Arenal Observatory Lodge?
 

Hi, all - we're thinking of staying at Arenal Observatory Lodge for a future trip. If you've stayed here, how were the on site activities? Do they have free guided hikes? Any hikes worth doing on your own? What types of wildlife did you see, and what type of room would you recommend? Thanks for any guidance you can give me.

Smithsonian Rooms have fantastic views. Apparently so do junior suites, but we didn't stay in those.

Wildlife: from the lodge observation decks (no hiking necessary), we saw:

howler monkey
spider monkey
coatis (guaranteed sighting)
kinkajou
jaguarondi

amazing bird life (look for emerald tanagers at the feeders--very hard to see these anywhere in my experience), many trails and walking opportunities. Waterfall on site at one of the trails.

We had a good private tour of the nearby Arenal National Park, which is mostly lava flows instead of forest.

The views of the volcano and Lake Arenal are amazeballs.

There's a free guided hike in the morning. It's okay, but if/when we return we'd definitely try to sign up for a private guided bird/wildlife hike there. If you've stayed in the area before and used a guide, not a bad idea to give that guide a call.

Service was okay there, not bad, not great.

I like the look of those Smithsonian Rooms. Do they have an outdoor sitting area or balcony/patio where you can watch the wildlife?

What was it that you didn't love about the free guided hike - too short, not good at spotting, or not knowing all the different species?

Sounds like you had great wildlife sightings! We loved the Lost Iguana, but looking to do something a little more affordable this trip. Did you eat most of your meals at the lodge?

Free guided hike was a large group and was mainly about the lodge and the area, not wildlife spotting.

Our Smithsonian rooms had no balconies or patios-maybe the junior suites have those.

We ate most meals there unless we were in town for hot springs etc. Breakfast was very good, lunch not bad, dinner . . . we learned to avoid anything in a sauce.

If you're up for adventure, you could hike to Cerro Chato. We started out too late in the day, and had to turn around before we reached the top. It wasn't much of a trail (6 years ago...), but it was a fun challenge.

Meals were not the highlight, but I would read recent reviews on TA - maybe they have improved. The road there is terrible, but having the volcano "in your face" is worth it.

We were in the Smithsonian rooms right near the restaurant and lobby. We were on the bottom floor so no privacy. People out in front of your window etc. BUT, when the hot rocks came down the mountain, it was a great place to be.

We did not do any activities at AOL. It poured rain our whole time there. In fact, we cut off a day because it was so rainy and cold. We were told this was very unusual. :(.

There was another building located around from the pool area. I am not sure if these are also Smithsonian rooms, but they did have patios.

Thanks for all the details, RAC - I've always read really mixed reviews about the food, so I expected that. Maybe we can just have breakfast for all three meals! Before I heard back from you about the rooms, I emailed them, and they said that all Smithsonian rooms have a private deck area. Weird. I saw on their site that they now have a shuttle that goes into town during certain times of day. It looked pretty affordable too - I think it said six dollars each. I think it's great that they offer that.

janie, thanks for the info. on Cerro Chato - did you guys see much wildlife on the hike? Those CR sunsets can really sneak up on you. The volcano pics I've seen are amazing. This will be the closest we've ever been. Have stayed at the Lost Iguana, Nayara, and The Springs and enjoyed all of them, but always looking to try new spots.

Michelle, that is rare. We've done several trips there and have never really had cold weather. What a bummer that that happened. Seems like the best part of the property is the hiking and wildlife.

Volcanogirl - yes it was a bummer. We even went ahead and did the Skytrek? zipline in the pouring rain. Miserable and cold! That long line, is it a 1/4 or 1/2 mile? A person would go into the clouds and disappear! The best part though was changing into dry clothes and then heading to EcoTermales for the afternoon. So nice!

We heard howlers, but never spotted them. My husband saw a large, brown snake slither across our path (and we were grabbing tree roots to pull ourselves up the steep slope - yikes).

We didn't see the wildlife there that RAC saw. Lots of pretty birds, but I couldn't tell you the names, and lots of coatis.

I went on the free morning hike, it was timed to see howlers and spider monkeys, we also saw eyelash vipers.

We were also lucky to see an ant swarm by the road, went back on my own later and ocellated antbird!

I stayed up hill in one of the bedrooms in White Hawk Villa. You can request that if the whole house isnt rented, amazi g picture window view. You need a car to do that.

They have a bird list, but take it with a grain of salt. Ebird is probably a better source for what you will likely see on site http://www.arenalobservatorylodge.co...irds-sanctuary

I didnt find the dinner that bad, just overpriced.

Front desk service mixed at best.

In case you prefer to have a guide for a Cerro Chato hike.
http://www.desafiocostarica.com/tour...aterfall-hike/
Spendy for something you can do on your own, but nice to have the option.

I agree with mlgb about the front desk. They were polite, but somewhat indifferent.

The part about a deck with the Smithsonian rooms: I think we were not given the "real" Smithsonian rooms. The building I saw was not being used at the time. I think it was a low season and they were keeping everyone up front, close to the lobby.

Never saw the mountain. Obscured with clouds the whole time. But saw hot rocks on our last night.

eBird has even more species than the lodge's listing--almost 500 species!
(eBird listings are also to be taken with a grain of salt, though--it's all amateur reports).

Due to its location and elevation, there are not that many birds that would be a surprise.

I saw one bird that surprised the lodge's bird guide..Yellow-eared Toucanet. His eyes got big and he was suddenly all friendly (after being fairly rude prior to that) and wanted to know where I found it.

I also saw a black-crested coquette around the lantana in the central lawn (actually I had no idea what it was but notice another birder quite taken with it, so asked).

For easy birding be sure to be on deck when they first put out the fruit, we had lots of the expected tanagers but also two red-lored parrots. And then the oropendulas arrived and everything else scattered.

There were some kind of nighthawk or paraque resting on the road up to the White Hawk villa at night. I wish I had a clue which one. By myself I found the fig tree in front of the observatory building was fruiting and there was a lot of good stuff in there.

My birding guide at Arenas del Mar said that Arenal Obs Lodge gets birds from the Monteverde side so they are different than those that you see closer to La Fortuna.

Photos
https://picasaweb.google.com/1053023...IncludingBirds

The black-crested coquette is one we saw there. Yellow-eared toucanet makes sense there, but it's one of those birds that is a pleasant surprise wherever it's found even within its range.

The AOL is the only place we've seen emerald tanager and orange-bellied trogon.

I also saw orange-bellied trogon in that fig tree, and don't recall seeing it elsewhere. Makes sense as it's supposedly a cloud forest/Monteverde bird.

RAC I finally did see my grass-green tanager, several times, with Marcelo. It was one of my 'targets'. And then we went out to Mashpi and saw glistening-green and that was a spectacular tanager.

I can't find my checklist for AOL, I need to dig up all of those old ones and ebird them.

Gorgeous photos - thanks for posting those. My husband will love the birding.

I forgot to ask - does AOL have a.c. in the rooms? It's not a requirement but sometimes it's nice to wick some of the moisture and humidity out of the rooms.

We're trying to decided if we just want to spend all of our time there hiking or if we want to do a few outside activities too.

I don't recall there being AC but I don't recall missing it either. It's a little cooler up there on the slope.

We didn't need a/c :o

Great pics, m.
We stayed at Lost Iguana, and saw lots of birds, but nowhere are many as you did. Next time, we'll probably try AOL.

Okay, thanks everyone. I really appreciate all the help. I think it sounds great. Looking forward to seeing some good stuff! Fingers crossed for good weather too.

For anyone who did organized tours, do you remember if there was an extra charge to come pick you up at AOL? I remember we had to pay that for the Lost Iguana. Completely worth it I think to stay somewhere immersed in nature.

We're all set, got a Smithsonian room booked. I was checking out their website, and it describes their restaurant as being a "true godsend" and that their food consists of "exquisite masterpieces" - that's some pretty good copy!

Have a great trip - when are you going?

We stayed in AOL this past Feb. We would definitely stay there again. The view of the volcano from the Smithsonian Rooms was fabulous. I can't say we saw much wildlife from the room. One thing nobody mentioned is that the road up there is horrible. You don't want to be going up and down too many times which is why we ate breakfast and dinner there. The food wasn't fabulous but it was decent and we had some great waiters. We found the front desk person to be very helpful. I also have some photos at www.garyandsusan.shutterfly.com. None of the room however. But some views on the walk. Enjoy your trip.

Susan - great photos! It was so rainy when we were at Arenal, that we never saw any if your views :(

We stayed in the smithsonian rooms on two occasions. The first room was right beside the observatory deck, with large windows looking straight at the volcano. Always interesting folks lingering on that deck and lots of chairs there.

The second room was in a building apart from the main complex and had a patio out front. Again it had large windows which made the night viewing from bed really spectacular. Arenal was active during both trips. It may have been a handicapped room as it had a large accessible shower and no stairs.

I can't say that I had a preferrence for one room or the other, but I enjoyed the scientific/ authentic feel of Arenal Observatory Lodge and the fact that the various types of accomodation allowed for a diverse group of guests.

Yes, I think the deck looks amazing. I can't wait to be there in person. Thanks, x, I'll be sure to report back on how everything was. sd, your pictures are really nice - I love looking at beautiful photos like that. The volcano looks so close. Maybe it will start putting out a little lava before we go!

rivet, yes, I was surprised to read that they are handicap accessible - that's really great. Thanks for the room descriptions. I hope we have a nice view.

For anyone who's interested, I found out Desafio charges an additional $20 to pick you up at AOL. They also charge an additional $20 to drop you back off, but I suppose you could be dropped in town and take the shuttle back if you don't have a car. I think the shuttle is only six bucks.

We're at AOL now. Have already seen tons of wildlife! We're loving it.

Looking forward to your report!

I will definitely to a trip report - it was great, loved our room, and the weather was cool. Definitely did not need a.c. at all. Thanks for the tip on the feeder too - we saw lots of great wildlife from the deck and even from our room. That road was terrible though - it's kind of funny how bad it was.

I think they keep it that way so you don't venture out for meals!

I know, right, captive audience!

rivet-

Regarding the Smithsonian rooms in the back building that you stayed in. The lodge sent me photos of these. Kind of looks like a city motel from the outside. While I am looking forward to seeing wildlife while I am there next January, not so crazy about the idea of that wildlife showing up to visit me on my ground floor patio (eyelash vipers or other snakes; tarantualas perhaps, etc.) Did you have any concerns about the wildlife getting too close to you while staying in those offsite room?

There are eyelash pit vipers on the property. We saw two while we were there, but while we were out hiking, not near the lodge itself. For the most part, they want to avoid people if that makes you feel any better. I know it's a weird thing to say about a snake, but they were beautiful. But I agree I wouldn't want one near my room! Our room was near the observation deck, and out patio was raised up a little bit with a railing around it so critters couldn't get in.

Thanks VG. You've convinced me to request being moved to the main lodge.