Arenal: Los Lagos v. Lost Iguana
Jun 20th, 2010, 12:20 PM
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Arenal: Los Lagos v. Lost Iguana
Hello everyone.
We are deciding between Los Lagos and Lost Iguana for our stay in Arenal; we are two adults, no kids. We will be there July 4 - 6. I would like to stay in Lost Iguana so that we can potentially see the lava views of the volcano from our room and because it seems to receive consistently good views here on the forums.
My fiance prefers Los Lagos because he found a good deal on price (cheaper than Lost Iguana) and it is five star. We both like the facilities and grounds there as well.
Since we will only be in Arenal for two days in the rainy season, what do you all think the chances are that we will (1) be able to see the volcano from our rooms or (2) be able to see the lava to the extent there is any? Lost Iguana has the edge only because of the potential to see lava, but if the chances of seeing it are very low, he prefers to stay at Los Lagos. Are there other reasons that recommend Lost Iguana over Los Lagos or vice versa?
What do you all think? Thanks in advance.
We are deciding between Los Lagos and Lost Iguana for our stay in Arenal; we are two adults, no kids. We will be there July 4 - 6. I would like to stay in Lost Iguana so that we can potentially see the lava views of the volcano from our room and because it seems to receive consistently good views here on the forums.
My fiance prefers Los Lagos because he found a good deal on price (cheaper than Lost Iguana) and it is five star. We both like the facilities and grounds there as well.
Since we will only be in Arenal for two days in the rainy season, what do you all think the chances are that we will (1) be able to see the volcano from our rooms or (2) be able to see the lava to the extent there is any? Lost Iguana has the edge only because of the potential to see lava, but if the chances of seeing it are very low, he prefers to stay at Los Lagos. Are there other reasons that recommend Lost Iguana over Los Lagos or vice versa?
What do you all think? Thanks in advance.
Jun 20th, 2010, 06:44 PM
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We just recently stayed at Lost Iguana and loved staying there--at $123/nt (3 nt special--stay 2 nts get 1 nt free) I think it is a fabulous deal but you will not see the lava flow there. Great views of the volcano, beautiful grounds, very good restaurant with reasonable prices---but the lava no longer can be seen from Lost Iguana.
Jun 20th, 2010, 07:22 PM
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The Lost Iguana is a beautiful, romantic property. Los Lagos is really popular with families with young kids. Two totally different vibes. We've stayed at Lost Iguana several times and love it. We've seen lava from our balcony many times. I believe that lava flow is shifting though. Los Lagos is closer to town though. The Lost Iguana will have posher more upscale rooms; Los Lagos will have waterslides and hot springs on the property. Just depends on which appeals most to you. My pick would be Lost Iguana. If you want to pick a place where you'll see lava, you might consider the Arenal Observatory Lodge too. Of course with all the fog and cloudy mist in the area, there's no guarantee you'll see the lava or even the volcano from any property.
Jun 21st, 2010, 06:22 AM
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Just some input on Las Lagos, I would stay there without kids in a second. While there are waterslides - it's by no means overrun with kids. Yes, the rooms are basic, so it's not a upscale type resort like Lost Iguana, but for a very reasonable price you get very lush grounds, hot springs on property, several pools and many onsite activities. Now, we were there in August, so maybe it was less crowded than other times of the year - but I wouldn't just call it a "family" resort. Also, the views of the volcano are wonderful - but no lava views. However, as Linda mentioned, Lost Iguana doesn't have the lava view now either. We're going to Arenal Observatory this year - hoping for some great views if the weather cooperates!
Jun 21st, 2010, 03:21 PM
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As vgirl said - two different types of properties so it's hard to compare apples to apples. Go with what you enjoy most. Like Shell, I didn't feel like LL was overrun with kids, and the little kids were mostly at the pool with the small slide. We were always able to find a lounge chair and at night maybe the most in the pool with the swim up bar was a dozen people, many of whom were couples without kids. We enjoyed the casual atmosphere there. We didn't explore the grounds much, but from what I understand there are great hiking trails at Lost Iguana.
Jun 21st, 2010, 06:50 PM
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Lava flow at night from your hotel (Lost Iguana for us) was very cool. We really enjoyed the property (we had kids) and think it would be a great romantic place to stay. From what I've read / heard, AOL is pretty rustic. LI is not 5 star but certainly not rustic.
Jun 22nd, 2010, 02:29 PM
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Lost Iguana was a nice property and we were able to see the lava flow from our room (2 years ago). One big negative is that it is quite far from La Fortuna which means an expensive cab ride to and fro town each time, unless you have a rental car. A plus is that it is a short walk from Hanging Bridges.
