Hotel Arenal Springs Resort & Spa

The grounds were well kept and our room was nice, if a little cozier than we expected. We went during rainy season, and there was plenty of room in the pools and hot springs. It was excellent to have the hot springs for resort guests only. We saw how busy other hotels got with their public hot springs - roads packed with day pass visitors - so we really valued having guest-only access. The staff was quite friendly and we had no problems communicating in English, and they had no problem with my wife breaking out rusty high-school Spanish. The breakfast buffet was impressive, a combination of local dishes, fruit, freshly cooked tortilla, eggs and other items, pastries, and excellent coffee. The view of the volcano from our room was fantastic. We only stayed at Arenal Springs for three days of our 14-day Costa Rica trip, but I would have gladly stayed longer.

We were on a package tour from the UK, staying at Margaritaville in Playa Flamingo but we wanted to see more of the country so rented a car for 5 days to do our own tour and it was spectacular. We arrived to the warmest welcome by the friendliest staff we'd encountered who offered us a delicious cocktail on the house. We were given tons of information about the resort and then taken by golf cart to our room. The room was lovely with a large double bed and a glorious view of the volcano. The pool areas were lovely and there were iguanas walking around the pool. We had a great stay, the only thing that let this hotel down was the food. We ate at the restaurant by the pool twice and on both occasions it was mediocre and very expensive for what we had. The main restaurant looked nice but again, compared to other restaurants and our previous hotel (Los Lagos) it was far more expensive. Breakfast was the exception and was absolutely superb, everything you could possibly want. We used this as a base to explore the area - the main activities we did was the Bogarin Trail (saw several sloths on an easy trail - take a guide as we wouldnt have seen any without one), Hanging Bridges, Extreme Ziplining, a swim in the river and an animal sanctuary We had stayed 2 nights previously in Los Lagos (they didn't have any rooms for our last 2 nights) and we preferred it there. That said we enjoyed our time here, the service and room quality were better. The staff was phenomenal. I wouldn't discount staying again, it just wouldn't be my first choice.

The pros: Gym - good setup and well resourced. Morning yoga sessions - pre-brekkie 6.30-7.30am, just the ticket. Breakfast - despite being overrun with American children poking their fingers into things the food was really good. Coffee shop - great opportunity to sample local coffees with a number of different brewing options. Room was decent enough, although the shaving mirror is clearly designed for a giant (see pic), and the adjoining doors were a nightmare (see below). Thermal pool, although the 'adults only' one had a few too many teenagers in. The cons: Constant tipping demands, from the moment we checked in. This is not the Costa Rica way, it felt like we were in America. Example: at breakfast, even after we had given room number and were shown to our seats someone still came over with a check to sign, which seemed to only have one purpose. You mean you want a tip for pouring my water at a self-serice buffet? Get real. Soulless - too much concrete and yellow paint, didn't feel like we were in Costa Rica. Restaurant - as vegans, we had to eat in the Italian restaurant as there was nothing in the other one (where the breakfasts are). When we asked about this we were told that it was no problem, they could accommodate. But - this amounted to 2x tiny pizzas and some accompanying veg, the most expensive meal I've ever had. The menu is ridiculously overpriced. Service was terrible - our server interrupted us literally every 2 minutes to ask if everything was OK. Yep - it would be much better if you left us to it. By the time our main courses arrived we were the only people left in the restaurant. An 8pm booking - seemed normal enough to us, but they started clearing up around us, sweeping floors and putting chairs up on the other tables. Between this and the constant questioning it was far from a pleasant experience. We went into town and had great curries the following night. Adjoining doors - the first night we stayed there I woke at 3am to hear a loud monotone coming from the room next door. What on earth? I wondered if someone had fallen asleep with the tv on, so knocked on the adjoining door and it went off. Whoever this was checked out the next day and were replaced by a very loud American family - we could hear every word they said. Why is this a thing? I can see it for when a large family group are staying but surely this should be the exception rather than the rule. Overall - I wish there was a 2.5 star option but it was closer to 3* than 2*.

I hope to return here. Me and my family loved it! From the welcome drinks upon check in to the fabulous breakfast buffet that is included to the wonderful hot springs. Arenal Springs is first class. We also did the yoga at 6:30am (easy to get up bc it gets light in the 5 o'clock hour) and we loved that too. The instructor (Giselda?) was fabulous. I could stay a week here to do all of the excursions. We spent 4 nights and were never bored. I also want to commend the hostess that always smiles at the breakfast buffet (she had braces on, I forgot her name) and one of the bartenders at the hot springs with a German sounding name that starts with an F. We chatted for an hour while watching a futbol game and he was so very friendly is a professional way. All I drank was water, hahaha! I just loved it here. It's an automatic 5 stars! Price is right too.

English was spoken by all and everyone was eager to please. The prices of of food and drinks were higher than we pay in the US, but this was the only thing we noticed that was not super positive. We got over it real quick as we ‘were on vacation’ and it was so nice there. The bartenders by the pool were my favorite. The hot spring pools could not be beat. We went to Tabacon for a day to get a massage and hang in their pools for a day. They were cool and unique, but I liked the relaxing vibe out our hotel better (it did feel less in the jungle and more ‘resort-ty’ - but I loved it. Worth the money. It was a $20 usd ride each way to town and Tabacon - but I think you just have to know that’s what they charge and get over it. Here in Costa Rica about 2 weeks and wish we stayed one more day here (stayed 4 and could have done 5).

Our family of four (mom, dad, 9 year old, 11 year old) loved our stay here. The accommodations were nice, clean, and felt somewhat private with the small patios. The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful. We all loved the hot springs with the swim up bar. It rained a lot while we were there and we barely noticed because much of the pool area is covered and the water is so warm that a little rain doesn't matter. We saw a few iguanas and basilisk lizards hanging out around the pool. The breakfast buffet was vast and very yummy. We also enjoyed the sushi. Our other meals were so-so. We very much enjoyed the coffee and chocolate tour and the hanging bridge/waterfall tour. Our waterfall portion was rained out but they were able to reschedule for the next day. All of our drivers and guides were friendly and fun and spoke English well.