03/09/2020

The hotel itself was a bit sleepy, but the views were breathtaking! I really enjoyed watching the sunrise here.

03/05/2020

awesome view from hotel. Monteverde was awesome!! weather was great too!

02/20/2020

beautiful view from room!

02/19/2020

Place was great with beautiful views. Close walk into town and restaurants was nice.

02/12/2020

Customer Service was not strong here. The accommodations were nice but sparse. No extra added touches to make you feel welcome. Use the shuttle whenever possible, especially when transporting luggage...very hilly!!

02/06/2020

Disappointing pool area very uncomfortable lounge chairs

02/04/2020

Rooms need to be updated and repaired when not working. Lacking in areas to sit outdoors, including rooms. Staff at this resort were not not a happy crew. The resort offers trails which we started out on but turned around and came back as there were many loops with no trail markers and we felt as if we were in a maze and would get lost easily.

02/02/2020

The rooms were fantastic. The restaurant was expensive for what you got and breakfast often ran out of food. Local restaurants were much better than the hotel. The pool area wasn’t very inviting.

01/31/2020

Hotel is spread across hundreds of acres on a steep mountainside. Pretty and clean but below true luxury level. The rooms were a little dark and spartan, but big and with unforgettable sunset views from the mountainside that you don't want to miss. The property is VERY steep; you can walk, but uphill is a workout. They'll van shuttle you quickly any time, anywhere and there are flower lined sidewalk trails when you do walk. Pool area is modest but nicely done with a bar, a gym and great views. Didn't hit the fancy restaurant; the main restaurant is a total fail. All indoors, a poorly decorated large room (so you miss out on the beautiful views outside). Lunch/dinner menu is mundane (burgers and pizza mostly) and WILDLY overpriced for the quality. Breakfast buffet (included) is ok in a Hampton Inns sort of way. THE GOOD NEWS: There are about 10 truly excellent casual restaurants just steps from the hotel entrance. The sandwich place across the street is brand new, cheap and great. we had a real CR dinner at an excellent, warm casual family-owned diner and terrific organic italian food, but there's lots more there and in town a short taxi ride away.

01/22/2020

There is really cold in the rooms, rooms are very noisy. However our room was big and clean the temperature is killing the experience. Staff at the reception not much helping, not filling the requests you haveto come back and ask again.

01/21/2020

The views and the hotel were beautiful.

01/19/2020

The best part was the view out the balcony of the bay and ocean further off. The road was very steep and hart to walk up several times a day. Thus transportation was used. There was no heat or cool controls in the room. The breakfast was good. If we were there longer we would have used transportation to explore the town.

01/07/2020

The amenities and everything were really spread out and there was no hot tub. The weather was cooler and a hot tub would have been so nice. It was fine and we loved seeing the wildlife and sunsets and views from our balcony. The rooms were big. The shower was AWFUL! Maybe 5min of hot water. The shower is huge but the head faces the short side of the shower and is super high and strong making it really uncomfortable to shower in or relax. The bathroom window opens to the hall so you can hear everything in the morning making sleep impossible. During the wind our balcony door was banging so loud. We had to get up and stick a pillow case in it to stop it. The gym was pretty pathetic. But not many people were there, so I’m assuming it isn’t an amenity that gets used a lot. We could’ve spent less time here. It was our least favorite. But the views were gorgeous!

12/31/2019

Rooms had good views, but the property required a lot of walking (or waiting for a shuttle) to get around. Very little noise insulation in the rooms - you could hear the conversation someone was having across the hall with someone on their cell phone (both sides of the conversation!). Good overall.

12/30/2019

The rooms were very loud. We could hear doors slamming, and lots of sound echoing from the hallway. It was difficult to sleep.

12/29/2019

A beautiful hotel in a beautiful area!

12/27/2019

the facility was fabulous. as was the food/dinner buffet.

12/26/2019

Very loud hotel due to the design and can't be helped. The lights int he halls shine into the room and keep you up. The bathroom had a very strong urine smell. For the size of the hotel the pool was very small. The location was very nice and the view and staff were incredible.

12/25/2019

Overall an amazing hotel but the food was very overpriced

12/21/2019

Hotel had a big room but had a very poor lighting especially at night that i have to use my headlight lamp around the bathroom in order to see what i am doing.Aminities on this hotel was very poor .We dont have any honeymoon welcome sign and any decor unlike in some other hotels that we been.All we have is a king size bed and a view of trees in our patio. If i ever go back to Costa Rica El Estabo Hotel is not gonna my choice.

12/20/2019

There was some problem with the tub in our room leaking, it took a couple visits from staff to fix it, but it wasn't that inconveniencing. Otherwise, we loved this resort! Beautiful grounds, we had rainbows and coati in front of our balcony everyday!

12/18/2019

The room was far from the office, breakfast area, the approach was not easy, again we have to claim steep hike between room and breakfast area. It was tiring, but the room and view from the room was very good. Also not much choice on vegetarian food, also Go cart taking long time to come even after 2 reminders to go to breakfast area.

12/14/2019

This was my favorite hotel -so beautiful and peaceful with an amazing view!!! We found a lovely family owned restaurant called Thomas & Thiago that was close to our hotel and had vegan options. Los Lagos Restaurant was great too because they had vegan options. :-)

12/03/2019

The views from the hotel and the grounds were very pleasant. Being on a steep slope was challenging but our accommodation was much closer to the restaurant so not an inconvenience. We took the hotel transport up to the very top of the grounds , wandered the trails and then walked down. We ate at a local restaurant.

11/08/2019

I knew what to expect of the hotel after reading reviews. It was in a perfect setting of nature, on the side of the mountain with spectacular views and wonderful opportunities to hike and see the area. The restaurants were excellent and we used the shuttle to go to the top and hike down. The pool and gym had a nice area to sit. My husband would have used the gym if it had had an exercise bike. We booked a night hike which we enjoyed.
The room was simple with comfortable rocking chairs to sit on as we looked at the view of the sunset. The smell of sewage in the bathroom was related to the drain under the sink and we mentioned this to the hotel as we checked out. The water drained slowly. The lights were low or there weren’t any in some areas and we understand that this is to respect nature. We weren’t bothered by the noise of the corridor.
Despite a few issues we loved being at this hotel and would recommend it. The staff were pleasant and accommodating.

09/01/2019

We found this hotel a bit odd. The rooms are huge with beautiful views but the furnishings are spartan - no dresser, no chairs or extra tables. Because the rooms are so spacious it would be easy to turn them into luxurious rooms. Be prepared for stairs and steep walks. We were in the buildings closest to the only open restaurant but we still had 129 steps down to breakfast and 129 back up. The hotel is near a couple of great restaurants to give options plus it's only a shot walk downhill to the town. Nov uphill walk back if you don't spring for a taxi.

08/18/2019

Great location and access to activities

08/13/2019

This hotel was also paradise. Excellent, friendly staff. Lush accommodations. Beautiful property and views of agouti and coati every morning.

08/02/2019

Situated on the bottom floor accessed through a stone-lined hallway, made our room feel a bit like a dungeon. The lighting in the room was very poor -- not enough even to read by. We did appreciate the location close to the restaurant. There was a nice acknowledgement of granddaughter's birthday.

08/01/2019

Fantastic hotel.

07/19/2019

Increíbles instalaciones y atención maravillosa.

07/04/2019

Only issue was not enough light in the room

06/23/2019

This place was nice but not our favorite.

06/18/2019

While it was cooler here, but a fan was needed however they ran out and only 1 of our rooms was accommodated with a fan

05/29/2019

different type hotel, yet very enjoyable. again great staff and attentive. Next time would like to stay at rooms in highest buildings on mountain side, great views. Restaurant staff and food very good.

05/20/2019

A more basic hotel compared to Tabacon with less of the conforts we enjoyed previously. Older hotel and the fixtures and fittings were a little out dated. Despite this, it was still comfortable and acceptable.

05/10/2019

The hotel was less than expected. It was somewhat run down, electric covers were open, the outside landscaping was overgrown, for example a grown palm tree blocked the view of our 2nd floor balcony. We also felt the floor was very uneven.

05/08/2019

A beautiful hotel in a fabulous location!The view from the bedroom was phenomenal.Lots of wildlife around.

05/04/2019

I did not like this hotel due to the steep hill separating the housing buildings from the restaurants, pool, trails, reception, and front gate. It was difficult to access the facilities. The road was dark and scary at night. The walking distance to the center of town was an obstacle to exploring nearby restaurants and sights.

04/25/2019

Friendly, informative staff at check-in. Beautiful setting. Like the proximity to Santa Elena - could walk there or take a quick taxi ride. Very hilly but we like the excretes.

04/22/2019

The beds were very uncomfortable the staff were very good.

04/20/2019

Did not like this hotel that much.

04/18/2019

The only complaint is it was LOUD!

04/17/2019

The hotel was comfortable and fine but in our opinion lacked soul and coziness. The restaurant was also fine but very busy to times. Open windows to the hall area made quite substantial amount of noise from other people that were walking in the hallway.
The room became quite hot during the day/evening which made it hard to sleep. We were not informed that there were no fans or AC.

04/15/2019

Nice hotel, but could use a little upkeep. We had some problems with our shower and ran out of hot water. The breakfast buffet was very good. We would have loved to have outdoor seating on our deck. I hiked some of the trail and would have benefitted from some trail markers. Otherwise, beautiful views and attentive staff mad it a very nice experience.

04/12/2019

The staff were extremely friendly and helpful

04/11/2019

Great view and location but we ran short of time to enjoy the hotel amenities.

04/03/2019

Needed more light!

04/02/2019

Room too far away and needing a shuttle is annoying

04/01/2019

We were very surprised at how vast this property was at this hotel. We thought we could walk to the top to do the hike but quickly realized we needed to use the in house shuttle. The staff was there to provide the shuttle.

03/28/2019

Again, the property was very hilly and needed a shuttle to get around, had to call twice for a shuttle to pick up my luggage when checking out. Otherwise, everyone was nice and helpful, pleasant.

03/20/2019

We had a beautiful view. Well located to walk to local restaurants. Staff was very nice. Good breakfast. Hotel goes high up the hill but the vans that drive you to your room and the pool work well.

03/19/2019

Beautiful hotel. Server at the main restaurant, Rommel(?), really went out of his way to make sure we were happy.
Trails at the top of the property were a bit scary –too easy to get lost.

03/17/2019

Hotel is very spread out over a hillside; need to take a shuttle to get to higher buildings. No soundproofing between rooms. We had to switch rooms due to noisy family next door (switched to much nicer room). Restaurant not great.

03/14/2019

The views from this hotel are unbelievable!! The staff was wonderful! The shuttles always came within a couple minutes of calling for one. However, the buildings are very echo-ie and I couldn't get good rest here. I also didn't feel like there was much to do. The property is very spread out. The spa was wonderful!! Definitely worth going to once.

03/11/2019

Hotel was lacking lighting. It was so dark in the room you couldn’t read a book.
Trails on property not marked.

03/08/2019

Beautiful sunsets.

02/27/2019

Enjoyed our stay very much. Liked having an outdoor patio overlooking the hillside/inlet.
Particularly nice that we could easily walk into town for dinner.

02/06/2019

The view from our room was exceptional! Transportation shuttles inside the resort were great.
The filet tenderloin steak I ordered in the hotel restaurant was too tough and I sent it back.
The rooms were not soundproof and conversation between rooms could be heard.

02/05/2019

The restaurant was not very good and very expensive. We should have gone across the street to the restaurant where someone said it was good and much less expensive.

02/04/2019

Room layout was a bit odd. Bathroom sink and desk were set very high, even for someone like me who is six feet tall.

The coati that we could see from outside our room sometimes were neat.

01/30/2019

Good location. Easy to walk into town for dinner. We got a little lost on their hiking trails which were not well marked and quite overgrown. There was alot of noise from the hallway, but luckily, the other people that were staying next to us were also "early to bed", so it wasn't a problem for us.

01/17/2019

Would choose a different hotel in Monteverde or Santa Elena with smaller property.

01/14/2019

The el establo was sort of the low point of a very good overall trip. The hotel I found a little too rustic for what it was billed as.

01/13/2019

Wonderful staff, lovely hotel, beautiful setting - loved the view including the spectacular sunset!

01/06/2019

Views were amazing but overall the hotel needs updates. The staff are not friendly.

12/29/2018

Great hotel!

12/28/2018

The hotel met my expectations. We did not select a top end hotel because we had so many excursions

12/24/2018

The bath water came out brown after telling them multiple times, it never got fixed. Also, the house keeping kept giving us less towels each time they came. We only got one and had to call down for more. We were a couple in the honeymoon sweet, why only one towel?

12/23/2018

rooms were dirty and the walls were very thin. food was overpriced. view was exceptional.

12/22/2018

Nice spacious high ceiling room and comfy beds. Beautiful Mountain View’s. No alarm clock, no AC, but the room was cool due to high altitude. Shower was too slow. No hot water for the tub.

12/21/2018

700s had amazing view

12/15/2018

People weren't specially nice, or not nice at all. the hotel wasn't much confortable

12/14/2018

A lot of walking . The area was spread out & very difficult
Walking .

12/12/2018

Rooms were ok. Staff at the front desk were friendly and the tour desk was as well. The bathrooms were VERY dark, could hardly see anything. Nice set up in the mountains though and we purchased the Zip Line tour and Night Walk tour that was offered on the premises. Zip Lining was fun, night tour rather disappointing, but not the guides fault. Animals do what they want!! We also purchased the coffee tour from the hotel's tour desk which was great.

12/05/2018

We were happy we stayed here....but it’s a weird and strange place. Layout was really weird. We did not see anyone. Breakfast was ok. Very strange layout...kept up all night by wind slamming doors ect.

12/02/2018

This was my favorite hotel of the whole trip. It was the most relaxing, warming and inviting hotel. Staff was great, breakfast was great. The view was absolutely perfect during the day and even better as we watched the clouds roll in over the city. It gave me the sense that I was seeing the cloud forest and its environment in action and make me feel like I was experiencing something special.

11/16/2018

Another beautiful hotel with an incredible view!

10/03/2018

Initial impressions not good at check in as the receptionist didn't offer a safe key even though there was one, and didn't tell us the shuttle would be coming to take us up the VERY steep hill. Things improved after this except for 2nd day breakfast which was "a la carte" due to low volume of guests. It was terrible. A heater in the room would have been useful and somewhere cosy to have a drink and get warm and dry. When we had a problem with ht roof leaking they moved us quickly so not problem with that.

09/01/2018

beautiful setting.

08/13/2018

Staff was very friendly. Enjoyed playing some games with the kids of some staff members. Stone hallways made the lodging buildings noisy.

12/04/2017

the view from this hotel was amazing but the layout was a little more spread out from what we had at Arenal. It was easier to walk to local sodas for meals than it was when we were in Arenal, so I enjoyed that aspect of being able to experience more of the local flavor and have a chance to put my Spanish to work speaking with local shop owners.

08/16/2017

Hotel was great, but very inconvenient to get to pool.

07/28/2017

The pool was too chilly to swim, it would have been nice if it had been heated.

06/15/2017

Did not like having to take the shuttle. Staff wasn't very friendly but the room was nice.

06/06/2017

Hotel VERY dim. We had to use our iPhone lights just to unpack and see things. So spread out and on a steep hill made it difficult to get around. Breakfast quite chaotic. The bed on the upper floor of each room was very, very hot and despite what they say,. they do need air conditioning. Would not go there again.

03/27/2017

Great location to be able to walk downtown. We were sad the lower pool and workout area were no longer available.

03/15/2017

We saw coati mundis and kinkajous out outside our patio door. Amazing sunsets!

03/08/2017

I wouldn't recommend this hotel. Spread over the mountain we needed transportation every time we wanted to leave the room (to go to the pool, bfast, etc you actually had to call for a van). Also, you need a taxi to go downtown. Not a very warm place. Some coldness to it. The upside were the views.

03/04/2017

Very nice hotel. Quiet. Although a bit of a hassle to get up the hill to the restaurant, well worth it as the food was excellent.

03/03/2017

In the mountains, the hotels are spread out and requires a shuttle to go anywhere. But if you are ready for that, its no big deal.

02/28/2017

They need more lounge chairs at pool

02/27/2017

Very nice hotel and loved our room. Lighting was very dim. No light in the shower, so taking one after dark was difficult and the lighting in the vanity was not adequate. Also, the wind whipping over the skylight was incredibly loud during the night. Great views - loved sitting out on the balcony.

02/19/2017

Beautiful place, friendly staff, HUGE room, but the room was dark and stuffy. There were so many steps!

02/13/2017

Beautiful setting

01/21/2017

Great place, but a bit isolated from town center.

01/11/2017

Everyone was very nice and the hotel is very special. The food seemed kind of not absolutelly top dog but the breakfasts were very very good

01/01/2017

Being so far from the restaurant they should have in room coffee service. Being in the heart of coiffed country the coffee was substandard. The view from the room was spectacular.

12/30/2016

It was hard to follow up Royal Corin. The room felt 'stripped' down of conveniences. Busy, busy time!

12/19/2016

Facilities were good. I underestimated how large the property is and how difficult it is to walk the property. Restaurant was good. Breakfast quality was poor. They should include omelettes and pancakes made to order with the included breakfast. Staff friendliness and helpfulness was inconsistent. Please ask the front desk staff to smile more and act more helpful. They are the hotels first guest services contact and should set an example.

11/22/2016

The bed in our room was quite uncomfortable, but the view was amazing! It was impossible to walk between buildings because of the incredible slope - and I know they had a shuttle. But we didn't get much walking in at the resort because of the incline. It would have been nice to have more choice for lunch / snacks within the resort.

11/20/2016

This was the nicest hotel I've ever stayed at. The view was amazing and the room was incredibly huge. The staff at the restaurant and bar were outstanding and made great recommendations for restaurants in town.

11/19/2016

It was very cold with no heaters or extra blankets. There were no room amenities, such as a coffee/tea maker, which was frustrating since we were so far away from the reception desk. The room was very far away from reception/breakfast/town with a very steep road (and no sidewalk) between anything. We had to rely on shuttle service which was not consistent. We often had to wait up to 30 minutes for a shuttle to bring us from our room to the reception area. Would not recommend to anyone.

08/17/2016

Breakfast should have more vareity and hot food

08/06/2016

Great location but strange hotel rooms, with no cupboard or closet space.....so we were living out of our suitcases.

08/01/2016

This was a nice hotel but again the restaurants and bars were over priced. Fortunately, it was not located far from other places to eat. There was no AC but the weather was nice so it was not missed.

07/06/2016

The pool closest to our room was closed. Rather disappointing. Also the food was ok. Our lunch in the main dining room was very expensive given the quality. We ate at several locations off property that offers much better food and value.

07/05/2016

This was our favorite hotel it was beautiful and all of the staff and amenities were amazing.

06/24/2016

The food wasn't as good, and there were some giant bugs in our room. We loved walking into town, very close to downtown and eating dinner there

06/11/2016

Clean hotel but not as friendly of staff. Did not love the restaurant.

05/25/2016

hard to get around the property

05/24/2016

The rooms were like an echo chamber. Lots of stone in the architecture and with no air conditioning you had to keep all windows open including into the common hallway. We experienced a wake up alarm at 6:30am every morning with the maids and service personnel starting their day. Very loud and simple to archaic accommodations in the room. We would have preferred a boutique hotel in Santa Elena (?).

03/25/2016

We enjoyed this hotel. The room was a little empty but the view was great! The staff at this hotel is great. We loved their fine dining restaurant!

03/19/2016

I didn't like that you had to driven everywhere. It was kind of a weird experience.

03/17/2016

We were really glad we were in the block nearest to the reception as easier to get down to restaurant/ into town etc. The concierge was fantastic . Full of knowledge and so helpful especially when I mixed up the date of a trip seamlessly rearranging for us. The guides at the hotel were brilliant - we did the night walk and we loved the hummingbird feeding stations. Once they knew we loved birds they would point out ones to us or help us Id them. Again would definitely return

03/07/2016

We were pleased to be in a room near the bottom of the site so we didn't have to rely on the transport vehicle. The onsite night nature tour is excellent.

02/16/2016

Very friendly and informative staff. The shuttles to the room and the reception desk were very prompt and timely. We had a great time staying at this hotel.

02/11/2016

This was our least favourite hotel. Front desk staff were not very friendly or helpful. Our biggest complaint is that the hotel was hosting a couple of bus tours. As a result the dining room was packed with long lineups for breakfast and dinner. Our first dinner, we had to wait 30 minutes to be seated and the service was very slow. I think the hotel should forewarn its non-bus tour guests about this. The hotel should also allow reservations for non-bus guests; maybe set aside a separate dining area. Even though we were not on a bus tour, we felt like we were. We are not paying a discounted bus tour rate but this is the level of service that we received.

02/06/2016

Lighting in the room and bathroom was very poor. Bathroom was beautiful and the shower didn't leak after we adjusted the shower head. The highlight was the spectacular views from the balcony. Be sure to go to the pool area. Beautiful and none like I've ever seen before.

01/20/2016

It was ok. The shuttle is difficult to rely on and the staff was fine. Also it's quite noisy in the rooms.

01/04/2016

Beautiful hotel but not built to absorb or keep out noise from room to room or room to hallway - noisy. Amazing views from the room! A bit of a hassle to call the vans all the time to get to and from the room, but they were prompt.

12/02/2015

The rooms were beautiful. The view was spectacular. But the site really restricted and movement and required transportation up and down to the room and the check in. The transportation was prompt but still somewhat restrictive.

11/23/2015

Great staff,super restaurant....FOOD and SERVICE excellent excellent location...What a view...

07/29/2015

Excellent staff and accommodation. I'd tell others to stay there, and again we appreciated the recommendation from you. The complex was much bigger and had much more to offer than I anticipated. Only issue, the food was not very good here.

07/27/2015

Very basic accommodations. The boys liked our room because they were also able to sleep on a king-sized bed on the loft. We only ate breakfast at the hotel - it felt like a college cafeteria. We didn't use the pool or spa.

07/20/2015

views from the rooms were amazing - staff very friendly - shuttles very timely and reliable - very few amenities in room - no coffee maker - ugh!

07/15/2015

The receptionist was not friendly at all!!!! This really made my experience there not the best.
Bartender, Jorge, was friendly.

07/01/2015

It is a beautiful hotel but it did not have the same level of community and staff friendliness that our other hotels did.A lot of that may be due to how spread out it was and that it was low season so it felt very quiet. No one at the pool.We were also in a building far from the lobby so had to take a shuttle or walk far when we wanted to go anywhere and I would have preferred a more compact hotel where it was easier to get to food, lobby, good wifi, and town.

06/28/2015

Our experience with the staff varied. We had wonderful service from the concierge (10), but were not able to contact the front desk easily for shuttle service and hot water service. One night we arrived back to the hotel about 9:00 P.M. and there was no one at the front desk, nor was there a way to contact the shuttle service to get to our room. We waited in the lobby until a shuttle eventually appeared.

06/19/2015

Originally we were assigned a room in a building with a big group of loud students. Staff switched us to a room in quieter building which was good. Original building was also very far from hotel entrance so we would have had to take the shuttle. It was much better to be in the building that was within walking distance of the hotel entrance and restaurant.

05/14/2015

The Hotel was nice but the shuttle service was extremely poor. One morning the breakfast was at the bottom restaurant but the next morning it was at the top restaurant but nobody informed anyone of the change. Tie that to the very poor shuttle service it was frustrating especially when we had to get the transfer at a specific time.

05/08/2015

It was hard because Arenal was so nice so in comparison this place was not as pristine but the beds were comfy and the room was on first floor with a great view and close to pool and breakfast which was great. The staff was not as welcoming as the Arenal. The restaurant at top of hill was bizarre with terrible service but breakfast was good and it was great we could walk to town and grocery store right close.

05/04/2015

Really beautiful place. Great staff. Food more expensive than we thought it would be but super good up at the top restaurant. Bottom restaurant was average in taste. Loved our waiter!! Liked being close to the lobby where we were. The pool above is astounding and the spa was incredible. Very happy with it.

03/14/2015

We loved the hotel. We did not expect, however, the number of stairs or the incline that the resort was built on. A shuttle was available and, in almost all cases, was available when we needed it. The staff was outstanding and the food delicious. We found a scorpion in our room and the staff was quick to remove it. We would return to this area.

02/14/2015

Loved the bird feeders at reception! Very helpful concierge that had to get us out of a couple of "jams". "High end" restaurant was fabulous - good food and exceptional service. However, walls in the rooms were paper thin and you could hear every word/television of next door "guests" so it was noisy.

01/18/2015

The pool was not warm enough to go swimming since it is cooler in that area they should heat their pool more

12/30/2014

Interesting story how the hotel began. Excellent views.