Arenal Observatory Lodge & Trails

Location is beautiful and we took full advantage of the grounds and hikes, including a night tour. They have a little cafe and museum. Even when it rained the entire day on our 2nd day we still got out and enjoyed the beauty. Do the waterfall hike! Night tour with Cristian was fantastic. Free breakfast was tasty and generous. Lodge was perfect distance from town. We liked popping into town for snacks, hanging out in the plaza and then retreating to our quiet paradise. We didn't use it, but they had a little recreation room in our building with a ping pong table and foosball table. The dining hall had a chess table, and the lobby has a tv room with checkers. Highly recommend you book your free guided tour as soon as you check in. The 8am and 10 am were all booked by the time we decided to do it.

Arenal Observatory Lodge offers excellent service, accommodations, and the optimum location for experiencing Arenal Volcano, the surrounding nature, and ziplining adventures! We enjoyed a spacious Smithsonian room and bird watching from our patio. Everything was quite clean and comfortable. We had drinks after we arrived (Happy Hour 5-6pm) and an excellent breakfast in the morning, which was a combination of ordering an entree and then going to the buffet for fruit, cereal, juice, coffee, tea, etc. After breakfast, we did some bird watching from the deck outside the restaurant; in the garden, they have a very tall metal sculpture they put fresh melon on to attract birds. Even in the pouring rain we saw many birds, including a male and a female Great Curassow! We wish we would have stayed a few more days to enjoy all the amenities, such as the spa and different on-site tours. These options weren’t apparent from looking at the Booking.com profile. This is essentially a resort; one night was great but I would recommend staying at least two (or more) days to maximize your experience. (This is the perfect location if you plan to do ziplining at Sky Adventure early in the morning.)

The entire property was beautiful and if you like to walk/hike, there were great trails. The observation deck was good for bird watching and the restaurant had wonderful views. The breakfast (included) was good, as was the dinner (not included in the price). The room was comfortable, but there was no airconditioning. Thankfully, there was a fan. We also liked our deck that looked out at the lake.

The shower was awesome, and the beds are very comfortable. The room was spacious. There was no AC, but the dehumidifier was perfect for getting clothes dry as the hung in the room. There was plenty of space to unpack and feel settled. The trails were very nice, though most of them were rainforest-adjacent or through fields, the few that were in the rainforest were lovely. Breakfast was good, especially the banana bread and fresh pineapple!

There is so much history attached to the Observation Lodge that it makes for a fascinating place to stay. It's the first and only hotel located within the national park due to it being an observation location for volcanologists, so the trails, wildlife and landscaping around the hotel is incredible. There are endless walking routes with tropical birds, hanging bridges, waterfalls and crossfit challenges waiting to be found. There's an onsite spa, pool, restaurant, bar, museum and shop, and reception offers additional information around tours and practical things like laundry services. The hotel offers a complimentary nature walk, plus a tractor ride around the grounds to get the most from your stay plus paid for activities such as a night walk. The room includes complimentary breakfast each morning overlooking the Arenal lake and volcano - I'll never get bored of that view! So many birdwatchers come to the hotel, as the grounds attract over 500 species of bird.