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Arenal Vista Lodge

3.0 star property
Lakefront hotel with free breakfast and a coffee shop

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Photo gallery for Arenal Vista Lodge

Outdoor pool
Standard Double Room | Memory foam beds, individually decorated, desk, free WiFi
Exterior
Terrace/patio
Standard Double Room | View from room

Reviews

6.0 out of 10

Popular amenities

  • Bar
  • Pool
  • Room service
  • Breakfast included
  • Air conditioning
  • Laundry

Explore the area

Map
Pueblo Castillo, Arenal, La Fortuna, Alajuela Province, 21007
  • Arenal Volcano
  • Costa Rica Sky Adventures
    ‪9 min drive‬
  • Tabacon Hot Springs
    ‪22 min drive‬
  • La Fortuna (FON-Arenal)
    ‪42 min drive‬

Room options

About the neighborhood

Peñas Blancas

Within a short walk of Lake Arenal, Arenal Vista Lodge is within 2 miles (3 km) of Arenal Eco Zoo. This 25-room, 3-star hotel has free breakfast along with conveniences like an outdoor pool and free in-room WiFi.

What's nearby

  • Costa Rica Sky Adventures - 9 min drive - 3.3 miles
  • Tabacon Hot Springs - 22 min drive - 8.7 miles
  • Arenal Volcano National Park - 23 min drive - 8.9 miles
  • Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park - 29 min drive - 10.9 miles
  • La Fortuna Waterfall - 44 min drive - 18.8 miles

Getting around

  • La Fortuna (FON-Arenal) - 39 min drive

Restaurants

  • ‪Agua Ardiente Pool Bar - ‬21 min drive
  • ‪Fusión Arenal Mirador. - ‬4 min walk
  • ‪Soda La Palma - ‬23 min drive
  • ‪Caña Brava - ‬21 min drive
  • ‪Restaurante El Jilguero - ‬17 min drive

About this property

Arenal Vista Lodge

Lakefront hotel with free breakfast and a coffee shop
Arenal Vista Lodge offers an outdoor pool, conference space, and coffee in a common area. Airport transportation is made easy with an airport shuttle for a fee. A multilingual staff is on hand to assist with tours or tickets, securing valuables, and dry cleaning/laundry. Other amenities at this luxury hotel include a terrace, laundry facilities, and a garden.
Guests can expect to find free WiFi. Climb into the memory foam bed for a pleasant night's sleep. Patios, sitting areas, and ceiling fans are also standard.
Recreational amenities at the hotel include an outdoor pool.

Children under 10 years old are not allowed in the swimming pool without adult supervision.

The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or nearby; fees may apply.

Languages

English, Spanish

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Property amenities

Internet

  • Available in all rooms: Free WiFi

Parking and transportation

  • Roundtrip airport shuttle (surcharge)
  • Wheelchair-accessible parking available

Food and drink

  • Free full breakfast available daily
  • A bar/lounge
  • A coffee shop/cafe
  • A poolside bar
  • A restaurant
  • Coffee and tea in common areas
  • Snack bar/deli

Restaurants on site

  • Arenal Vista

Things to do

  • Hiking/biking trails
  • Outdoor pool
  • Personal motorized watercraft
  • TV in common areas

Family friendly

  • Laundry facilities
  • Outdoor pool
  • Snack bar/deli

Conveniences

  • Gift shop/newsstand
  • Laundry facilities
  • Safe at front desk

Guest services

  • Concierge services
  • Dry cleaning/laundry service
  • Housekeeping (daily)
  • Multilingual staff
  • Tour and ticket assistance

Business services

  • 474 square feet of conference space
  • Meeting room

Outdoors

  • Barbecue grill
  • Garden
  • In the mountains
  • On a lake
  • Terrace

Accessibility

  • If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please contact the property using the information on the reservation confirmation received after booking.
  • No elevator
  • Wheelchair accessible (may have limitations)
  • Wheelchair-accessible parking
  • Wheelchair-accessible path of travel
  • Wheelchair-accessible registration desk
  • Wheelchair-accessible restaurant

More

  • 1 building
  • 1 floor
  • Built in 1993
  • Smoke-free property

Room amenities

Bedroom

  • Bedsheets provided
  • Memory foam mattress

Bathroom

  • Private bathroom
  • Shower
  • Towels provided

Food and drink

  • Limited room service

More

  • Access via exterior corridors
  • Air conditioning
  • Ceiling fan
  • Desk
  • Individual decor
  • Separate sitting area
  • Window screens

Policies

Check-in

Check-in start time: 2:00 PM; Check-in end time: 10:00 PM
Minimum check-in age: 20

Check-out

Check-out before noon

Special check-in instructions

The front desk is open daily from 7:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Front desk staff will greet guests on arrival at the property

Access methods

Staffed front desk

Pets

  • This property doesn't allow pets or service animals

Property payment types

Important information

You need to know

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card, or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
The name on the credit card used at check-in to pay for incidentals must be the primary name on the guestroom reservation
This property accepts credit cards, debit cards, and cash
This property has outdoor spaces, such as balconies, patios, terraces which may not be suitable for children; if you have concerns, we recommend contacting the property prior to your arrival to confirm they can accommodate you in a suitable room
  • Check-in: 2:00 PM—-10:00 PM
  • Check-out: noon
  • Minimum check-in age: 20
For convenient arrivals and departures, you can take advantage of the airport shuttle (fees apply).

We should mention

Details about charges, deposits, or other important information:

  • This property is managed by a professional host. The provision of housing is linked to their trade, business, or profession.
  • This property has outdoor spaces, such as balconies, patios, terraces which may not be suitable for children. If you have concerns, we recommend contacting the property prior to your arrival to confirm they can accommodate you in a suitable room.
  • Charges for extra guests may apply and vary depending on the property's policy.
  • A cash deposit, credit card, or debit card for incidental charges, as well as a government-issued photo ID, may be required at check-in.
  • Special requests are subject to availability at the time of check-in and can't be guaranteed. Certain requests may come with additional charges.
  • This property accepts credit cards, debit cards, and cash.
  • The credit card used at check-in for incidentals must be in the name of the primary guest who made the reservation.

Additional information about polices, regulations, and more:

  • There are no elevators.
  • No cribs or infant beds are available.

Property is also known as

Arenal Vista Lodge
Vista Arenal
Vista Arenal Lodge
Arenal Vista Hotel Volcano National Park
Arenal Vista Lodge El Castillo
Arenal Vista El Castillo
Arenal Vista Lodge Hotel
Arenal Vista Lodge La Fortuna
Arenal Vista Lodge Hotel La Fortuna

Frequently asked questions

What can I see around Arenal Vista Lodge?

This hotel is located in Peñas Blancas within a short 13-minute walk of Lake Arenal. You'll also find Costa Rica Sky Adventures and Arenal Eco Zoo within a short drive.

Will I be able to park at Arenal Vista Lodge?

Yes, there is accessible parking available.

Does Arenal Vista Lodge feature a casino?

No, Arenal Vista Lodge doesn't have a casino.

Is there an indoor pool at Arenal Vista Lodge?

No, this hotel doesn't have an indoor pool; however, there is an outdoor pool.

What will couples enjoy most about a stay at Arenal Vista Lodge?

This lakeside hotel offers plenty of amenities for couples including an outdoor pool, a poolside bar, and a garden-view restaurant.

Does Arenal Vista Lodge have a hot tub?

No, there isn't a spa tub at this hotel.

Does Arenal Vista Lodge have a restaurant that serves breakfast?

Yes, Arenal Vista Lodge serves free full breakfasts at Arenal Vista each morning.

Does Arenal Vista Lodge allow pets to stay free of charge?

No, pets and service animals aren't allowed at Arenal Vista Lodge.

Are there connecting rooms at Arenal Vista Lodge?

No, this hotel doesn't feature connecting guestrooms.

Where is the closest airport to Arenal Vista Lodge?

The closest major airport to Arenal Vista Lodge is La Fortuna (FON-Arenal), which is 16.5 mi away (39 minutes by car).

Are there rooms with balconies that I can book at Arenal Vista Lodge?

Yes, every guestroom at Arenal Vista Lodge comes with a patio with some featuring garden views.

Arenal Vista Lodge Reviews

Reviews

6.0
Rating 10 - Excellent. 7 out of 53 reviews
Rating 8 - Good. 16 out of 53 reviews
Rating 6 - Okay. 11 out of 53 reviews
Rating 4 - Poor. 8 out of 53 reviews
Rating 2 - Terrible. 11 out of 53 reviews

5.8/10

Cleanliness

7.0/10

Staff & service

5.0/10

Amenities

5.6/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.0/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveler

Traveled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The description of the property is fraudulent. No towels in the room, the hot water does not work, we reserved full size beds but were put ib a room with 4 twin beds. We had to climb 64 steps in the rain to get to our room. Internet is only available in the lobby.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

2/10 Terrible

Nasrin, Copenhagen

Traveled with group, Traveled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Everything was horrible except from the view. Dirty, worn out, unfriendly staff, insulated, we were the only guests, after 9:00 no possibility to buy food or drinks not even water. The photos do not correspond to the reality. A total scam administrated by Expedia.
Stayed 4 nights in Jan 2020

8/10 Good

Marybeth J.

Disliked: Cleanliness

Amazing location in a dated lodge

The staff was amazing, and very kind. The location and views are breathtaking. We loved being outside of the congestion of La Fortuna. However, the Lodge and the rooms could use some updating, a fresh coat of paint and a good spring cleaning. Gecko poop was everywhere and our room had a leak in the roof that become problematic when it rained. And it rained. The leak was located right over the foot of one of the twin beds. We moved the bed - but it never dried out. Again the staff was amazing, kind and attentive.
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Traveled with family
Liked: Staff & service
I love the place, it is different, great place for relaxing
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2019

8/10 Good

Michael

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Older hotel with basic accommodation. Fantastic view of the volcano. Good value with breakfast and dinners included.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2019

4/10 Poor

Maria, Miami, FL

Traveled with family
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
Booked for 3 night, upon arriving was very dissapointed at the property conditions, not as advertised on Expedia. Stayed only that night and booked at another hotel for the rest of my trip. Reservation was for 3 adults, only one bath tower in the room, no soap, shampoo, no telephone in the room. Purchased the dinner option, 4 meals to choose from. The only nice of this facility is the view to the lake and volcano.
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2018

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Stayed 5 nights in Dec 2018

6/10 Okay

Eric , Dallas, TX

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Room comfort

Hotel ok for 1 night

Room clean. Hotel provides minimum comfort. View in the lake is ok. Breakfast was not so good.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2018

6/10 Okay

Jeffrey

Liked: Cleanliness

Need to try harder with basics

Ok place in an incredible area. Food was below average, and they overcharged us for our dinner there, had to go through the bill with the waitress/cook/bartender/ only person there. Check presented in dollars with menu in colones and nothing was right. Just a poor experience otherwise ok place, nice pool, and nice room with incredible view.

4/10 Poor

Verified traveler

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Horrible road, animal droppings, hotel run down.

Horrible unpaved road with lot of potholes. Takes very long to reach hotel from main road. Friendly staff but Hotel looks run down. Found animal droppings in our bed every single night.

2/10 Terrible

Donna, Las Vegas, NV

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Remote, needs a major update

Got to the hotel, not at all what I was expecting. No cell reception, wifi did not work, very remote. Rooms were similar to a hostel, bedding was old and worn, looked at the room and found another hotel to stay at. Very disappointed.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Disliked: Room comfort
Beds were comfortable but all singles. Breakfast was good. Location is great as its right near the National Park

4/10 Poor

Tony, S. CA

Liked: Staff & service

Unpaved rood to get there

Expedia website fails to include road condition info. The highway has a lot of potholes and eventually one front tire became flat. We had to change the tire and found the next gas station to add air. Then we had to drive on unpaved road to get there.

2/10 Terrible

Selim, Oaxaca

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The room, and especially the bathroom was very dirty.

2/10 Terrible

Alonso, A

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Total ripoff! Not as advertised! Dirty! Do NOT use

Total ripoff! Not as advertised! Dirty, rundown, disgusting. No AC as advertised. So hot that dead flies on windowsills and bed/pillows! Would not let us take pictures of inside of room. Pool had rusty pipes sitting in the water. No wifi (they said it comes and goes). Entrance road with potholes for many kilometers, dangerous and bad for car. Not one guest! No one, reception area empty when we got there, bar and restaurant closed, empty parking lot. Asked for cancellation and refund. Refused to help. Cell phones don't work there, they wouldn't let us contact Expedia on their lines. Do NOT stay here!

8/10 Good

Michael, Marco Island, FL

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Nice hotel with fantastic Arenal lake and Volcano

The hotel was nice and remotely located. The wild life was amazing especially the monkeys and birds. On a clear day the Lake and Volcano views were spectacular.

6/10 Okay

andrea g, Wenatchee, WA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service

Birdwatcher's Paradise

Arenal Vista Lodge has a great view of Lake Arenal and Arenal Volcano (when the clouds are gone). It is a bit rustic compared to other hotels in the area but it is very clean and has your basic amenities. The staff are very attentive and helpful. It is really getting away from it all and provides some excellent birdwatching. The pool was very nice and highly appreciated.

10/10 Excellent

Kiely, Portland, Oregon

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
We greatly enjoyed staying here-it was a wonderful retreat into nature. The accommodations were great, thank you!

4/10 Poor

tryco, Florida

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities

Hotel with view to the volcano

The hotel is a little run down. There were dirty plastic cups with cigarettes in the balcony. The floor was a little dirty and there were not enough soaps in the bathroom. The breakfast was ok, nothing fancy. The personnel was ok. No assistance with luggage and there were plenty of steps to climb before we got to our room. I will not stay there again.

6/10 Okay

justin& melissa, saskatoon

nice hotel , very quite

probably quieter then usual due to tourist season not started yet , helpful staff

2/10 Terrible

travels often, Miami Fl.

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Worst Hotel saw the room before check in never sta

The ride up the to hotel takes 35 minutes real bad road with pot holes.The lobby ? The room is a dark dirty old delapitaded room after we saw it we said no thank you and left.we are trying for expedia to fully return our two room two day stay.I would not recommend this Hotel to my worst enemy.

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveler

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

The hotel is nothing like the pictures! Don't Book

We checked into this hotel, went to the room and didn't even sit down. The room was dirty and the door was so old that we didn't feel comfortable staying in the room for the evening. About 30 mins after checking in, we gave them back the key and checked out!

6/10 Okay

jc, GA

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Room comfort

Lodge Stay

Staff spoke very little English. No A/C. Fan was bolted to wall and did not work. Room very hot and stuffy at night. 10 mile bumpy unpaved road to get to hotel. Had to walk up very long steep driveway to get to rooms.

8/10 Good

Larry, Chicago, IL

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service

Quiet, out of the way place

First off, a warning: The staff at this hotel do not speak English! I think they had maybe 150 words of English between them, and I knew about 20 words of Spanish if I'm generous. If you do not speak Spanish, this is probably not a good hotel for you. That said, the staff was extremely friendly and helpful to the best of their ability, including taking the time to write things down in English (probably with some translation software help) to confirm things with me. The offered horseback riding was fun. If they mention a "boat tour", it's actually a kayak rental. Just you, no guide. I discovered that when they took me down to the lake, gave me a paddle, and said "see you in 2 hours." It turned out fine and I enjoyed the solitude, but it wasn't what I was expecting. There's a nice nature walk through the forest behind the hotel, too. The food in the restaurant was quite good for the price. About twelve buc for a fairly good steak, rice, and vegetables. Service wasn't especially fast, but the food and price were good. There is no hot springs at this hotel! If that's your reason for coming to Arenal, go elsewhere. The staff recommended the nearby Los Laurelas springs, which is more of a water park than springs, it felt like. (Good water, lots of temperatures, but I've no idea if it was spring-fed.) It was 10 bucks, but a 25 buck cab ride each way which made it more expensive. Overall, it was an unexpected adventure but a good one in the end.

6/10 Okay

Gene, San Jose, CA

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Very basic hotel with great volcano views

This is a VERY basic hotel. All about it is a great view of the Arenal Volcano from the room. But that's if you are fortunate. We stayed there for 2 nights in mid-April and quite often the volcano was in the clouds. Nevertheless, we've managed to take several really good pictures during periouds of clearing. It takes about 10 km of unpaved section of the road to get there (20 min). If you want to stay in a very solitude place and enjoy the view of teh volcano - you might consider this place. If you want to stay close to other Arenal attractions - stay closer to the main (paved) road.