Arenal Lodge
 

I am about to book 2 nights at the Arenal Lodge (junior suite) for Mid January. Had tried to get Tabacon, but they don't have any rooms left.

Can anyone tell me whether there has been good views of the Volcano and lava flows from this hotel?

I read a lot about A. Paraiso and Tabacon on these boards but not much about this resort. Also, does it have a pool? Any other info about this place would be helpful too.

This is the last location on our trip that we haven't booked rooms in yet, and everyone has been very helpful with my other questions. Thanks!

Hi,

We stayed at Arenal Lodge a couple of months ago. I think it has a very nice view of the volcano and lava flow. Arenal Lodge is not as close to the volcano as Tabacon is, but it's atop a nearby hill, so there really isn't anything to obstruct the view. There was a telescope in the bar area of the restaurant for close-ups of the crater. We were able to see the orange/red lava flow for a few seconds every time the clouds cleared. I think that would be true no matter where you stayed...

The lodge has a jacuzzi, but I don't remember it having a pool.

There is a butterfly house and nature walk on the grounds. There also is a nice frog pond. Bring a flashlight and take a look at that at night. The restaurant was quite good.

We took a taxi to Tabacon from Arenal Lodge for $10 each way. That seemed like the standard fare, although we didn't try negotiating.

We stayed in the "matrimonal suite" because it had a tub with jets and a small kitchen. All the junior suites have windows facing the volcano, I believe. There are also "chalets" that face the volcano, and are a little higher up the hill and away from the lobby traffic.

Dopplerd,
Arenal Lodge is on a very large property nicely situated to view the volcano, as Rick says its unobstructed. We were fortunate enough to see some lava flow one night. You can also borrow binoculars from the front desk. I stayed in a junior suite, they are a good size and have a large balcony, small fridg, microwave and coffee maker. I don't remember seeing a pool either. The chalets, as I recall, on the hill behind the hotel do not have a balcony. Great place to stay, we really enjoyed it.

Dopplerd,
Arenal Lodge is on a very large property nicely situated to view the volcano, as Rick says its unobstructed. We were fortunate enough to see some lava flow one night. You can also borrow binoculars from the front desk. There are hiking trails on the property as well as the butterfly house and frog ponds as Rick mentions. There is also a some wildlife on the property, some (I can't remember the varieties) are kept in enclosures near the butterfly house and there was a resident raccoon and another animal of the weasel family that would come up to the window at the bar where we'd give her bananas...she would also steal them off the bird posts. We did comment it was the best wildlife we had seen and didn't need to leave the bar!

I stayed in a junior suite, they are a good size and have a large balcony, small fridg, microwave and coffee maker. I don't remember seeing a pool either. The chalets, as I recall, on the hill behind the hotel do not have a balcony. Great place to stay, we really enjoyed it.

Thank you Rick and Traveler863 for the info!

We stayed at the AL during this summer's vacation and thought it was great. The food was wonderful. When we go back to CR we would stay there again in a heartbeat.

We stayed at Arenal Lodge in August and just loved it. We stayed in a Jr. Suite with fantastic views of the volcano! The grounds were beautiful and the staff and waiters went out of their way to make us feel at home and comfortable at the hotel. The food was also really great at the hotel resturant!

There is a jaccuzi but there is no pool. There is a huge hiking area, butterfly garden and small animal farm. In the evening there were frogs all over! It didn't take us long to find some red eye tree frogs. I don't think you will regret staying there. We loved it!

I didn't mention the food...ditto, I thought it was great and staff at the hotel extremely accomodating.