I was planning on staying at Fonda Vela in May but now I'm torn btwn that & Sapo Dorado.

Does anyone have any good/bad comments on either? Since I won't have a car I was thinking Sapo might be a little better cause it's closer to Santa Elena & other hotels & activities. I will probably be booking all my day trips thru the front desk, so any comments on the ease/price of one over the other?

Anything else you can think of that can help me make up my mind, like rooms, food, grounds etc, would be much appreciated.

Pura Vida

We liked our "cabin" at El Sapo Dorado. Nothing special about the inside - nothing fancy, but spacious and clean. Nice balcony looking out over the valley/town. Centrally located for what you're liable to do in MV. And the front desk was particularly helpful about arranging activities etc. Also, the restaurant there was nice. More expensive than some as I recall, but also better (not GREAT mind you - we never go to CR expecting gourmet food - but good). Don't know anything about FV so can't compare.

We stayed at the Fonda Vela January last year. It was excellent. The location didn't bother us as we took taxis everywhere--taxis cost $5 or $10 anywhere we wanted to go . I wouldn't have wanted to drive myself on those roads. The restaurant was superb.

Ditto Glover. We stayed at El Sapo Dorado -- you can read my comments in other CR posts, but basically, it is clean, spacious, convenient and friendly. They booked our guided hike and canopy tour with no problems and no obvious surcharge. Fonda Vela was actually our first choice (but they were booked up), but really, I don't think you can go wrong. Even with the bad roads, it doesn't take that long to get anywhere, and taxis are cheap. If I were you, I'd go with whichever accommodation is less expensive. Good luck!

Thank you very much for your replies. Sounds like either one would be fine.

That said, I'm now thinking of doing an Osa-MA-Arenal route instead, but haven't made up my mind. That's the problem with CR - too many choices!

You're lucky to have either one as both were full when I tried to get reservations for June! therefore we are staying at Monteverde Lodge because they still had rooms!