5.5 Miles West From la Fortuna Downtown, Route 142 On the Way To Arenal Volcano National Park, La Fortuna, Costa Rica | (888) 616-5829
Hotel offers all-in-one packages that include Arenal adventure tours
All rooms have private terraces with great volcano views
Lake Suites sit on stilts in a pond
Free breakfast includes an omelet station and traditional dishes
Rooms have mini-fridges, safes, cable TVs, and coffeemakers
Hot springs include a vent for volcanic mud, adding that nice extra smell of volcano-ness
Not for rainforest lovers; the nearest neighbors are a cattle farm and souvenir rest stop
Wi-Fi only in reception and the restaurant
Rooms and property are showing their age
Narrow lanes make maneuvering and parallel parking your 4WD SUV occasionally bothersome
Bungalows are close together and offer little privacy
Dated tube TVs
Hot springs not hot enough for some
This 66-room, mid-range bungalow resort feels like a replica of a tightly packed suburb -- and also involves jockeying with neighbors for parallel-parking spaces on its narrow lanes. It's popular with Costa Ricans, and is about a 15-minute drive from La Fortuna, but has seen better days. Its musty, worn bungalows have old tube TVs, and the views of the volcano from the grand windows are marred by the swarms of guest cars parked on the lanes outside. Guests looking for a rustic rainforest experience in this price range may prefer Hotel Kokoro Arenal, or the slightly pricier Hotel El Silencio del Campo, which has extra-hot hot springs (some guests feel the ones here aren't warm enough).
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Scene
Like a suburban neighborhood, with narrow lanes and close clusters of bungalows (but residents who keep to themselves)
The suburban-like hotel property keeps the wilderness at arm's length, and lacks the rainforest feel of many area properties. But it does have a terrific position for views, and it's easy to enjoy outlooks of the volcano looming above from just about everywhere on the property. It mostly catered to Spanish-speaking clientele during our stay (staff said Spain and Mexico provide a lot of guests, while former staff throughout the area told us its guests are largely tico). We spotted plenty of couples from Spain, Mexico, and San Jose holding hands or huddling together against the rain as they made their way back to their bungalows from the restaurant. Montana de Fuego feels like a neighborhood in a city, with narrow lanes everywhere for guests to parallel park their cars. The hotel is definitely showing its age, from the sun-bleached billboards on the main road to the letters missing from the hotel's own name on the sign facing the volcano, to the faded paint on the street signs indicating room numbers.
Location
About a 15-minute drive to La Fortuna, and a 20-minute drive to the national park and dam (in good weather and traffic during the day, twice that in bad)
The hotel sits right off the main road
around the volcano from La Fortuna to the Arenal dam, across from a
cattle farm and a souvenir rest stop, and near the foot of the
western side of the volcano. It's about a 15-minute drive to La
Fortuna, which can be a little inconvenient when you're coming back
from town at night in bad weather, but not horribly so, and you're that much closer to the attractions to the west. Nature is at arm's length here -- the cattle farm and the Route 142 dominate the area here along with the volcano, and the rainforest is mostly out of sight and out of mind (though there are a couple forest trails on the property).
Rooms
Though rooms have big jutting windows to maximize the volcano view, they also minimize privacy, and the main view will be of the parked cars swarmed in front of some buildings.
Rooms are designed with jutting bay
windows to maximize views of the volcano, but for the most part the view is actually into the jutting bay windows of other, too-close rooms, or of the swarm of guests' parked cars on the lane. The furniture and fittings show their age -- our room had some mold on the ceiling, and the plastic sink in the kitchenette was cracked. Many other guests have complained of mustiness and mildew, and the tube TVs are from another era. All units have private outdoor space and volcano views, and many are adorned with lots of wood (on the ceilings and walls) which adds an attractive rusticity. Amenities include mini-fridges, safes, cable TVs, and coffeemakers, and simple bathrooms with showers. The Lake Suites are picturesque, sitting on stilts in a small pond with the best view of the volcano -- but the noise from passing cars is clearly audible inside even with the doors closed. None of the rooms have Wi-Fi access -- guests have to check up on work from the lobby or restaurant instead.
Features
The hotel prides itself on offering package deals so guests don't have to arrange adventure tours separately from their rooms.
The hotel has an all-inclusive package
deal for people who want to get their hotel, adventure tours, and
sightseeing all in one place. The hot springs are a major feature on the property itself, though some guests complain that the temperature is merely warm, not hot (Hotel El Silencio del Campo has truly hot hot springs). The outdoor pool has a swim-up bar, adjacent kiddy pool, and tropical landscaping. An indoor hot tub is available with big windows. The hotel's spa has six treatment rooms and a sauna; a special thermo-mineral circuit is offered to help guests reap the full health benefits of the mineral waters and volcanic clay. Acuarelas Restaurant serves all three meals and has volcano views; the food gets high marks for many guests, and the local and international dishes include salads, soups, fish, pastas, fajitas, rice dishes, among others. The free breakfast buffet includes traditional dishes such as gallo pinto, and features an omelet station.
