Arenal Paraiso - bungalow question
 

Is it worth the extra $30/nt for the "deluxe" bungalows? What are the real differences? Are the views THAT much better?

Thanks!

Yeah, we stayed in one of those in December. They are like having front row seats to the volcano (if it is visible), and they are probably a bit larger. From the looks of the place, all of the bungalows looked perfectly fine, and I am sure if there are just two of you, a standard will suffice. We had 2 of our children with us and opted for a roomier bungalow. Nice property. You will like it.

I notice that the deluxe have Air Conditioning and the standard do not. How hot was it there? Did you really need the A.C.?

I don't think you will need A/C at all. This area receives a fair amount of rain, and it tends to be particularly cool here at night (when you are most likely to be in your room). As I said, we were there this past December (summer in Costa Rica) and the temperatures were very moderate. Of course, the temps won't change much in July (isn't that when you said you were going?). . the amount of rainfall may increase. But not to the point that it would interfere with your plans. We were there in July 2 years ago and it was just fine. There is a really neat resort (out in the middle of nowhere, but not too far driving from the Arenal site) that we just loved. It was Tilajari Resort on the banks of the San Carlos (or San Juan) River--I forget. It is just about 20 minutes from La Fortuna to the east. We loved staying here for 2 nights and would drive over to Arenal/Tabacon during the day. This resort offers some excellent tours for everything in the area as well. Just FYI--you might want to check it out. No one ever mentions it on this board, but it is a wonderful resort. Very reasonable as well.

I just checked out the web site for Tilajari Resort. It looks really nice. The only problem is that we really want that volcano view just in case we get to see some action.

Sure. . it is really neat to see.
We got lucky in December. You'll like the Paraiso. Such a wonderful view.

I enjoyed staying at the Paraiso and the view of the volcano is beautiful.

Suzie2, did you stay in a standard or deluxe bungalow? Do you think the deluxe is worth the extra $30/nt?

ttt

We did stay in the deluxe. In all honesty we didn't even look at the standard cabins. I suspect the big differences are the amenities. The enclosed porch as was mentioned might be nice if it is raining and you don't want to sit inside. Won't be any views obviously if it is raining but it would be nice to be able to get out of the dark room and be able to see some flowers even through the rain. There is an open covered porch to sit on in the back also. The deluxe also had a mini fridge which we liked-the standard does also. It also had a hair dryer, tv and small table and chairs. Normally, a tv would not be something we would care about having but were glad to have it that time. We were there when the last space shuttle blew up and it was good to have some news. We heard about it at El Novillo. The reception on the tv wasn't very good but we were able to see enough. The room itself wasn't what I would call a real "deluxe" room. It was pretty basic and actually quite dark. Over all, every where we went on the property, the place was spotless and very well kept. Because of its location, I can't imagine there being a bad place to see the volcano. The plantings are beautiful. The pool was very nice and had a great view of the volcano. The breakfast bar had everything we would have wanted including an omlet station for my husband. We didn't eat any other meals there.
We never did feel the need to use the air conditioning. We had the windows open at night. They had a guard (as most lodges do) that walked around regularly to keep you safe and who could wake you if there was an eruption. The gift shop was very nice and they had lots of options for tours at the front desk that they would help you set up. We didn't use the tour desk because we were traveling with our friend/guide Orlando but we did look at what they offered.

We were at Arenal Paraiso in January. It was quite warm the two days we were there, and we were thankful for the A/C. But it would just depend on how the weather was while you were there. We were on a big wedding anniversery trip, so we splurged.

We were able to watch the volcano put on its show from our bed at night--and we were able to see it clearly both nights we were there. Ask the hotel to wake you up if it starts erupting at night--they send a guy around to knock on your door. Give him a small tip.

The rooms weren't luxurious, but very nice with tile floors, large modern bathroom, polished wood, etc. The pool bar concocts a great mango daquiri.