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.

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*.

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).