I'm really struggling here with whether or not I should change my reservations for this hotel. I've read enough bad comments in this forum and on Trip Advisor that I'm not sure it's the right choice for us. The problem that I'm having is that I'm not finding an Arenal hotel that doesn't have mixed reviews. There doesn't seem to be one that has more positive than negatives. If someone out there can help me make this decision, I sure would appreciate it!!

Samstorm, sounds like you are suffering from TPA (Trip Planning Anxiety.) Join the club! I'm planning our trip to Costa Rica too.

Most hotels do get some negative reviews as well as positive. Have you also checked on www.tripadvisor.com? There are more reviews there.

I suggest you pay more attention to the more recent reviews, because sometimes old reviews can get outdated if the hotel has changed management, remodelled, or fixed problems.

Here's what works well for me and helps me get 100% satisfaction with my hotels. Read fodors or frommers guidebooks. Read trip reports on fodors travel talk. Read www.tripadvisor guest reviews. Eliminate reviews from people who seemed to say only negative things about everything...they are just complainers because nothing is ALL bad, and sometimes these "ALL BAD" reviews are actually very exaggerated.

Pay the most attention to reviews from people who have mostly positive and a few negative things to say. I find they are the most accurate usually! Usually if someone has mostly negative things to say they didn't research their trip well and so aren't a good source of info anyway!

Ask questions on-line, and also e-mail the hotel and be polite and friendly and ask specific questions. Learn more.

Find out what are the weak points of a hotel, and decide if you can live with those. Choose a hotel where the positives really appeal to you personally.

Good luck!

Don't forget in Arenal you can drive (or get someone to drive you) around to see the lava flow if it's not at your hotel!

For Arenal I decided NOT to try to predict the future and NOT to pick the hotel based solely on its supposed volcano view. I chose a hotel a while ago assuming the volcano view might be totally blocked by clouds, and assuming I could always drive around if necessary...

No, I haven't been to Costa Rica yet, But I'm good at research. Based on my research, the 2 hotels that interest ME the most are Lost Iguana resort and the Arenal Observatory Lodge. Funny thing is, I almost made the reservation months ago for the Arenal Observatory Lodge, and now the lava flow has changed and it has a great view of the lava flow! But I happened to choose Lost Iguana and I know we'll be happy there...And maybe the lava flow will move again!

Use even negative comments to help your plans. Someone didn't like Lost Iguana because it was a little more isolated from the town...But we LIKE to be a little more isolated, and we will have a car so consider that a positive! It's maybe a 10 or 15 minute drive to town. Not a problem for us.

Also I had to laugh about some people who considered lizards on the hotel wall to be a negative...I live in Southern California and lizards come right into my house whenever they please. They are very quiet and friendly and don't cause any problems. I just show them the way out when they ask!

Samstorm, tell yourself every morning that you are going to have a great trip. You don't have to choose the perfect hotel. Just choose the hotel that does have something you can definitely look forward to! We're looking forward to exploring the grounds at Lost Iguana resort, to the pool, and to the food which is pretty good I hear.

what are you looking forward to? Write and tell us!

I stayed at Montana de Fuego and it was great. I heard Arenal Lodge is also nice.

I rode my bike near Iguana Lodge and that place looked beautiful.

Thank you both for your responses. Melissa, we're basically looking for something clean with laundry service, hot water showers (en suite), plumbing and electricity. Within walking distance of a restaurant or two would be nice. As far as the view of the volcano goes, that would be a plus but not the most important thing. We're pretty laid back travelers and usually take reviews with a grain of salt but when I see that customers are repeated charged above what they expected and that the customer service was bad (like customers not getting the room they booked), I get nervous. We ignored reviews when we visited Jamaica and found out in a hurry we should have paid attention. So, that's where we're at. We generally don't spend that much time in a hotel room...good luck with the TPA--I love that!

Samstorm,
I had that same issue after I messed up our reservations for this July and had to quickly find another place to stay in Arenal. We were originally supposed to stay at the Paraiso, but I messed up on the dates and then they were booked! We decided on the Lost Iguana, which wasn't the perfect choice for us because we could care less about a pool, spa, and egyptian cotton sheets, but I liked the fact that it is a little more secluded and remote (and they had a room at the last minute).
I think that it really depends on what you are planning to do while you are there. If you are going to be taking lots of side trips like hiking or rafting, then you probably won't be staying in your hotel that much. So as long as the rooms are clean and there is hot water for a good shower, it shouldn't really matter what the service is like. But, if you want to hang out at your hotel all day long (which I hope that you don't) then you probably would be a lot more worried about the service and amenities. Just remeber that there are quirks to everyplace, but you should use your hotel as a base for your activities and don't worry so much about the little details.
I am sure you made a fine choice, and some things you just have to experience for yourself to decide. Other people might have hated it, but you might love it!! That's the fun thing about travelling, and remember its only someone else's opinion.

Samstorm, we thought Arenal Paraiso was a very nice place to stay. We aren't extremely picky, but would certainly notice is there was a problem with staff, cleanliness, etc. I've been a Fodorite for over a year now (I think?), and I really think I've read more good reviews than bad.

I spoke by phone with someone today who just returned and stayed at Lost Iguana--they loved it there and had great lava views--reported being able to view the volcano 75% of the time! They got lucky for sure.

We thought the grounds at Arenal Paraiso were nice, the restaurant certainly decent, and we liked the location--very convenient. I honestly think that you'll be happy there.

Im throwing in a vote for Los Lagos. We enjoyed the grounds, staff and room. Great view of Arenal when we were there. A much better value than overpriced Tabacon!

In my trip report I said some negative things about Arenal Paraiso - staff related.

Even taking into consideration those negative things, we would stay there again. For the price, we didn't think you could beat the accommodations, pools and breakfasts. It was really convenient to getting to town, or going the other way to Skytrek.

I'm not sure what the other bad reviews were about. I remember seeing some other stuff about staff.

For us it was just an inconvenience, not a reason to not stay there.

It seems everyone loves, Lost Iguana, too. It just depends on your style.

We stayed at the AP last August and really enjoyed it (we had 2 superior cabins.) I think the problems I have read about on this board happened during their busiest season. To me, it sounds like a case of "growing pains".

We didn't have such problems on our stay. The only tiny problem we had was at checkout, but that's because we had charged a LOT of things to our rooms (canopy tour, laundry, restaurant and many, many poolside bar tabs ). A couple of double-charges were cleared up with no problema.

What impressed us most about the AP was how clean everything was. The rooms were always cleaned very well. You always saw the staff washing windows, tidying the landscaping, etc. When the bartender is not serving drinks, he is constantly cleaning the bar area.

Breakfasts there are good. Other meals were "hit-or-miss" We had a nice lunch by the pool one day. We enjoyed the tilapia for dinner, but were not thrilled with other dinner items. You could probably walk next door to the Montana del Fuego for dinner also, but that's about it for restaurants within walking distance. The town of La Fortuna is a short cab ride away.

I hope these posts reassure you a bit. Like Shillmac, I have been reading these posts for almost a year, and I have definitely seen much more good than bad about the AP.

Enjoy your trip.

Thank you for your input, everyone! I feel much better now and will leave our reservations alone for the time being. I appreciate all your help!!

We just returned from CR and stayed at the Hotel Observatory Lodge. The rooms are clean and comfortable. Our bed looked right at the volcano which was awesome. We had two great nights of watching the lava flow. It was hard to sleep because we were in awe. It's not often you get to hear and watch lava flow from your bed. Just ask for a room with the volcano view, since they do have a few rooms without a view. There were plenty of birds and plants everywhere. The food was good and the people were friendly. They have hiking trails and a great jacuzzi and swimming pool. You need to take a dirt road to get there but it is worth the trip. We will go back and spend more time there. I would highly recommend this place.

Correction to message above - the hotel is the Arenal Observatory Lodge.

We had a driver and didn't mind staying at the lodge in the evening for the time that we were there. They also have a great view of Arenal Lake.

We stayed at Arenal Paraiso last Aug. and had a fine time, despite not even seeing the lava. Some of the employees were not your typical friendly Ticos, but the room, sitting area and swim up bar at night in the rain left us with pleasant memories!

daja - your message brings back memories of our first night at Volcan Arenal. I couldn't sleep because I was excited to actually see the lava flow - during my research, some here had reported not seeing anything during their entire stays. As an amateur photographer, I HAD to get every shot that I could.

The rumbles sounded to me like a freight train or an airplane. I kept jumping out of bed to take pix. My wife slept through most of it, and I had the photos so she really didn't miss anything.