mrscalkins

Ok so I've posted a few questions here and it seems like I keep finding new ones. I'm trying to decide between AOL (smithsonian) and Linda Vista (Junior suite).
Anyone who's stayed in the Smithsonian room- Is there a fridge in the room? How about wireless internet and if so, is it free? Does AOL provide a "lava service" that lets guests know when lava flow is visible so that it's not missed? Is breakfast buffet style? Can you see both the lake and Arenal from the room? Has there ever been issues with hot water (seems like maybe an issue at Linda)? These are the options I would have at Linda Vista.
Anyone who's stayed at Linda Vista- Is there animal presence around the hotel, such as Cotas? Can you feel the volcano rumbling like guests at AOL have been able to, or ever seen or heard monkeys from your room? Did anyone regret Linda Vista as a choice, and why?

I am not interested in the free walks provided to AOL guests, our plans are pretty full with other trails and activites. I want to be able to access my email to keep in touch with my kids while I'm gone, and I "need" a fridge in the room for a cheaper on-call soda and snack option, to bring food in from town.
Both rooms are available to me at basically the same cost, I have checked with the hotels and I would only have about a $50 difference the whole lengh of our stay (four nights). My husband is a little concerned about having to cross a bridge all the time (he doesn't like bridges much and took some negotiating to get him to agree to actually go to the hanging bridges trails/park) but he deals well with things he may not care for. I have an SLR camera with tele lens, so I don't have to be close for good pics. We are renting a 4 wheel drive, so transportation is not an issue.
Any comments?
THANKS so much guys!

qwovadis

www.lostiguanaresort.com my fav with lava view best rooms

Linda Vista way too far away beyond the lake

AOL more of an ecocamp Smithsonian rooms are ok

very remoteup miles of bad road and pretty marginal food

but closest to the volcano.

qwovadis

www.costarica.bookit.com with kids www.tabacon.com from $199

free hot springs lava view makes a lot of sense for upscale

RAC

AOL by a mile. Not a close call. Best wildlife, best hiking, best volcano view in the area.

Breakfast is buffet style. No fridge or email. But you can find that in La Fortuna. There is a restaurant at the AOL--you can buy cold soda there.

gpkbrand

Stayed at Linda Vista 3 years ago. Basic hotel. Not alot of wildlife. Can't remember if they have internet. AOL has much nicer grounds and wildlife. Can't remember about internet service at AOL. Lost Iguana did have free internet available in lobby and I was also able to pick it up by the pool. The grounds are nice too - just different. We did not see as much wildlife there compared to AOL. Lost Iguana seemed more "hotel-like" than AOL.

gpkbrand

Oh, almost forgot - we did have a mini-fridge at Lost Iguana.

mrscalkins

I'm going to pick Linda or Aol. I've looked at others and these are the two.
Linda's website says free internet and a fridge in the room.
Aol is no fridge and no internet, unless I want to pay $50+ more a night for a Junior Suite to have the fridge

I guess I would pick AOL, but can anyone clarify this?
Do smithsonian rooms have a patio (sliding glass) door in the room? I've heard some do and some don't. How bad is the rumbling you can feel from Arenal at AOL? I don't want to make my husband nervous about eruptions if the ground shakes bad or there is consistant booming. Is having Howlers wake you up at night common? Is a junior suite worth the extra money (I've heard crowd noise is bad in the smithsonian rooms)
And, lastly, has anyone with a fear of hights had to cross those hanging bridges, and if so, how bad was it for you? My husband has some bridge issues.

colibri

Don't know about the sliding glass doors, but I've never had howlers wake me up at night - they will starting roaring around 5:00 in the morning. You'll find that most people go to bed very early in CR - we are often asleep by 8:00 or 8:30 - not our regular routine at home, so getting up at 5:00 is fine to get the best wildlife viewing. Remember it gets dark around 5:30 year round, so usually dinner is fairly early, too.

My friend had major height issues. We just let her go at her own pace either before or after us. Let him go alone on the bridge to minimize the shaking caused by other people.

mrscalkins

Colibri, That is a very helpful suggestion! Did your friend do ok when left by herself? Do you think she would say the hotel was worth it, given she had to cross the bridge to go anywhere?

colibri

Yes, my friend did fine. I just saw her in FL last week and she was quite proud of herself for conquering her fear on the highest bridges. She said the only way she made it was because we let her go on alone. The more movement on the bridge, the more it will sway. She felt it was worth it!

traveler2005

Is the bridge that you are talking about at AOL or Linda Vista?

I was surprised that it gets dark at 5:30 year-round. I was guessing that day length would be longer in Costa Rica than in our area (Midwest).

RAC

The Smithsonians have a regular door to the patio but a big picture window to see the volcano.

You can hear the volcano if you listen for it, but it won't wake you up at night. Howlers sleep at night. No problem there.

Close to the equator, it's almost always 12 hours sun and 12 hours night.

Shooie

If you stay at AOL, ask for a Smithsonian room with a patio insead of a picture window, or a junior suite. The ones with the patio are in the same building as the restaurant and right next to the junior suites. You can sit outside and see all kinds of birds and the coati's come visit, too. The Smithsonian rooms with the picture windows are in a separate building across the hanging bridge. We stayed in a junior suite, which is larger and with a fridge. We really liked AOL, especially the grounds with the wild life. Their breakfast is a buffet, and it had good food. I thought Linda Vista looked nice, but we haven't stayed there. It is not too far from AOL, but closer to the lake.

mrscalkins

Traveler- There is a hanging bridge at AOL, it is my understanding that you have to cross it to get to just about anything (pool, rooms) except possibly standard rooms.

Shooie- Do you remember which building this was? I would assume 17-26, not 11-16?

What we have decided to do: Stay at AOL. We are going to be in CR the last week of the high season- silly me for not checking that out prior to booking a flight- so I have contacted AOL to see if they are willing to discount the rate, considering. They were nice enough to do so, so the Smithsonian room will cost basically the same as a Junior suite and Linda. I have also asked if I can be guarenteed a room with a patio or balcony, or if they would possibly be willing to discount a junior suite (for the fridge) I have not heard back on that yet.
We have decided that although AOL offers no internet service, I am still brining my laptop. We will have lunch at Linda one day in the middle of our stay, and hopefully I will be able to use the internet as a lunch guest (since Linda offers free internet to hotel guests). This may be considered rude but I would like to let the kids and grandma know that we are ok- and possibly email them some pics.

This is a tough choice, Linda would give us a fridge and free internet in the room- with a balcony- for a little less than the smithsonian room at AOL. At AOL it seems I might not get my own deck or patio, and I will have no internet or fridge. But they have the animals- and Linda doesn't, or at least, no one has said any different. I would like to hear howlers, see the birds and coti.

traveler2005

I'm very happy that I found out about the daylight hours. We are renting a car and think it would be best not to drive after dark. After Arenal, we are going to Manuel Antonio. I'd thought that we'd have a fair amount of time that day before leaving, but now I'm thinking that we should leave before noon.

We'll also be there very close to the end of high season. I didn't think to ask for a discount and I imagine that since we're already booked, it would be too late to ask. We are staying in a standard room. I hated to pay the extra for the Smithsonian.

mrscalkins

We have reserved a 4 wheel drive from Budget at the airport. In a previous topic someone else had posted questions about taxes on airport rentals, so I guess we will see if ours turns out to be a horror story of high tax and lack of the reserved automatic 4x4.
As for driving, we are flying in and out both around noon, so I hope we will not get lost and be able to make our destination before dark. We only have 5 days so we will spend them all in Arenal.
I never would have asked for a discount, either, except I was torn between Linda and AOL and my hubby said "Linda- that will save us 150" So I thought- Why not make the decision harder and see if I can even out the prices?
We will be there April 22-26. Maybe we'll bump into each other!

Shooie

Mrs Calkins, I'm pretty sure they are rooms 17 - 26. It's in the main building with the restaurant, so you don't have to cross the hanging bridge. Have a great trip

traveler2005

We'll just miss you. Wouldn't it have been something if we'd run into each other.

shutterbug85

Rooms 17-26 are across the hanging bridge. We were in room #19 in that building.

You'll love being able to see the lava flow at AOL and the wildlife is plentiful.

traveler2005

Linda - I got up my nerve and wrote AOL today to see if they might give me a discount or a free upgrade. They gave me a discount. I guess it never hurts to ask. Thanks for the idea!