Hello all!

I have a question about Villa Blanca Hotel in the Cloud Forest.

Our travel agent has us there for 1 night on our way to Arenal from San Jose. To be honest, the hotel website photos leave a lot to be desired and I'm wondering what peoples' experiences have been like there.

FYI, we're travelling as 3 couples and they have one honeymoon suite (which looks nice) and 2 casitas (which don't...and have twin beds!!) reserved for us.

Wondering if anyone has a better suggestion that might have a more desirable rooming situation as well.

I think Villa Blanca is a lovely hotel. It's a charming, rustic style and I love the casitas. Most of the rooms have a queen and a twin, not two twins, and usually if there are twins they can push them together for a king. Every casita has a fireplace, a mini bar, TV, desk, nice bathroom, pretty stained-glass window, nice woodwork and details, very comfortable beds, very clean. The hotel has a nice spa, a comfy movie theater, a big game/TV room. They have a lot more character than a chain hotel.

Sandy

I'm a little surprised you are stopping off on the way to Arenal, considering SJO to Arenal is only a 2.5 hour drive. Are you starting out late in the day? That would explain, I guess.

For starters...Villa Blanca is in the Los Angeles Cloud forest. It is more in a 3,000 acre cattle farm than forest although there is some very nice cloud forest to hike in. The views are just beautiful. We were able to look out and see Arenal and La Fortuna the day we got there. There is a darling wedding chapel and beautiful plantings all around. Everything was beautifully manicured. The bar is well stocked and there are two flat screen tv's.

I stayed there just a month ago. It is a lovely place. The cabins were very nice. The showers were strong and there is a little fireplace with two rocking chairs as well as a mini bar. Our cabin had a front porch as well as a side porch with beautiful views. There is also a safe and a coffee pot in the room. We did not have a tv in our room.

We were the only guests the first night and we were treated like royalty. They couldn't do enough for us. The food was a little less exciting to me but considering that they weren't expecting any guests that day (we called from the road to say we were coming) they still did a very good job. Many of the things on the menu were not available so we had the same veggies for every meal. My husband had been there in July and said they had a bigger selection at that time.

Like their other property, Si Como No, they have a movie theater there as well as a huge recreation room with beautiful views. The rec room has a pool table, tv with dvd player, and another tv with satellite. There is a small library and games to play for the rainy days in the cloud forest.

For just a night to have a chance to look at a different type of place I think you would be very comfortable and it is certainly worth a stop there on the way to La Fortuna if you have the time. I am sure we will be back there again.

FYI it took us about 1 1/4 hr to get from there to Escazu (near San Jose).

2.5 hours to Arenal? You must be flying!

Villa Blanca is a good stop for the first night because it's only 1.5 hours from the airport. Then Arenal is 2 hours from there.

Sandy

Well, it hasn't felt like flying! Particularly through the clouds and on the curves--we keep moving, but certainly don't fly. Yes, from the airport, 2.5-3 hr, if we take a litte break! We've driven it several times now, and that is our usual time. . . the last time we drove it was in July, after dropping our daughter off at the airport. We left Alajuela at 3:00 and were there (and at Arenal Observatory Lodge!) before dark.