Currently the Hotel Observatory Lodge, Arenal Lodge, Lost Iguana and Linda Vista Del Norte have lava flow view. Which is the best for comfort but still reasonable prices? We prefer A/C - I think we'll need it as we'll be there in early September 2007.
Thanks for your kind help!

I don't think you will need air conditioning -- it gets pretty cool at night in Arenal. I'm usually cold and need an extra blanket. Of the hotels you listed I have only stayed at Arenal Lodge, but I love it, love it, love it. It's farther away from the others, but it has a great view of the entire volcano and the grounds are very nice -- butterfly house, nice rainforest trails, horses, etc. I've been there a few times and will go back in January. I've also stayed at some other Arenal hotels -- all are good enough but Arenal Lodge is my favorite.

Sandy

We stayed at the Lost Iguana and liked it - it's located on the outskirts of town in the hills so it's quiet, has good volcano views, and our room did have a.c. A lot of the a.c. we had in CR was remote controlled which we thought was pretty cool. You could just punch in the temperature on the remote and the a.c. which was mounted high on the wall would turn on.

P.S. Forgot to add that September is the height of the rainy season, so that may help to keep things cool.

igougo - I second sandyc and volcanogirl's comments about AC at Lost Iguana. In fact, we didn't realize until our third night that we had even had remote control air conditioning available, because we didn't need it.

It definitely did get cool in the evenings - we were wearing long-sleeved knit shirts and long pants to sit out at night and watch the volcano do its thing. We liked the AC more to get moisture out of the air than for keeping things cool.

La Mansion Inn and Lost Iguana Resort are two of the best.

Thank you all for the information! Did not know what to expect with the night temperatures. The A.C. remotes sound great. I love this talk forum, I have learned so much from you fellow travelers.

Loved the Lost Iguana. Plus, they have a trail to hike to the hanging bridges. Lost Iguana was beautiful, highly recommend.