Hello, we only have one night in Monteverde so are looking to make the most of our limited time there. We will arrive in the afternoon and plan on doing a sunset guided hike that night. The next morning we'll be doing a canopy tour before leaving at 2pm for La Fortuna.

We are looking at the Arco Iris, Hotel Belmar & Sunset Hotels. Any major preferences of these?

If you don't have your heart set on one of those, we really liked Fonda Vela - one of the closest to the reserve with very pretty grounds and a good restaurant on site. Arco Iris always gets good reviews.

thanks volcanogirl- Fonda Vela isn't available for our dates sadly

If all you are doing is a night hike and a zipline, there's really no reason to stop there in the first place. There are plenty of ziplines in any part of the country, especially Arenal/La Fortuna.

What makes Monteverde unique is the cloud forest habitat and the uncommon species one sees there, especially birds like the Resplendent Quetzal. One can't appreciate either at night or while zipping along a cable.

Sorry RAC I didn't mean ziplining, I meant either a hanging bridges tour or a hike in the cloud forest the next day. Totally agree with you about the ziplining- I've done it in PV, Mexico and don't plan on doing it again as I want to see as much as possible!

We really liked Arco Iris--feels secluded, but is walking distance to anywhere in Santa Elena. Very reasonably priced for what you get.

I really liked the Heliconia Hotel

Another vote for Arco Iris.

fondavela.com

hotelbelmar.net

Sapo Dorado

my top 3

best located for short stay

We liked Arco Iris (duplex cabin, not lodge room) - enjoyed white faced capuchins in the trees outside the breakfast room each morning, very nice location in town, but grounds are extensive and private.

However, I would never go to MV for one night only. It takes a long time to get there from anywhere and you will not be doing it justice in 24 hours. You will spend a lot of time on the road coming and going.

But, we enjoyed hiking both the MV and Santa Elena reserves, the hummingbird gallery next to MV reserve, night hike at Children's Eternal Forest, great lunches at Stella's Bakery, shopping at CASEM.

Very easy to see quetzals at both reserves when we visited in March 2009.

The night hike at Hidden Valley is very good. We saw some cool things we hadn't seen anywhere else including a fox and a porcupine. Are you sure you want to go to Monteverde for just one night though?

We stayed in San Rafael just outside of Santa Elena on an organic coffee plantation owned by some Spaniards. It's called Satya B&B. They are located in San Rafael, just about 8 km from Santa Elena on the way from Arenal.

My prior post: One place that is off the beaten track and is on the way from Arenal to Monteverde is a little B&B called Satya, named for it's Spanish hostess. She and her husband Ignaki are wonderful hosts. We only planned one night on their organic coffee plantation, but it was such a wonderful visit, we stayed with them a bit longer. The guest rooms are very private, beautifully built with outside sitting areas, hammocks, with their own entrances and full baths.

Ignaki designed the house and it was built by local builders from a town not too far away and of local materials.

He and Satya are wonderful hosts. They have made a wonderful home for their 13 year old son in Costa Rica.

Ignaki's English is excellent. He is Spanish, but was educated in the UK.

Don't miss Satya's homemade breakfast with incredible jams and spanish tortilla. It's the perfect breakfast to get you started on a trek through the Monteverde Cloud Forest! (Which, incidentally, we are glad we didn't miss!)

Ignaki's fervor for his land and the coffee drew us into his love for this place. Their porch in the mountains has a view all the way to the sea of Nicoya on a clear day. It's a lovely place to kick back and relax a few days.

This place is tiny - Just two private rooms with en suite baths. The hosts provide a microwave, coffee maker and their own coffee from the plantation, of course.

Just found someone's great photos of Satya B&B

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimmyv/...7622070285842/

Thanks all, I really appreciate your input. We are going to stay in a 2 bed cabin at Iris.

And no, I don't want to go for just one night but we just can't work it any other way with some other trip details so we will make the best of it!

The trip was great and Iris was one of our favorite stops!
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