Tia

Has anyone stayed at the Arenal Lodge? I have tons of questions!! Please help!<BR><BR>Tia

lisa

I have, and I posted a trip report with lots of details, which I'll try to top for you.

Dawn

I stayed at the Arenal Lodge at in December 2001. I thought the rooms were very nice and the location is quite nice, especially if you are lucky enough to see the volcano, which we were not. However, we did get to hear the volcano quite often. Stay in a Junior Suite because those rooms have floor to ceiling windows so you can see the volcano and/or wildlife. My only problems with the hotel were the following: the food was awful and very overpriced and we had thousands of ants in our room and I mean that literally. They infested our clothing and it took us an hour to clean all of our things before departure.

ALF

We stayed there last month and had a great time! We were lucky enough to get two blue-sky mornings, and went on a couple of nearby walking tours. The food was OK, but nothing special, and was overpriced for Costa Rica. We stayed in the Smithsonian rooms, a separate building about a quarter-mile from the main lodge. We loved it!

Tia

Thank you all for your posts. Just so others aren't confused, we're staying at the Arenal Lodge not the Arenal Observatory Lodge. We've booked a chalet for five nights. These are some specific questions that we have:<BR><BR>What types of foods are served? Is it off of a menu? They quoted dinners as $15 US plus tax/person which seems a bit high. How's breakfasat? Are snacks available whenever you want them (soda/bottled water, too)?<BR><BR>What things are you able to do in the area on your own? With a guide?<BR><BR>What types of things should we pack (i.e. clothes, shoes, bug spray, sweat shirts, etc)?<BR><BR>Are there safes in the rooms? Or do we have to carry out passports and money with us wherever we go?<BR><BR>We know a little Spanish. Will we be ok with what we know and a phrase book?<BR><BR>If anyone can shed light on these questions for me, it would be most greatly appreicated!!! Thank you.<BR><BR>Tia

Iza

Tia, I can't answer any specific questions re Arenal Lodge but will try to give you some answers for your general ones.<BR><BR>As to what to pack: lightweight hiking boots or sneakers with good traction would be the preferred footwear in that area. Take shorts and t-shirts but I would take a pair or two of lightweight long pants and a sweatshirt or long sleeve shirt. Zip-off pants seem to work best. You will also need a rain jacket or poncho. When we were in the Arenal area in August it was rainy and/or overcast all the time and we really needed long pants/long sleeves. We did not need bug spray in that area (however, we definitely needed it on the coast). I would also suggest taking a good flashlight with you.<BR>We don't speak any Spanish and did fine with just a phrase book and a dictionary. In general, less people in the Arenal area spoke English than in other areas of Costa Rica. However, everyone we met was very nice and patient in communicating with us.<BR>Have a great trip.

lisa

They have a regular restaurant with a menu. The restaurant has nice views of the volcano and their garden which has lots of flowers and birds. I remember liking their French onion soup and sea bass meuniere, but this was over 2 years ago so it may have changed since then. I don't remember thinking that their prices were too bad but $15 for dinner is probably about right. (Overall Costa Rica was not as inexpensive as I expected it to be -- certainly far more expensive then Mexico, but still prices for most things are generally less than in the U.S.). Breakfast was a buffet and I thought it was good (not outstanding, but decent selection and pretty tasty). In terms of snacks, you will probably just want to go to a grocery store and stock up so that you have sodas and bottled water and things for your room. Our room had a small refrigerator. <BR><BR>There is horseback riding on the property and there are some hiking trails. There was a resident family of howler monkeys on the property. In terms of things to do, you can go to Tabacon Hot Springs, and drive to Arenal Observatory Lodge for a closer look at the volcano. We were in the area for 2 days/three nights and that was enough I thought. <BR><BR>The driveway to Arenal Lodge is VERY steep. The road to Arenal Observatory Lodge is (or was when we were there) a very long bumpy dirt road. <BR><BR>We did bring bug spray but I don't remember needing to use it at all. We did not have ants in our room at Arenal Lodge but we did in another hotel room in CR. I would not leave any food out because it will attract bugs.<BR><BR>I don't know what time of year you're going but when we were there it was cool and damp at Arenal even though it was hot and humid everywhere else we went in CR. I was glad I had brought long sleeves, long pants, and a lightweight jacket. In general I recommend layers that you can add on and take off as the temperature changes. Also sturdy hiking boots. If you have binoculars they come in handy for spotting wildlife. <BR><BR>I don't remember our room having a safe.<BR><BR>Most people speak some English, although we came across some cab drivers who did not. We managed to get by even though we know very little Spanish. We did have a phrase book.<BR><BR>Overall I didn't enjoy the Arenal area as much as the rest of CR, mainly because of the weather and because there was not as much wildlife as we saw elsewhere, and because the accommodations, while fine, were not as nice as we had elsewhere in the country. It was neat to see the volcano but it was fogged in most of the time which we were told is pretty typical. I did enjoy it, just not as much as the rest of the trip.

Tia

Lisa:<BR><BR>Thank you so much for the info. I think I printed out your trip report last night. Just printed this post and will take it home to share with the hubby. We may have more questions for you on Monday (if that's ok)!! I'm so happy you answered my post!!! Thank you again.<BR><BR>Tia

lisa

Tia are you saying that you are using your time at work to post your messages here? Shame on you.

Lita

We stayed at the lodge several years ago and would not go back. We felt "trapped" on the volcano. Food was very expensive (and horrible). The view from our window was beautiful and we were able to see the volcano spewing. Not a lot of wild life, and we were pretty beat after the long drive from Monteverde. We are going back to CR in a few days and will be visiting Manuel Antonio, Dominical and Tortuguero

Dawn

Tia - <BR><BR>We purchased what we thought was three meals a day from the Arenal Lodge. In reality, what we received was two coupons per person per day for meals. Each meal "ticket" was worth $15. So breakfast, which was buffet, did not require a coupon because it was included in the regular room fee. Then comes lunch and dinner and you start ordering off a menu...it was easy to use only the $15 for lunch because we were eating things like sandwiches and soup, but dinner was different. It wasn't easy to eat off the menu for only $15. Most of the entrees are about that price before you ordered desert or a salad, etc. Many entrees were well above the $15 mark. In addition, drinks are separate. So even if you ordered a cheap entree at $10 and then ordered a beer, the beer cost could not be included in the $15. So even if you had money "left over" it could not be applied to the cost of certain drinks. It was rather confusing and quite the rip off. In addition, the food is not good. I could get a much better value here in DC.