My husband, myself, and 9 year old daughter will be in Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica 4 nights in August, after a week in Samara. I am having a very hard time deciding where to stay! We definitely don't want to stay at a stuffy 5 star hotel, but something a little more Costa Rican. We will have a rental car. We are leaning towards Heliconias Nature Lodge because it looks amazing but worried about the driving distance to tours. Also having a hard time deciding between being more isolated versus having a big pool for the 9 year old! We are also thinking Hotel el Silencio del Campo looks nice, or the Lost Iguana (but no thermal pool there). Arenal Manoa also looks appealing. Anyone have any input that will help with such a difficult decision? Experience at any of these places?

Silencio del Campo and Los Lagos are really popular with young families. Check on those. I really like the Lost Iguana and have stayed there several times, but it's a very quiet spot where children would need to keep their voices down. They have signs saying Shhhh people are enjoying the quiet of the jungle. If I remember correctly they do have a cool pool and a heated pool area, but I don't believe it's a natural hot spring like some other spots have. Another option that's great is the Arenal Observatory Lodge - more wildlife than we've seen anywhere in the Arenal area. It's off a long bumpy road though so that's something that may not appeal to you. We regularly saw monkeys and coatis, as well as toucans and great currasows there, lots of trails, a waterfall, and a free guided hike every morning. Tabacon is also popular if you like fancy hot springs.

We are planning a trip to Arenal also, and we recently went through the decision making process for lodging. We ended up choosing Arenal Observatory Lodge - which isn't on your list, but since the CR board doesn't get a lot of traffic, I figured I would chime in anyway.

We chose AOL because of the location and because of the reviews and recommendations. We figured that we are going to that part of CR to see the volcano, so we may as well stay AT the national park We also plan to go to Mystico Arenal Hanging Bridges and see Lake Arenal, which are both relatively close, so the location makes sense for us. The hotel seems very good and it does have a pool. It doesn't have thermal pools though, which is a down side - however our plan is to go to visit some thermal pools elsewhere while we are in the area.

We're planning another return trip and are staying at the Arenal Observatory Lodge again. We've stayed at more upscale spots, but are returning to AOL just for the amazing wildlife there. The further from town you are, the more wildlife you'll see.

AOL is pretty much what you're looking for--I believe they have a Jacuzzi as well as an infinity swimming pool. And, as others have noted, best volcano views and wildlife viewing in the area (great view of Lake Arenal as well).

Thank you for your suggestions and guidance everyone!