tropical plants, and a river that runs through the property; hummingbirds abound. The location is very convenient for the Hanging Bridges, which is located right next door.

La Fortuna/Arenal offers lots of activities to do including the Hanging Bridges, volcano hike, a waterfall, the amazing Cano Negro tour, ziplines, and natural hot springs like Tabacon and Eco Termales. We could have easily stayed another night. We came in green season and did get some rain, but not enough to prevent us from doing any of our activities. The only thing we didn't love about this property is the restaurant - breakfasts are included and are pretty good, but for lunch or dinner, I'd go elsewhere like El Novillo or La Choza de Laurel; the resort offers a free shuttle that goes into town during certain hours of the day, and taxis are easy to get.

LI pays attention to the details and provides nice robes, hair dryers, shampoo, and other little ammenities, and they've recently added a spa and nice gift shop. We came away from this vacation loving it just as much as the first time. This is a property we will definitely return to in the future.

Maritza in Reservations did a great job with our reservation. Front desk staff was really nice and made great suggestions. The staff uniforms were REALLY nice.

The only experience that I was not excited about was the restaurant. The staff needs improvement. Service was VERY slow.

Our overall experience was soooooo great I couldn't take points off for the restaurant.

Great location as I could see the Arenal Volcano erupt as I lay in my bed one evening. Enjoyed the outdoor pool tucked in the lush rainforest. Comfortable rooms but not fancy.

We stayed at Lost Iguana Resort on April 3,4,5th. The hotel is set on a hillside and is beautifully landscaped to blend into the surrounding jungle. There are paths you can follow to hike through the jungle if you wish.

Our rooms offered a perfect view of the volcano and though we didn't get to see any lava flow, we were able to see smoke billowing out from the top several times during our stay.

We ate breakfast (included in the rate), one lunch and two dinners there and the food and service were very good. All the service people were very friendly and helpful.

Our only complaint was the lack of maintenance. The air conditioner in our room stopped working on the first day - only the fan was working. I called to let the front desk know and they said they would send someone up to fix it. We never saw that maintenance person but were told the air conditioner was in fact working we just had the doors and windows open. This was not the case and we called and told the front desk again, but nothing was done. Even the maid admitted the air conditioning was not working! Finally on our last day and night and after at least three phone calls and one in person visit to the front desk - the air conditioner was fixed.

The Lost Iguana feels as though it was carefully placed around the natural hills and vegetation surrounding the volcano. It is a collection of small villa-like buildings built in the hills. By the way, we welcomed the walk, especially after a meal! If one could not make the walk , there is a golf cart shuttle available. We stayed in a standard room -#33, which was on the ground level. At first, we considered asking to change to an upper level room, but we really loved having the beautiful plants right outside our door. Every morning we would have our coffee watching the hummingbirds up close. Our view of the volcano was unobstructed and it felt like we could reach out and touch it!

A previous review mentioned a musty smell, and I must agree. I brought a travel candle and this helped. It is not a dirty smell, but a little like a damp cellar. No doubt due to the rainy season [we had virtually no rain our entire stay in Costa Rica 3/22-3/30]

Food-had a complimentary dinner {a "special" they were having?] the first night. A very fresh C.R. traditional meal. We both had tilapia with tortilla, rice and beans, plantains, and fresh fruit. Breakfast, included with room, very good, as well.

Hanging Bridges very close-by. Took the golf cart there, walked back.

Don't miss the hiking trails around the property. Caution to those with problem with stairs, up-hill-there is a lot of this! Very cool walk. No one else around!!

We did see some spurting of lava on a clear night. The volcano itself is still an awesome sight!

Loved the Lost Iguana!

Our family of four (girls 9 and 12) stayed here for three nights and were pleased with our stay overall. The pluses: incredible views of the volcano from our balcony, attentive service at the front desk (they helped our daughter track down a lost camera after an excursion), and a very comfortable two-bedroom bungalow. The minuses: inconsistent service in the restaurant (and the food was just OK), long hikes up the steep hill to our bungalow (worked off a few calories but not for the unfit), and not even a glimpse of lava at night.

I know that Arenal regulars will tell me that seeing the lava at night is a very iffy proposition, given the frequent cloud cover in the area, but I believe that this hotel previously had a much better view of lava at night than it now does. (This was confirmed for me by one of the staff, who shall remain anonymous.) Despite what you see on the "lava flow map" listed at www.arenal.net, NOT ALL HOTELS CAN SEE THE LAVA EQUALLY! I understand that the lava flow has shifted farther south than it used to be and that Arenal Observatory Lodge is really the place to see it now. (In addition to facing the southern side of Arenal, it's a lot closer to the lava, too. This is definitely an active volcano, so let the buyer beware ;)

To sum up, Lost Iguana was perfectly nice -- a truly beautiful setting -- but I wish we had booked at the AOL since our primary reason for going to La Fortuna was for Arenal. If it's your primary reason, don't make the same mistake we did.

We recently returned from a trip to Costa Rica which included a 3 night stay at Lost Iguana. We had been debating between L.I. and Arenal Observatory Lodge, and we are very happy we chose Lost Iguana. (Read on to find out why.)

A few pleasant surprises: The volcano view was spectacular, and seemed even closer to us in person than it looks in the online photos of Lost Iguana. Most of the photos were probably taken with a relatively wide angle lens, to get the beautiful jungle below the resort in the photo (as I did, in the photo of the volcano from our room, attached—it actually looked much closer than the photo, in person). Also, upon our arrival, I was really surprised at how lush and beautiful the grounds were. For some reason in my mind I had pictured something more like a couple of hotel buildings perched on a hill…. but this place really had the feel of a nice, tropical resort.

We rented a car just while in Fortuna, and the paved road into town was a very easy and scenic 15 minute drive, unlike the awful, 30+ minute bone jarring road out to AOL (which we drove partway one day, to get to the National Park). I would have hated to drive that road once or twice every day if we had stayed at AOL. Although AOL is situated in closer proximity to the volcano, with a more front and center (as opposed to side) view of the current lava flow, in my opinion it might have been even too close for a pretty picture of the volcano, in context with the surrounding countryside—unlike Lost Iguana. (I suppose there are others who will disagree with me on that… but it’s just my opinion.)

Every day we were there, the volcano cleared off almost completely, by mid-morning, so we were treated to beautiful views during the day. We did a hike within the National Park (which you can do easily without a guide, by the way) and hiked over an old lava field to a spot where we could see and hear the lava rocks tumbling down the side of the volcano. It was one of the highlights of our trip. At night, unfortunately, the volcano clouded over so we never saw any red, glowing lava…. but we felt fortunate just to see how spectacular it is during the daytime. By the way, for what it’s worth, we couldn’t help but wonder whether the guests over at AOL were seeing lava that we weren’t, at night…. but we learned from a tico who does lava “tours” that NO ONE would see any lava, from any vantage point, unless the volcano is just about completely clear. So that info further reaffirmed our decision to stay at Lost Iguana.

More about Lost Iguana:

Rooms:

Pretty nice, very clean—but the view makes it. We stayed in room 38, which was a 2nd floor room in one of the buildings up the hill. I scoped out all the rooms (walking around)and 36-38, in my opinion, are the best for clear, completely unobstructed views. 39 and 40 seemed to have a few palm trees that might have gotten in the way of photos. I would strongly recommend asking for a 2nd floor room (if you don’t mind the steps), as the jungle foliage doesn’t interfere with the views. Our building was up a very steep hill, but totally worth it for the view, in my opinion. Plus, they do have golf carts and will give you a ride up to your room if you don’t want to walk up from the restaurant, main desk, etc. Only “complaint” about the rooms is that the walls are paper thin, so plan on being able to hear even casual conversations going on next door to you (and vice versa).

Service:

Front desk staff and housekeepers were outstanding. Very service-oriented and friendly. The restaurant staff, unfortunately, did not meet the same standards. Although pleasant enough, they were not very good at refilling water, getting more plates for the buffet in the morning, etc. They stood around a lot and a few times we had to go to them to ask for things that they should have seen that the guests needed (utensils, etc.).

Food:

We ate breakfasts, one lunch, and 2 dinners there. We found breakfast and lunch to be pretty good overall… but as other reviewers have posted, dinner was overpriced (by C.R. standards) and mediocre at best. If you don’t have transportation into town (or are just simply worn out from all the day’s activities) it’s not a bad place to eat….but if you have a car I would recommend driving into town to find someplace else for dinner (highly recommend Pizzaria Vagabondo, on edge of town from L.I., on the right—not Tico food, but great pizza!!)

Trails:

Aside from the Hanging Bridges attraction which is up the (long, steep) hill from Lost Iguana (and really cool, even despite the large crowds—but ask for a golf cart ride up there!), Lost Iguana also has a couple of very nice trails on the property, through primary rainforest. We did one of them on our last morning, and spotted about 4-5 howler monkeys (photo attached, taken with a very long lens)…. these trails are deserted, since most people who stay at Lost Iguana are busy doing tours, etc. I highly recommend them. We also enjoyed just wandering around the resort with a flashlight at night, looking for frogs and toads (photo attached). Speaking of activities, highly recommend the Fortuna Waterfall hike. Steep but well worth it for a glimpse of an impossibly beautiful waterfall (photos attached).

We will definitely be back to Costa Rica very soon! If we find ourselves in the Fortuna area again, we would definitely stay at Lost Iguana again.

I spent my birthday at the hotel. Upon check-in things appeared great. Upon arrival at the room it was fantastic. The view was just perfect, unfortunately due to lots of clouds I was not able to see the lava but the view was set for it. I made dinner reservations and a trip for the next morning at 8. Upon arrival at dinner, we ordered drinks 34 minutes until they arrived. We ordered dinner while waiting on drinks it was 50 minutes before the appetizer showed up. After finishing entrees we asked for the check 4 times before just walking out as they charge the room anyway. Service at the pool and restaurant was below par. The next morning at the reception lodge to take the trip to find out it was reserved for 2 people when I made a reservation for 4 as it showed on the slips they had but when they called for confirmation they said no. We could split up and go 1 every hour or wait till 4:00 when we had another trip. They didn't even apologize. Now service was not acceptable but the hotel was very clean, the grounds well maintained, and the room was spectacular.h

The Lost Iguana is very secluded and private with stunning views of the volcano. We had a luxury suite (room 6) which featured a huge bedroom, a bar area, a large covered porch with a hot tub, and a tremendous bathroom. The bed was extremely comfortable; pillows not so much. It was quite cool, so we wore shorts and sweatshirts most of the time and didn’t really need the AC much. It was pretty cloudy and drizzly off and on for all three days. The last night, the cloud cover at the top of the volcano broke just enough to see a couple of lava trails. You could hear the volcano rumble throughout the day. If the lava hasn’t appeared before 11:00 pm each evening, the hotel will ring your room if the lava does appear during the night. The breakfasts were included and were very good. DH adored the pinto gallo (rice and beans), which was served with all tipico meals. The dinners were all right, but best when we stuck to pasta dishes. Two-for-one happy hours are from 3:00-5:00 pm and you can swim up the bar in a heated pool. The staff was fabulous and taught us Spanish (such as, whole wheat bread is “pan integral” and how to say “tuanis” in addition to “pura vida” as local expressions). There are trails everywhere and we tried the so-called easy one, the 20-minute Mapache Trail (“mapache” means raccoon) to the Hanging Bridges. It’s not long, but it’s surprisingly steep, so we were panting when we got to the top. The Hanging Bridges cost $22 per person and we hadn’t thought ahead to bring any money with us, so we decided if we had to hike back to the room, the money would be better spent at happy hour. The Lost Iguana is very nice and we recommend it highly. Our only complaint was that with all the moisture the room had a sort of musty smell so I was glad I brought a tiny bottle of Febreze with me.

This hotel provides luxury accomodations with a great wilderness feel! The best part about this location and hotel is that it truely perserves the natural beauty of the rainforest and nature! You lay down in your bed at night and hear the animals outside while gazing through the beautiful oversized glass windows and french doors overlooking the volcano and rainforest!

Close to many attractions; hanging bridges, La Fortuna, Tabacon & other hot springs, volcano ect.

The accomodations include a breakfast which is very laid back and just enough to get you started, at night the food is EXCELLENT with a very romantic atmosphere.

If you are traveling in the "rainy season" expect it to POUR! It's still a great experience, after all you are in the RAINFOREST!!

We'd go back!

The hotel is beautiful. The room is wonderful. And the view of the volcano is perfect. The service is seriously lacking. We had ants crawling all over our room upon check in. After waiting a few hours for teh staff to show up we eventually had all the rainforest size insects killed ourselves. There is a wonderful jacuzzi on the balcony to use....if you like a good, ice cold bath that is. We called numerous times to complain about not having hot water in our room. They told us that we were liars and that we had water. Hello? Come see for yourselves. Eventually (and we're talking hours upon hours) they did and decided they we in fact did not have hot water. In took another few hours to get the problem fixed. We lost about a half to full day in Costa Rica dealing with the awful service.

This is an excellent hotel.

We stayed in the luxury jacuzzi suite for one night of our honeymoon for a little taste of luxury. The room was probably the best decorated of all the ones we visited in Costa Rica, and had a splendid view of the volcano on a private porch with a nice little gardens out front.

We didn't have too much interaction with the staff, and didn't have enough time to enjoy the pool or much else. We did traverse the trails, didn't see much in the way of wildlife, but we probably should have gone earlier in the morning or with a guide to the hanging bridges or something.

Their souvenir shop actually has pretty good prices on some interesting items.

One small thing I didn't appreciate was that you had to buy water if you wanted it in the restaurant, so we had to buy a $4 bottle of water for the two of us. The meals were good, but not the cheapest. Perhaps worth the trouble of getting out of there.

Our family of 5 stayed 3 nights last week at the Lost Iguana, and had a great time. The property is as lovely as all the reviews claim -- secluded luxury jungle setting. Yes, it is a bit out of the way compared to most other Arenal area hotels, but this is a plus as far as I'm concerned, especially if you have your own car.

I was a bit wary of reserving the Celebrity Suites after some past bad press, but my worries were unfounded -- they turned out great. We had 2 nights in a Celebrity Suite A, and 1 night in Celebrity Suite B (this was all that was available). Each accomodation offered advantages & disadvantages. The Celebrity building is very private -- the furthest from the reception / pool / restaurant area (so be ready to walk uphill), and has only 4 rooms -- 2 "A" suites and 2 "B" suites. Suite A (Room 44) was smaller & cheaper, and was set up with the king bed in the huge main area. The other sleeping room has separate door, with a queen bed and a 2-twin bunk bed, perfect for kids. I liked being on the 2nd floor -- slightly better view. Suite B (Room 41, first floor) is set up like a regular 2 bedroom apartment, with full kitchen + living room in the middle, and one bedroom + bath on either side. Both suites have the natural rock shower for the main bedroom, and outdoor jacuzzi which I took advantage of. The shower in Suite B is a 2-person shower (awesome!).

Also contrary to many reviews, we were very happy with the restaurant, and had dinner there 2 nights. All our dishes were delicious, but I would particularly recommend the Puesta del Sol (Tilapia with crab cream sauce) and the Cream of Pejivaye (palm fruit that tastes half like pumpkin, half like yucca). The prices were somewhat high but not outrageous. Breakfast (included) was really good too, with lots of fresh fruit, juices, eggs. You could have pancakes & french toast cooked to order. Service was fantastic and we got to know the friendly wait staff very well (but we speak fluent Spanish).

There were some definite negatives in our experience however -- namely we were very disappointed in the heated temperature of the pool. We arrived late in the day and were all looking forward to a nice hot soak , but the temperature was lukewarm at best. The bartender claimed the temperature was 100 degress, but when I challenged him he agreed it was not, and apologized that the heater doesn't work very well after heavy rains. He said it would be fixed by morning but I dipped my toe in several times over the next days and the temperature was always barely warm. I find it unacceptable that a hotel of this caliber would not have a well-heated pool. Ah well, I guess that encourages a visit to one of the local hot springs, which we missed out on. Another minor gripe is that the satellite TV was out for much of our stay.

There seemed to be good hiking trails on site which I was itching to do in the mornings before the rest of my crew awoke, but I chickened out of going solo for fear of snakes; it was probably too rainy and muddy to fully enjoy anyway.

Even though our stay was great, I'm not sure I would stay here again, mainly because the area has so much to offer that I'd like to explore other hotels in the future that would be less expensive.

We stayed here for one night based on reviews from Trip Advisor. It was okay... but definitely not worth the price! The included breakfast was in particular quite terrible. After staying at the Lost Iguana, we moved on to the Arenal Observatory lodge -- much more beautiful grounds, far better maintained trails (the ones here are pretty bad), much better food, and less than half the price.

We also experienced some dismal service. We had booked a trip to the Eco Thermales (which were wonderful) and had arranged for the Lost Iguana to pick us up in a taxi on the way home. We waited for over half an hour and no taxi ever came... Also, when leaving the Lost Iguana, the front desk ordered us a taxi, which tried to charge us twice the standard taxi rate for the area (and was obviously in cahoots with the front desk staff). There were some problems with tour booking as well. Overall, we left with that kind of funny feeling you get when something shady seems to be going on.

We found a couple of other places on Trip Advisor for our Costa Rica trip which we loved -- Arco Iris in Monteverde was a great value, and the Sueno del Mar in Tamarindo lived up to expectations and was completely worth the cost.

In the Arenal area, I'd definitely try to get into the AOL and only stay in the Lost Iguana if you have to. It was the one disappointing part of a great trip (apart from all the rain!)

On the plus side, the beds are very comfortable.

We had come from Manuel Antonio, so about 5hrs in a bus. We'd already been a week in Costa Rica and enjoyed how friendly everyone had been so far and some great food too. The staff on reception ignored us to start with, then had our booking wrong, not much of an apology and i was made to feel it was my fault when my email clearly showed it wasn't. We just put it down to them being busy and it was towards the end of the day.

Our room was good, the best bit being the view, which was fantastic, however we didn't think it had been cleaned recently as it did smell musty this was better the 2nd night when it had been cleaned.

Food - this was truly terrible in the evening, cold, under cooked and just disgusting! Worst it was expensive, best bit was the wine which we drank and went to bed, hoping breakfast would be good. Considering the cost per night, breakfast was awful. Cold eggs, hardly any choice, juice was always empty - not great!

NOTE- If you don't have a car I WOULDN'T recommend staying at this hotel, all other hotels we stayed at provided a free shuttle to the town, or indeed anywhere you asked to go in reason. the lost iguana doesn't help you, apparently there was a staff shuttle, which we were told was always full, and had to ask several times to get the times, and even then they were reluctant to tell us. A taxi into town is $20 each way!!!

Don't bother with the volcano hike either it was $45 each, for a rafting guy to walk us along a path and point at a volcano - waste of money!

We booked a bike trip with Bike Arenal - EXCELLENT - this was booked before we arrived through Anywhere Costa Rica - who were also excellent.

We stayed another week in Costa Rica and this was the worst hotel for service, value and food out of all our hotels, it was also one of the more expensive ones, so you'd expect more.

We turned up at the start of season and stayed in one of the celebrity villas, for 4 nights. I would have been happy to leave after one!

The villa obviously had not been slept in for some time (or cleaned). I appreciate that it's a jungle out there, but I didn't really appreciate the nest of roaches under the fridge. It took a number of calls to reception to get anyone to sort it out. Then the whole place stank of Raid, inspite of the noisy 'air purifier'.

We had arranged a gift of champage, cheese and flowers for our arrival (40th Birthday for our friend), but that wasn't there, and it took over 2 hours to arrange it. It was then pretty poor when it arrived.

The reception arranged a thorough clean for the next day, but the bird excement remained on the wardrobe throughout our stay.

They have two pools - one set to really chilly and one to hot bath temperature. Our toddler didn't like either, but there is a really great spa complex a few miles towards the town.

On the plus side, it does have great views of Arenal.

All in all, nice area, find a better hotel!

We booked this hotel, thinking it was a competing, luxury resort to Tabacon. Boy were we wrong. Here's our take on location, cleanliness, service, food and amenities.

Location (3 star). The property has an excellent view of the volcano...but if the weather is uncooperative, then the rating drops to a 1 star. It is set far out of the town of La Fortuna, where the tours embark as well as where the restaurants and hot springs are. If you don't have a car, it will cost you $20 each way to get to/from town and add 20 minutes each way. The hotel does not offer any shuttle service. However, if you go to the hanging bridges, they offer you a golf cart to take you up the road.

Cleanliness (2 star)

The property is located in a very lush setting, and with this we expected some insects and animals.

Your room and patio door open to the outside. We were completely surprised, that there were no screens on the doors as there is about a 1/2" space at the bottom and around the doors. Crickets, mosquitos, beatles, geckos, flies, etc. were regulars in our room every day and night. It was hard to determine if the room was cleaned well due to the insects. A call to the front desk for extermination was met with a can of raid which did nothing except stink up the room.

Service (2 stars)

The front desk employees were slow, unorganized and simply not on their game. Endless time was spent trying to coordinate excursions and get transportation into town. Two of the trips that were booked, the guides never showed up for. When asked about alternatives, we were met with blank stares.

The restaurant staff also needed lessons in customer service. The restaurant was at about 35% occupancy during our stay. Although the waiters were friendly, we always seemed to be looking for a waiter, rather than being approached by one. Service was reactive, not proactive.

Lastly, the maintenance staff was slow to respond. This could have been the communication between the front desk, but it took at least 20 minutes or so to have someone arrive with bug spray, or to fix several of the maintenance problems in the room.

Even upon checkout, no one asked how our stay was. The service was just not good. In talking with two other families on our tours, they expressed similar thoughts saying this was the first place in Costa Rica that they were dissapointed.

Food: (3 stars)

Breakfast is served buffet style. Juices are excellent. Food was average...on a positive note, they changed the menu every day to keep it interesting.

Dinners were good. We'd recommend any of the tilapia dishes and the caprese salad was delicious.

Amenities: (2 stars)

The room were sparce - a bed, night stand with lamp, a few chairs, and a type of bookshelf with cheap, child-like decorations. Bedspreads/sheets/towels were damp and in need of upgrading. Definately not luxury. Minimalistic works well in a rain forest, it just doesn't need to be dirty.

In summary, our stay came down to managing expectations. If we thought we were going camping, then this would have been terrific. However, with the mind set that this was going to be higher end, save your money and stay at any of the other 2-3 star rated hotels.