1 km sur y 600 m oeste de la iglesia Catolica de La Fortuna, sobre la entrada principal de La Catarata., 600 meters west from the road entrance to La Fortuna Waterfall, La Fortuna de San Carlos, Costa Rica | (888) 708-2081
Views of the volcano from the front porches of the guest houses
Has its own private path leading to a rainforest trail to the river
Rooms have AC, cable TVs, mini-fridges, and coffeemakers
Back porches have hammocks and overlook the jungle
10-minute drive to La Fortuna
Guest houses' front porches butt up right up the parking lot
Superior Rooms don't have windows onto the jungle
No pool
A six-room motel on the sparsely populated road on the way to La Fortuna waterfall, Cerro Azul Arenal is a 10-minute drive south of La Fortuna and has commanding views of the rainforest in back and the volcano in front. Wooden-shack-style rooms are clean and have porches overlooking the rainforest, as well as AC and cable TV, but the fact that the front doors look right onto the parking lot makes it impossible to escape the feeling of a roadside motel. Still, there's plenty of rustic charm and it's hard to do much better for the price, but if a pool is a priority consider Hotel Vista del Cerro. Hotel Kokoro Arenal is sometimes only slightly pricier and has on-site hot springs.
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Scene
A tiny roadside motel with value prices, rustic charm, and volcano views
The hotel consists of a freestanding
main building and six sturdy wood cabins with the volcano looming in the front, and the rainforest stretching away below in back. According to the family that owns and runs the place, the
guests are generally Americans from 15 to 50. The location on a quiet side road away from town lends to a laid-back vibe, and the most notable sound is the babbling of the nearby Rio Arenal in the jungle to the back. Breakfasts are taken across the street on the porch of the owners' family home.
Location
A 10-minute car ride south of La Fortuna, on the road toward La Fortuna Waterfall
Located on a well-maintained side road off the main road leading to La Fortuna, the hotel is located among a small assortment of meticulously
maintained souvenir shops, tour businesses, and hotels. The hotel property is
perched on a slight incline over the rainforest, and the babbling of
the Rio Arenal is audible below. It's a 10-minute drive from La
Fortuna -- still convenient to the amenities of
the town but out of the main bustle. For those coming to the Arenal region for the volcano
and the rainforest, this should suit -- you can see the volcano every
time you walk out your front door, and take a quick jaunt into the
forest right out back. It is a bit farther from Arenal Volcano National Park than the hotels to the north of La Fortuna, however (over a half-hour drive).
Rooms
Clean, well-maintained rooms with great views, rustic charm, and good amenities for this price range, but the parking lot in front mars the sight of the volcano.
Rooms are clean and well-kept, and amenities include mini-fridges, coffeemakers, in-room safes, flat-screen cable TVs, and, in the constant heat and humidity, that all-important AC (not a given in the area, particularly at this price point). Front porches include grand views of the Arenal volcano, and the back porches include swinging hammocks and manorial perspectives of the jungle spreading out below. But the gravel parking lot leads almost right up to the front porches of half the guest houses, and you can hear the occasional car zipping by at night.
Features
Includes its own path into the rainforest, and is often visited by toucans
The hotel has an essentially private path to a
rainforest trail that leads to a clearing by the river, a short, pleasant hike for all but the most challenged walker. In the morning and
at sunset you can often spot toucans hanging out in the
trees in the backyard. There is no pool on the property -- if that's a priority, the similarly priced Hotel Vista del Cerro has one.
