maxwell

I'm in the process of emailing hotels, but can anyone tell me of hotels in Monteverde and Arenal that have (dependable!) wireless connections? (Yes I know ideally I should leave my laptop at home, but that is not an option...)
Many thanks in advance - would save me some time contacting different hotels.

volcanogirl

My husband took his laptop to Costa Rica on our trip last year because we were buying a new house and needed to communicate with our agent. We didn't find wireless connections at any of our hotels, but the Lost Iguana in Arenal did have a dial-up computer in the lobby for everyone to share. Very sloooooow, but it worked.

maxwell

volcanogirl- thanks very much for the info...yikes dial up. better than nothing though!!

volcanogirl

Yes, it was pretty amusing. There was always a long line of people wanting to use the computer - one computer for an entire hotel. At Grano de Oro in San Jose, we had a dial-up connection in our room which was great, but dial-up still seemed pretty retro! I would say Arenal and Monteverde did not seem as wired in as places like San Jose and Manuel Antonio. Hope you have a great trip.

roadadvisor

Mountain Paradise...offer wireless ...new hotel in Arenal..

R.A Luis.

Just buckle up and enjoy the ride in paradise!!

hipvirgochick

Hotel Campo del Silencio has high-speed (not sure if it's wireless though). They have one computer available to share, but since it's a small property it was usually readily available.

maxwell

thanks everyone! will check all of these out. am getting excited about christmas in costa rica.

volcanogirl

roadadvisor, one of our drivers told us they were building a 400-room hotel in Arenal - is this the one he was talking about? I couldn't imagine something that big going in there.

He spoke fluent English, so I kept asking, "400? Really 400 rooms?" And he kept saying yes, but I'm still wondering...That seems like a big change for Arenal.

maxwell

volcanogirl - here's the link to the hotel to which roadadvisor referred http://www.hotelmountainparadisecr.com/ - it looks great! only 15 rooms. unfortunately more than we wanted to spend since we will be there at christmas & the prices are jacked up...but it sure looks nice. (there are three of us so we need a suite)

hipvirgochick

volcanogirl -- Unfortunately, that hotel's probably the one going up next to El Campo del Silencio. They're completely heartbroken over it as it really takes a way from the lovely premises and dozen+ cute little cottages sprinkled amongst the grounds. That thing is hideous and truly and eyesore. I have an aversion to large hotel facilities anyway, but this one is truly out of place here. I can't see it developing any character at all.

Suzie2

Oh hip that sounds awful. I was there only very briefly this trip and saw the construction but didn't know what it was. The family that owns the Arenal Paraiso have a pretty big place going up next to their lodge. I did ask about that. It will be their private home from what I was told.

hipvirgochick

Suzie2 -- I know, it's so sad. It just looks like a big cement "thing" right now. Hopefully it will look better when completed. The gov't really needs to develop and enforce some zoning laws there before it gets out of hand.

volcanogirl

Oh, wow - so it really is true? Sounds like Costa Rica is going the way of Hawaii. I kept thinking I must be misunderstanding him in some way. I feel sorry for the people who have property around them. maxwell, thanks for the info. on the other property as well.