Am trying to find nice, comfortable, accommodations for our family in July. We don't need luxury but don't want motel like accommodations either. Seems all 'decent' hotels are in the mid to high 200's for July! Is it just me or does this seem excessive for Costa Rica? I mean I can get a pretty nice hotel for that amount in the states, and generally can find greater deals if I look hard enough. The hotels I'm seeing at this price point (Arenal Springs, Lost Iguana, Silencio Del campo, etc.) Just don't seem to be the equivalent of a similarly priced hotel in the US. Granted the outside spaces seem nice but the rooms seem just ho-hum. The hotels with beautiful rooms (The Springs, Nayara, etc.) Are in excess of 600.00 per night! There are ten of us so we'd be spending close to $2000.00 per night! I'm starting to think I might be better off in a VRBO. Also the fact that they consider anyone over 12 an adult and charge you additional fees for them seems crazy to me. I expected to get a bigger bang for my buck in Costa Rica. So I guess my question is does anyone have any experience or recommendations on house rentals in the Arenal area? Or are the hotels really worth the price? Apologies on my ranting!

If you decide to go the VRBO route, be sure to ask what kind of security they have in place. Friends of ours rented a house, and their place was broken into with all their cameras, iPhones, etc. stolen. Most hotels will have security, safes, etc. Costa Rica isn't really a cheap destination. We stayed at the Arenal Observatory Lodge on our last trip and thought it was pretty affordable. Their Smithsonian rooms are nice. We've stayed at The Springs before, but it was on a Groupon deal so we got it for half price. Silencio del Campo and Los Lagos are pretty popular with young families. If you're staying in a popular tourist area, the prices kind of reflect that unfortunately.

Arenal is a tourist area. Prices reflect what tourists will pay, particularly Americans. Costa Rica is pretty much an economy that relies heavily on tourism. It is not a 3rd world country and prices reflect that.

I just visited the area a couple of months ago. Arenal is definitely more expensive now than it was when we went 15 years ago, but we stayed at a less expensive hotel in the area (Arenal Manoa). Really, it was fine, individual bungalows with a beautiful front porch facing the volcano, restaurant and hot springs pool on site. You are paying for the location, which in my opinion is more important than the room. There is so much to do in Arenal and it is my favorite area in Costa Rica, especially if you like outdoor adventure activities.

The places everyone has heard of tend to be the most expensive. Mid-budget places that are pretty nice just don't get that much attention--it's the unusual or extraordinary that get the attention which may skew perceptions.

The Arenal Observatory Lodge is much more reasonably priced and, for my money (literally) offers the most unique Costa Rican experience of any place in the Arenal area.

Thanks everyone. I'll take another look at the observatory lodge, and check out Manoa.
RAC any other mid budget places I could look at?

Maybe Los Lagos or Chachagua (haven't stayed at either, but have heard/read good things).