I read that these are the only two places where you can see lava flows from the hotel. I won't have a car, but I'm willing to bite the bullet and pay for cabs and extra for tours. Now for the question: I want to hike, lounge around by the pool, and see lots of wildlife. Which lodge would you recommend?

Thanking you in advance

Either one would fit the bill or you - Lost Iguana is a little more accessible and a posher property; AOL will get you right up on the volcano though. We're huge fans of the Lost Iguana. They let us ride their employee shuttle into town for dinner, so if you stay there you might check to see if they still allow that. They also sell half price tickets to the Hanging Bridges at their front desk since it's right next door. LI has beautiful grounds with lots of hiking trails and a river that runs through it.

www.arenal.net has lava view hotels there are lots

saw the lava from my moon great hiking at www.tabacon.com

from the best hot springs in the area...closer to town

good deals from $150/nt gets you free hot spring admission

www.lostiguanaresort.com better food pool rooms than AOL

We stayed at AOL last year and thought it was great. Our large (pretty much the entire wall)window faced the volcano and we woke up all night long to the rumbling and lava show - stayed in bed an just had to open our eyes to check out the action. The pool also had a nice view of the volcano - nothing like relaxing in the water with the lava in the distance. We haven't stayed at other properties so I can't compare but the Smithsonian rooms at AOL were perfect for us.

Lost Iguana has a similar setup. The beds are placed in the middle of the room, and you can sit in bed and watch the lava flow. Nice floor to ceiling windows. Also beautiful balconies that I love. They have a service that will call you in the middle of the night if the lava puts on a show. I think AOL might have the same thing.

Thanks everyone. They both sound great. How about wildlife hikes on the grounds?

We've seen toucans on the property at LI and have seen a coati and what I think is a tayra. Have heard howlers but never seen them. Tons of colorful birds and butterflies around. I've found the wildlife in the Arenal area to be somewhat elusive though. We hired a guide to take us out, and about 5 minutes from LI he found us howlers, an anteater, and a peccary. We never would have seen them on our own though. I'd recommend you do the Cano Negro tour; we used Sunset Tours and loved it.

At AOL, besides the great lava show, we saw a toucanette, howler monkeys, lots of coatis, many kinds of hummingbirds and tanagers, a turkey, and some big buzzard-like birds.
There are beautiful hikes on the property - forest, mountain, and waterfall hikes.

Thanks everybody. It sounds like the Lost Iguana is a nicer hotel, but I think I'm going to go for the total volcano experience (and brave the bad food) at AOL. I really appreciate all of your input. It makes me feel like I'm making a more informed decision.

ac, will you report back on the food? I always hear about how bad it is but not specifics. I find it hard to believe it's that bad, maybe just bland?

I thought that the food was fine, and the service friendly and efficient. Mind you, this was a few years ago.

Cat, was it Costa Rican food or more Americanized?

somewhat Americanized,vg, based on my recollections, but some native flair thrown in, and great choice of delicious fruits and juices, especially at the breakfast buffet.

Gotcha, cat - thanks. Hey as long as they have Imperial, I'm good.

Me too! Of course, that may have affected my long-term memory....

4 yrs ago, we stayed at AOL and ate dinner and a lunch there -- at that time the menu was very Americanized.

The breakfast buffet was solid with fresh fruit, juices, good rice and beans. Dinner and lunch -- I recall a mushy over-cooked pasta dish with a sauce where I could taste the can. My lunchtime blt was limp bacon, bread wet from the lettuce. In other words, really basic dishes were poorly executed. I never leave food on my plate and it was entirely edible, just not satisfying. We tried to eat off-site and I recall some good meals in town although i tend to stick with comida tipica.

although we loved aol and would totally stay there again - laying in bed watching the lava was very cool and the pool areas are nice. Just try to plan on being in town for lunch and dinner if possible. Hopefully they may have new cooks and a better menu since our visit.

That's a shame, fishee. We had a very good lunch, though I can't recall what it was. Ditto dinners. I wonder what changed. Or did we have a guest cook?

We were at AOL last week. I was hesitant about eating there after reading reviews. However, we did and were glad.

You now order off a menu for dinner (and lunch too I assume) and I thought the food was fine. The room was candlelit and I thought it was lovely.

We just returned from CR. I will try to work on a trip report this weekend. I chose the Lost Iguana to see the lava flow from the hotel. You cannot see the lava flow from this hotel now. I was really dissapointed because I would not have chosen this hotel otherwise.