Kaneez

Hello all ... my family of five (husband/wife; 13 year old; 8 year old and 6 year old) are first time travelers to Costa Rica this April. With the help of fellow Fodorites, and some guidebooks and TripAdvisor - I am finalizing our hotels.

Although Volcanogirl (thank you!!) gave us a great recommendation for Lost Iguana (and place does look lovely), we are opting to stay closer to town and at a place that may have more on-site for kids.

Los Lagos looks great with water slides, pools, etc (although rooms do look a bit basic) - but on Trip Advisor there were some pretty bad reviews regarding service. We do not consider ourselves high maintenance, but would like to hear from other Fodor-ites about experiences with Los Lagos?

The other hotel I am considering is the Arenal Nayara (which would be my choice more for myself, than anything else . Any comments/tips on that is welcome too.

Comments totally appreciated! Thank you so much!!

john127

Since we haven't been there yet (going in July), I really can't help much, but I wanted to make you aware of a decent deal at Nayara. We have two kids as well (6 and 8) and they have two decent family packages on their website (we are doing the one for two nights). Just the fact that they offer family packages made me feel comfortable bringing kids to what otherwise looks like a more "romantic" place.

Kaneez

Thank you, John127. I did see that - curious: have you priced out the tours individually to see whether the package is really a good deal?
I called Nayara and for our dates, they only have the Nayara Suite available, for USD350 per night plus tax, is a bit over our budget. I am waitlisted there for now, or perhaps we may splurge since the hotel does look pretty amazing.
and yes, there is a fair amount of focus on the romance

john127

Well, we're doing the deluxe casita, which for two nights would be $400 plus 13% tax. The package was $595, including tax, and comes with 2, 30 minute massages, the lava tour, and a three course dinner for the family. It's around $140 more for the package, when you figure in tax, and you have to figure a dinner there will run over $100 for the four us anyway, so the whole thing seemed worth it.

The place does look nice, doesn't it?
Amazing stuff on TripAdvisor, as well.

We're staying 5 nights in the Arenal area, the first three at the Observatory Lodge and last 2 at Nayara - excited!

hopvac

We stayed at Los Lagos a few years ago and loved it! Our kids were 12 and 15. It was nice having everything on the premises because we didn't have a car. We ziplined there, rode horses, and swam. My kids had a great time. The food wasn't the best, but we weren't there to eat well. The rooms were clean and the premises were well kept. We did have to walk quite a way to get back to our room. You might want to request a room closer to the pool. We really enjoyed our stay there!

butterflybush

We stayed there several years ago when our son was 10. I would echo hopvac. The employees were all very nice, they really seemed to love kids. The only downside was the food, the included breakfast was ok to good. The tours picked up from there and a taxi to town was inexpensive.

volcanogirl

Nayara always gets rave reviews. Your kids would probably love Los Lagos though since there's all the pools and waterslides and so much to do on the property. To me, those are two totally different types of properties. Would you consider doing a split? Or you could always stay somewhere like The Springs that has the poshy service along with the water features your kids would enjoy.

hipvirgochick

We stayed at Los Lagos a couple years ago in a standard room. Yes, it was basic but clean and fine. We had no problems with service. It is quite a steep hill from the pools to the rooms, but there is a van that goes round and round to pick you up. We had a great time around the pools and swim up bar. Another GREAT choice if you want something a little more cozy and owned by a wonderful local family is Silencio del Campo. Can't say enough about this beautiful place and it has it's own hot springs too, just not as many as Los Lagos with the slides.

MonicaRichards

We loved Los Lagos went we went. No problems with service at all. The kids are begging to go back. You can read more here: http://www.markandmonica.com/Travel/...os%20Lagos.htm