Costa Rica surprised me immensely. I can honestly say it was never on the top of my list of places to go. I had seen pictures and read numerous posts, and don’t get me wrong, it always looked like an absolutely beautiful country, but it just seemed basic and overly touristy, almost too easy, so just didn’t thrill me. But, now I can say that I was truly wrong. We loved our time in Costa Rica for countless reasons, but one of the best was the Arenal Observatory Lodge. Booking this place online before our trip, I thought it looked amazing, but I wasn’t really sure what we would actually find when we arrived. And what we found was more than I could have imagined or read about.
The Lodge is the only hotel that is located within Arenal National Park. This is because when the park was founded the family already owned a farm on the land. As time went on in 1987 the Smithsonian Institute started visiting and using the land and trials to study the volcano. The family eventually built cabins and a small hotel to accommodate them, and the Lodge was born! You can still see signs all around the property of the past scientific efforts.
When we pulled up to the gate in our rental car, we were quite surprised. It really felt like we were entering an amusement park or event, and not a hotel lodge. The trip from the gate to the lodge was close to a 5 minute drive up a winding gravel road, an experience in itself that made us glad we’d rented a four wheel drive vehicle for our time in Costa Rica.
Finally making it up the road to the lodge, the first thing we saw when we hopped out of the car was the giant Volcano looming in the distance, and I already knew it was a place we’d love. Whenever I unconsciously start to sing “I think I’m Gonna Like it Here” from Annie in my head, I know we’ve hit a good spot. We checked in and quickly learned that our hotel/lodge had so much more to offer than we realized. The grounds were vast, full of incredible tropical flora & fauna, and had miles of walking trails, wildlife, a frog pond, and some of the best bird watching in Costa Rica. The pool and spa area were really nice, and like practically everywhere else on the grounds, had a great view of that magnificent volcano in the near distance.
I’ve mentioned before that we aren’t the type of travelers to spend tons of money on a hotel when there is so much to explore in whatever town we are in, but this hotel was an actual experience in its own right (it also wasn’t THAT expensive). It is a very rare occasion when we are out and about in a town and I think, “I can’t wait to get back to the hotel”, but I found myself having that thought a few times throughout our time in La Fortuna and Arenal. First of all, the fact that we could go on full blown hikes on the hotel grounds was one of the best things about our stay. I almost always want to be able to go on a walk. I like to walk in the morning, after lunch, after dinner, pretty much at all times. At this lodge you could go on a walk to a waterfall, to see coati’s, to see frogs, or to bird watch. You could also walk to the viewing tower that stands up high above the grounds, where you can climb the many stairs for an incredible view of the entire surrounding area.
Eating wonderful meals in the great lodge was a pleasure and very relaxing each night after a day of adventure. The food was great, we ate all of our breakfasts and dinners here, and there was enough to keep us entertained for our entire stay. And it also gave us the chance to retry any newfound favorites that we had the day before. Waking up and having our breakfast while watching them feed the birds outside of the lodge windows was such a fun way to start the day. I found myself running outside multiple times during each meal to take in the sights. Each morning, they would put fruit up into an artificial tree and all of the most diverse birds would flock to eat. There were tons of “birders” staying at our hotel to watch and take photos of the birds, which we soon realized were very fascinating to watch.
We were offered the opportunity to go on different night hikes during our time in Costa Rica, but luckily for us, we had our own free night hike right there at our lodge. Each night, we strapped on headlamps and took a hike from our room to the frog pond. It was a very cool experience to see all of the nocturnal tree frogs hanging out on the leaves, and we spent a lot of time hunting for the naturally camouflaged creatures. I am officially a NatGeo photographer now, and I have this lodge to thank!
The room itself was comfortable and large, we had our own balcony with views of the volcano. It was so cozy and perfect to come home to each night. We just loved being able to walk around the entire grounds with a glass of wine, seeing the wildlife, and feeling so at ease in nature.
If you’re up for an adventure in La Fortuna and Arenal this is an excellent choice for a place to stay. If you don’t have a night to stay the hotel also offers day passes. You can come for the day and explore the grounds, have lunch onsite, and see all the beauty that this lodge has to offer.
Plan for me dani 