suzie, help!
 

staying at arenal paraiso in fortuna. thank you for your suggestion. we need a similar (moderate) hotel in monteverde for 2 nights in early march......

I was very comfortable at the Heliconia. It is right across the street from the road to the butterfly farm. Food is very good but has gotten a little expensive. Johnny's pizza up the road is a good alternative. A bit of a hike into Santa Elena but is doable. Sometimes I would take a taxi one way and walk the other. El Sapo Dorado is closer to town and they have cabins. Nice place also.
I actually spent a week one time at a little Pension diagonally across the street from the Heliconia. It is called Pension Manakin. I had their private room with a balcony and private bath. It was very comfortable.
Monteverdeinfo.com has a small map that shows where the different hotels are as well as some of the attractions and necessities like the post office, bank, grocery, etc.

thanks again, suzie! with taxes and breakfast, sapo dorado is $111/ nt, heliconia $124, and belmar $109. pretty similar. guess i just need to pick one!

The Belmar is a little further out so you will end up spending more on transportation. You won't be able to go anywhere without paying for a ride. It is a lovely place. I took a look at it one time when I was up there.

I have been looking at the same hotels for 4 of us (women) for one night in two weeks. We will only be staying one night as the next morning we are doing the horse-boat-4x4 to Arenal. We want something not like a chain, quiet, natural,comfortable,close to nature. Would one be preferable over the others for an afternoon hike, etc? Thanks, R.

Suzie2, you should consider being a Costa Rica travel agent. You would do well. Seriously.

bodhijack, Have you made a decision yet which hotel? Suzie, any other input??? R.

R
If you are just going to have an afternoon you will have to decide what you want to do with that short time. Options are, from the Heliconia, you can walk to the butterfly garden and stroll through there. It is actually one of my favorite places. Right near there also is Finca Ecologica. It is one of the few places up there where I have seen wildlife because it doesn't get too much people traffic. There is also a waterfall you can hike down to. The two main Reserves will have to be driven to by one way or another (taxi, car) Both are very nice. Monteverde has the Hummingbird gallery which is really nice. Sky Trek has a couple of early afternoon starts for the canopy tour-plan most of the afternoon for this.
Both the Sapo Dorado and Heliconia have their own trails to walk on if you just want to get out and stroll around. El Sapo Dorado is closer to town.
If you enjoy shopping there are several artist shops and a coop (CASEM). You would need to hire a taxi for a couple of hours to see these places.
There are several options for nighttime tours also where you get to see some creepy crawlies as well as other nocturnal life. With such a short time available I would suggest you have a plan before you get there.

Suzie - It can't be said enough how much those of us that need your help appreciate it. This is exactly the info. I was looking for. No matter how many guide books you read you can't find small important details like this. Butterfly garden and night hike sound good to us. Do I need to book the night hike now? With whom? Thanks.

Have heard fairly recently that the Finca Ecologica was better than the Monteverde. I thought both were good but it has been a couple of years. For Monteverde you could make the reservations now because the tour is limited. I foreget how Finca Ecologica works because I usually just wait until I get places to make plans. You have such a short time there that you don't have that option.

Thanks for the nice words. there are several others on here that have had some very good info also. I have learned a lot from Ally's posting on the beaches around Samara, Nosara, Tamarindo. I have been to the beaches further north so between the two of us we are getting most of the Pacific coast covered.
My husband and I like to see new things together but after he leaves I like to check out places I have been to see what is new or places that he won't like.