Sleeping Withthe Toucans
Homepage
|
|
100 GREAT PLACES TO STAY IN COSTA RICA Web Edition v. 2.0 February, 2009; Copyright © 2007 - 2009 HayFields Science Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
|
For many visitors to Costa Rica, the first exploratory drive heads from San José’s airport over the central cordillera to Arenal volcano – Costa Rica’s continuously active fiery mountain – and continues past scenic Lake Arenal to Santa Elena and the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. From here the paths diverge. Some visitors return to San José, others head west to the Nicoya Peninsula or south to the beaches of the central Pacific.
From San Ramón to Fortuna, Costa Rica 142 winds through rolling hills and misty, forested mountains – a splendid introduction to the overwhelming green of Costa Rica. Just before the high pass over the cordillera is the little town of Los Angeles Norte and the splendid Villa Blanca Hotel – a great place for your first night if you got into the San Jose airport early and you don’t want to stay in the city. Once over the pass, you are deep in rural Costa Rica. Then it all changes in Fortuna: this is a tourist town full of cafes, tour operators, and inexpensive hostels.
Photo © Chris Fields
El Volcán Arenal towers over Fortuna, dwarfing the town and everything in it. Arenal exploded to life in July 1968 while students were rioting in Paris and America still reeled from the King and Kennedy assassinations. The eruption wiped out the farming community of Pueblo Nuevo north of the mountain, burying 15 square kilometers in black cinders and ash. Arenal has been active more or less continuously ever since. The last big eruption was in March 2001, but the volcano steams and hurls smoking rocks into the air almost daily.
There’s someplace to stay every few meters, it seems, from Fortuna to the Lake Arenal dam. Most offer a volcano view, but keep in mind that it’s pretty cloudy up here most of the time – we didn’t see past the broad base of Arenal until our third visit. If the congestion on the main road doesn’t appeal but you still want a volcano view, head up to Leaves and Lizards above El Tanque – brand new, off the beaten track, quiet and very private. And the view across the valley to the mountain can’t be beat.
Other than rich soil and fireworks, the volcano’s gift to the area is hot springs. The famous Tabacón Resort is by far the nicest and has a great spa, but it’s also pricey – $45 a person just to get past the gate. For a lower-priced and more Tico alternative, try Baldi; it has a restaurant, spa, two swim-up bars, and 16 pools ranging from lukewarm to a blistering 172 degrees F. Further off the beaten track are the hot springs at Aguas Zarcas on the property of the Occidental Hotel El Tucano. The springs in the river are nice but the hotel is a bit odd; they regarded us with extreme suspicion when we showed up to look around, and we never could get them to tell us their prices.
Wooden signs posted by the government warn visitors that right under the volcano is “alto riesgo” – high risk – for volcanic activity. If you feel an earthquake up here, it might be time to get out of Dodge, double quick. You never know when a visit to Arenal might include some real excitement.
East of Los Angeles Norte
Keywords: Spa, Birding, Art/Architecture
Photo © Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Hotel and Spa
Contact Information:Essentials:
34 Cabins
English, Spanish
All major credit cards accepted
Secure parking
Breakfast included, Restaurant, Bar
Room Amenities: Coffee maker, Ceiling fan, Refrigerator/minibar, In-room safe, Free WiFi (main building)
How to get here:
Turn east (right if coming from San Ramón) off Highway 142 in Los
Angeles Norte, at the sign for Villa Blanca. Follow the dirt road
bearing left (downhill) at the Y-junction. The road ends at Villa
Blanca’s gate. Note that this road is one lane and can be very foggy.
You don’t have to go all the way to Monteverde to see a real cloud forest; in fact, the morning mist was so thick when we emerged from our cabin at Villa Blanca that we could barely make out the main building of the lodge which was just above us on the top of the hill. Walking through the woods in clouds this dense is otherworldly, especially when the woods are thick with exotic tropical flowers, delicate ferns taller than you are, and massive, gnarled trees dripping with mosses, bromeliads, and orchids. Even the birds are tentative on mornings like this, and the forest is, for the most part, quiet. It’s as though it’s waiting for the sun to finally emerge, in late morning or maybe after lunch, and turn the forest and hillsides sparkling green. Then, in the evening, the mist rolls back in turning the lights on the footpaths into soft glowing spheres and covering everything in silence.
Villa Blanca feels like a grand estate – and it was. Before its conversion into a luxury resort in 2004, this was the private retreat of former Costa Rican President Rodrigo Carazo. The gardens and forest land of the hotel border the 2,000 acre Los Angeles Cloud Forest Reserve. A lovely little chapel dedicated to President Carazo’s wife Estrella sits on the property, its ceiling an amazing mosaic of hand-painted tiles made and arranged by Rebecca Fernández Zeledón, Doña Estrella’s sister. Additional works by Fernández Zeledón grace the main building together with paintings by various other artists.
The cabins at Villa Blanca are comfortable and well equipped, and all have that wonderful luxury in a high-altitude location – a fireplace with plenty of split wood, firestarters, and matches. If you are reserving a standard cabin, ask for # 29 or 30; these have bathtubs. The five honeymoon cabins (# 22 – 26) have private porches shielded from view by dense garden plantings. The deluxe cabins are larger and have separate bath and shower rooms but no outdoor space to themselves.
It’s hard to get too far into the woods at Villa Blanca – there is a nice one-km nature trail, but the reserve exists mainly for the animals, not for you. Longer walks require a guide ($24 per person), and even the guided trails are only a couple of miles. For longer trips, visit the horseback outfitters up the road toward Los Angeles. Or just relax. There are plenty of locations for adventurous hiking in Costa Rica; Villa Blanca is about serenity, relaxed luxury, and a sense of wonder about your surroundings. Sit in the spacious living room of the main building in front of one of the two big stone fireplaces; order a drink from the bar and watch the evening clouds descend. Dinner is waiting, and it will be beautifully presented and very tasty. Just ask for tonight’s Special and don’t forget dessert. Your cabin is just down the hill and the clouds, like a heavy snowfall, assure you a perfectly silent night.
South of Muelle
Keywords: Relax/Get-away, Horseback Riding
Photo © Alison Tinsley
Contact Information:Essentials:
12 Cabins, 2 Rooms
English, Spanish,
All major credit cards accepted
Secure parking
Swimming pool
Breakfast included, Restaurant, Bar
Room Amenities: AC, Ceiling fan, Private outdoor space
How to get here:
From San Jose, drive via San Ramón and Highway 142 instead of
Highway 141 to Ciudad Quesada which is a major truck route. Turn
east just south of San Isidro towards San Ramón and Florencia. From
Florencia, go north on Highway 35 toward Muelle;
La Garza is on the west side of the road between Platanar and Muelle.
"Bucolic" is the word that comes to mind as you park in the clearing and gaze across the Rio Platanar to the old casona – the farmhouse – and its flowering gardens. Walk across the narrow suspension bridge to the farm, and you are back maybe 50 years to a rural Costa Rica before villages were overtaken by roads and everything was mechanized. OK, you’ll have to ignore the TV over the bar and the farmhands studiously surveying the pool table. But La Garza is still as close as you’re likely to come to the quiet atmosphere of an era that managed somehow to be tough and gracious at the same time.
La Garza farm doesn’t have the bustle it must once have had, but it still devotes almost 70 hectares to dairy cattle and horses. As we practiced our yoga on our cabin’s private patio one morning, we watched one of the farms caballeros riding out with his dog along the river, and half an hour later returning with at least two dozen horses spread out in a long line, the dog busy with the stragglers. The front desk will organize a ride for you along the river or up into the farm’s 170 hectares of primary and secondary forest. Or you can fish or bird-watch or just sit and watch the river flow. Slowness seems in order here.
La Garza’s six duplex cabins face the river on the bank opposite the casona (the side you can get to by car without fording the river). The rooms are spacious and well-furnished (if slightly rundown) and have deep wrap-around decks with chairs and hammocks. Thick plantings separate the cabins, so your outdoor space is all your own. It’s a five-minute walk among the bromeliad-laden trees along the riverbank to the suspension bridge, the casona, and the pool/playground area beyond. The path is nicely lit at night, but there’s nothing garish. Out here, you want to be able to see the stars.
Dinner is served in the casona in an atmosphere of rustic elegance. It is in the subtle lighting of the evening that the well-tended age of this place becomes evident. A century old is old for a wooden farmhouse in the tropics, and the hardwood floors gleam with use. The menu is hearty and varied, but we asked the chef what he recommended that evening and were rewarded with generous plates of roast pork and buttered vegetables, followed by a delicious peach cheesecake. Lights glimmered on a Christmas tree decorating the verandah, and one of the farm’s dogs sprawled on the sidewalk across the railing from our table, eyeing us from time to time for a scrap of pork. We could easily have been family guests, long ago.
As tourism in Costa Rica takes on a faster pace and an increased focus on “must-see” destinations, places like La Garza are slipping even farther off the beaten path. You have to really look for this kind of tranquility to find it anymore.
North Side of El Volcán Arenal
Keyword: Kid-friendly
Photo © Alison Tinsley
Contact Information:
506-8833-0038 (voice); 506-2460-8000 (fax)
arenal-erupciones@hotmail.com
www.erupcionesinn.com
Essentials:
11 Rooms
English, Spanish, German
All major credit cards accepted
Secure parking
Breakfast included, Restaurants nearby
Room Amenities: TV, AC, Ceiling fan, Refrigerator/minibar
How to get here:
Follow Highway 142 northwest from La Fortuna; Erupciones is on the
south (i.e. left) side of the highway about 10 km from La Fortuna. In
other words, right under the volcano.
We were standing on the front porch of one of Erupciones Inn’s deluxe rooms, looking up at El Volcán Arenal. Smoking-hot rocks bounded down the volcano’s slopes, heading straight for us. It must not have been our time, though. They stopped well short of the little river that runs behind Erupciones Inn’s property and buffers it from the volcano’s slopes. This is about as close to Arenal’s north slope as you can get: the postal address for Erupciones is “Frente al Volcán Arenal.” Too bad it was cloudy that night; the fireworks must have been impressive.
In contrast to its many larger neighbors, Erupciones Inn is a small, family-operated B&B. It offers three minimal but comfortable standard rooms in an orange-and-blue bungalow, six deluxe rooms with refrigerators and air conditioners, and two bright yellow junior suites. The rooms aren’t fancy, but they all have big windows facing the volcano and that’s what you’re here to see. The deluxe rooms and junior suites are closer to the volcano, but only slightly. Every room has a porch with an unimpeded view.
Jessenia Vasquez, your host, is one of the main reasons to stay at Erupciones Inn. After just moments with her, you feel like family. She knows all the local history and, it seems, everyone in town. She can tell you where to eat, where to find a great hot spring, and fill you in on all the current gossip. Children, pets, and guests surround her and she lavishes attention on them all.
Jessenia can arrange visits to any of the nearby sites and, at least when we were there, she passed her tour commissions on to her guests. Take a hike or horseback tour to the extinct Cerro Chato volcano with its crater lake, check out the cloud-forest hanging-bridges tour just on the other side of the Rio Arenal, or take a canoe or float trip in search of wildlife with Canoa Aventura. If it’s a sunny weekend, just head down the road to the Arenal Dam – on the right kinds of days the bridge turns into an uninterrupted party, with what traffic there is squeezing between parked cars, family picnics, and impromptu dancing powered by 12-volt boom boxes.
Erupciones Inn is just part of the Vasquez family business; the rest of the property is a working cattle ranch. Breakfast, served down at the family house, comes from the farm. You can walk up to the river or take a tour of the family lecheria where the cows are milked. Or take a horseback tour to the very base of Arenal where the land angles upward in an abrupt cone. Watch out for those smoking rocks, though!
North Side of El Volcán Arenal
Keyword: Destination Restaurant
Photo © Alison Tinsley
Contact Information:Essentials:
14 Rooms
English, Spanish
All major credit cards accepted
Secure parking
Swimming pool
Breakfast included, Restaurant, Bar
Room Amenities: TV, AC, Ceiling fans, Private outdoor space
How to get here:
Follow Highway 142 northwest from La Fortuna; the Arenal Volcano
Inn is on the north (i.e. right) side of Highway 142, nine km northwest
of La Fortuna.
Looking for a quiet place with all the modern conveniences for volcano viewing? Needing a base camp for river rafting or other Arenal-area adventures? Or maybe you’re thinking of staying at Tabacón but don’t like the price. The answer is simple and just up the road – the brand new, sparkling clean, and nicely-appointed Arenal Volcano Inn. There are a gazillion hotels in this price range or just above lining the road between Fortuna and the bridge, but they’re all pretty generic. Arenal Volcano Inn has more character and charm than most.
One of the many nice features of Arenal Volcano Inn is the location of the rooms – set back from the road, amidst nice gardens, overlooking a lovely, large-enough-to-really-swim-in pool. The rooms aren’t fancy, but they’re light and bright with colorful walls, comfortable queen beds, and all the appliances you’d expect in a hotel room in the States. Another plus is that they are each in separate casitas (except for the four connectable “family” rooms by the pool), and each has its own volcano-view patio.
And what a view it is! You’re across the road and out of the defined eruption danger zone, but the volcano still looks like it’s right on top of you. The casitas have been carefully placed to look directly at the monster. The view is a little west of north, but there’s been plenty of lava visible from that direction recently. You can easily hear the beast rumbling away through the night.
If you tire of volcano watching or soaking in the area’s hot springs, there are waterfalls and great hiking on the eastern side of Volcán Chatto, Arenal’s smaller, currently-inactive sibling to the south. To get there, head south out of Fortuna toward La Tigra and turn right after the bridge, following the signs to the cataratas. Several tour operators will also take you there; ask at the Volcano Inn’s front desk.
The Volcano Inn’s Que Rico Restaurant is a pleasant surprise – spacious, reasonably priced, great volcano view and, to top it all, excellent Italian food. The Que Rico is one of the few places we’ve found in Costa Rica – or in the Western Hemisphere, for that matter – that makes Spaghetti Carbonara the Italian way, with no cream sauce. And they serve a dynamite wood-oven pizza too. This place is so popular that tour busses stop here. Wherever you’re staying in the Arenal area, a visit to Que Rico will be rewarding.
Update (February, 2008): Sigh. Last time we stopped by there was cream sauce in the carbonara.
South Side of El Volcán Arenal
Keywords: Birding, Hiking
Photo © Arenal Observatory Lodge
Contact Information:Essentials:
43 Rooms, Dormitories, One 2-BR house; 5 Wheelchair access rooms
English, Spanish
All major credit cards accepted
Secure parking
Swimming pool, Hot tub
Breakfast included, Restaurant, Bar
Room Amenities: Semi-private outdoor space
How to get here:
Follow Highway 142 northwest from La Fortuna, then turn south
(left) at the intersection for Arenal Volcano National Park, across the
road from the small police station. Continue on the dirt road past the
park to a T-intersection and turn left. Turn left again at the next
intersection and cross the bridge following signs to the Lodge. 4-WD
required in the rainy season and advisable at all times.
Volcano aficionados and serious birders won’t want to miss this famous lodge with rooms originally built to house volunteer volcano-watchers from the Smithsonian Institution. The day we arrived, the volcano was splendidly on view, the smoking summit just 1.7 miles away across a narrow forested canyon. The black and barren southwestern slopes are reminders of recent major eruptions; the main lava flows have shifted to the north side in recent years (so if you want to see their fiery trails at night you should pick other lodgings), but who knows when they might return?
The Arenal Observatory Lodge occupies a huge property – 384 hectares – bordering Arenal Volcano National Park on one side and the Monteverde Reserve on the other. Most of our fellow guests were there for the birds, equipped with powerful binoculars and massive, long-lens cameras. A “preliminary” bird list of observed species handed out to guests as a starting point includes almost 300, neatly arranged by Latin family, genus, and species names. We’re not birders who keep detailed lists, but we noted in a morning at least three we’d never seen before.
The atmosphere here is different from other places we’ve stayed; true to its scientific origins, the Lodge maintains some of the feel of a relatively luxurious field station. A seismic monitor traces away day and night in the original Observatory building, topo maps and time-lapse photos of previous eruptions line the walls, and a poster from a 2005 scientific meeting details measurements of the distances flown by some of the larger hunks of volcanically-ejected rock (up to two kilometers!). Someone’s ancient collection of pickled snakes sits incongruously on a shelf, the labels so faded they’re hardly readable.
The best rooms for volcano-viewing are the “Smithsonian” rooms, some down the hill from the dining hall and others adjacent to the observatory. There are five rooms designed for full access by wheelchairs and a large house overlooking Lake Arenal with nice dorm rooms and a common area. The “White Hawk Villa” – the owner’s private two-bedroom lodging and a splendid example of funky, high-modernist mountain architecture – is available for less than $500 per night. The Lodge’s buildings, pool, and access roads are connected by well-lit paved sidewalks; the pretty Saino Trail into the forest is also paved and wheelchair-accessible. Don’t miss the wonderful Waterfall Trail which winds deep into the forest to a pounding cascade of the Rio Danta.
While bird-watching, swimming, or even sleeping here, the volcano is a constant and commanding presence. You can hear it even in the pitch dark, rumbling and coughing out irregular blasts of gasses and smoke. One of these days, it will surely erupt again. Maybe you’ll be right here (just watching, we hope).
Update (February, 2008): Friends staying at the Observatory Lodge report that the lava's back on their side now.
Monterrey, North of El Tanque
Keyword: Hiking
Photo © Leaves and Lizards
Contact Information:Essentials:
3 Cabins
English, Spanish
Credit cards in advance; Cash only in Costa Rica
Secure parking
Breakfast included, Lunch and dinner by arrangement
Room Amenities: Coffee maker, Refrigerator/minibar, In-room safe,
Ceiling fan, Private outdoor space, Free WiFi
How to get here:
From La Fortuna, go east on Highway 142 (the main street through
town) to El Tanque. In El Tanque, turn left (north) on Highway 4
toward Monterrey and Upala. Cross the Arenal River and continue
to Monterrey/Santo Domingo. Bear left entering Monterrey, pass the
bank, and turn left onto the dirt road at the T-intersection. Leaves
and Lizards is 500 meters past the “Super Kike” grocery store. 4-WD
strongly recommended.
For one of the best views of Arenal Volcano, consider staying in a cozy cabin on this finca (farm) turned B&B about 20 minutes from La Fortuna. Opened on Valentine’s Day 2006 by newlyweds Steve and Debbie Legg, with a couple of dollars and a dream, Leaves and Lizards is a bit off the beaten path – and the Arenal path is pretty beaten. Driving down the three km stretch of chunky earth that leads up to this 26-acre farm might make you think twice about your choice, but then again, this is Costa Rica, and perseverance has its rewards.
Upon arriving, you quickly realize that Leaves and Lizards is unlike the fairly standardized inns that dot the Arenal landscape. The philosophy of the farm is wonderfully progressive and leans toward self-sufficiency. With just three cabins, it is also quite intimate. Leaves and Lizards prides itself on its sustainable and eco-educational practices as well as a “just visiting friends” approach to service. We were greeted with a cold drink of fresh carambola (star fruit) juice from one of the trees on the property and a wonderful lunch of handmade pork empanadas (courtesy of one of the farm’s own pigs) prepared by the wife of a local farmer. The pigs actually work double time, as their waste is used by an on-site biodigester that produces gas for cooking. We also collected eggs from the barn’s chickens for breakfast the following morning.
The cabins are constructed of all sustainable materials including farmed teak on the porches, and there are plans to reforest the hillsides that lead up to the primary forest bordering the property, eventually extending the forest in order to encourage the wonderful wildlife to come up closer to the cabins. A natural hot spring was recently discovered between the hillsides which, in a future project, will be used to feed individual thermal Jacuzzis for each of the cabins.
Arrangements can be made for many kinds of day trips from the ever popular canopy or zip-line tours to more adventurous excursions like waterfall repelling, rafting trips through 52 rapids, fishing in Lake Arenal, mountain ridge or river hiking treks (on horse or by foot) through amazing primary forests, and a horseback ride to view Arenal’s burning red lava at sunset – from a safe distance of course. You can even go to a local Tico dairy farm, milk a cow, and learn how they make their local cheese! `
When it’s time to wind down at the end of the day, sit on your cabin’s porch and soak in that killer view as the mountain’s explosions glow and drizzle down its sides. If you are looking for a simple down-home Costa Rican farm experience in an abundantly rich forest setting with individualized service, lots to do, and a spectacular view of the volcano while bird watching and sipping a cerveza, then pack your binoculars, throw the car into 4-WD, and head up to Leaves and Lizards.
(Guest author - Liz Duffy)
Update (February, 2008): Trees planted just last year are a meter high or more, and full of chestnut-mandibled toucans. Mireya's classic Tico dinners are great, and don't miss Steve's pancake breakfast!
West Side of El Volcán Arenal
Keyword: Hiking
Photo © Lost Iguana Lodge
Essentials:
21 Rooms, 17 Suites, 2 Villas
English, Spanish
All major credit cards accepted
Secure parking
Swimming pool
Breakfast included, Restaurant, Bar
Room Amenities: AC, TV, Refrigerator/minibar, Coffee maker, In-room
safe, Private outdoor space
How to get here:
Follow Highway 142 northwest from La Fortuna, then turn north off
of Highway 142 at the Y-intersection just past Lake Arenal dam,
following signs for Lost Iguana. The Lodge is about one km up the
road, on the left.
The Lost Iguana is relatively new and feels it. The rooms here are nicely proportioned and creatively decorated with lots of color, light, and tropical Asian touches. They all have private patios or balconies with splendid if somewhat distant views of Arenal Volcano. Avoid the lower level rooms however, as they’re quite noisy when you have upstairs neighbors. Unlike many lava-viewing hotels, the Lost Iguana is embedded in the jungle with challenging trails and plenty of birds, monkeys, and other critters. Even some iguanas, but nobody knows where.
We took off on the longer of the two loop trails in the late afternoon to shake ourselves out after our drive and get ourselves a bit more ready for dinner. A fellow guest, a muscular middle-aged woman from California, told us that it was muddy from recent rains but only took about 45 minutes. We wore river sandals and were glad we did as the trail was thick ooze in places. There were several stream crossings and flights of steep, rough-cut stairs climbed higher and higher up the ridge behind the hotel. The stairs cut into the hillsides were clearly an experiment on the part of the trail’s creators; they were stabilized with pieces of wood, which after one rainy season were swiftly rotting away. But the views over the lake and out toward the volcano were great, and the mid-altitude jungle is wonderful, especially early in the dry season when everything is blooming. We trucked right along, never stopping for more than a minute or two, but it still took us an hour and a half. By the time we got home it was raining, and the volcano was completely shrouded in clouds. No lava likely tonight.
For a less strenuous and even more beautiful hike, head next door to the Arenal Hanging Bridges. The hotel provides a shuttle if you’re feeling lazy; otherwise there’s a trail. The two-mile hanging bridges trail ($15 per person for Lost Iguana guests; $20 otherwise) traverses 15 bridges of various heights and lengths, crossing deep gorges at or above canopy level. Get there early before the tour busses from Fortuna and you will have the woods to yourselves. Parakeets were nesting when we were there and their constant ruckus filled the forest. The volcano stayed hidden but the trees and bridges themselves were wonderful. Take an umbrella; this is Arenal and, as far as we can tell, it rains up here all the time.
The Lost Iguana’s restaurant has a magnificent view, but only a few
tables are placed to take advantage of it. Ask for table #1, 2, or 3
when you make your dinner reservation. If you’re just two people,
you may need to be insistent as the waiters seem determined to save
those tables for larger parties even if the restaurant is empty. The
menu relies heavily on tilapia and chicken; dinner was good, but
hardly inspired. If you’re looking for something more gourmet, you
may want to head up Highway 142 to La Mansion Inn.
Friends in Atenas told us that we had to go to Lands in Love, about half way between San Ramón and La Fortuna on Highway 142. Nice people, they said, great food and wonderful hiking. Plus, being on the Caribbean side of the volcanoes, it wasn't raining in August. So we made our way up there, and our friends were right.
Lands in Love was created three years ago by a group of friends who migrated from Isreal to start a new life in Costa Rica. They bought a lodge on a 100+ hectare property, most of it covered by mid-altitude forest. They rebuilt, refurbished, redecorated, constructed kilometers of trails and carefully labelled hundreds of plants and trees. The result is a family and pet-friendly 33-room lodge with a canopy tour, waterfall rapelling, horseback riding and hiking on steep but well-maintained and lovely trails through the forest.
Your room rate at Lands in Love includes all three meals, and they are excellent, with choices of Tico, Israeli, and Asian, and American dishes. Everything is vegetarian - even the sushi - although if you didn't ask you'd never know it. The cooks also make their own chocolate, and we can tell you that it's fabulous.
Rooms at Lands in Love are basic but very well equipped, with satellite TVs and free wifi. Our only complaint is that they aren't designed for cross-ventilation, and the ceiling fans have a hard time keeping them cool. But they have porches with nice views over the valley, and if you've just hiked down to the Rio Balsa and all the way back up again, then had a relaxing dinner and a glass of wine, it's hard not to doze off right where you're sitting, with tropical humidity or otherwise. This is an adventure lodge - who cares about the room anyway?
Reviewed September 1, 2008