“Escape from the Real World”
We stayed 2 nights here (10/9-10/11) and totally loved our cabin! We had one overlooking the rainforest and I totally fell in love with it. We had been on a bus tour of Costa Rica and by the time we arrived here we were ready to relax and unwind. Could not beat the food at the restaurant and we even found the best cheeseburger ever there … LOL (Hubby had that while I chowed down on the arroz con pollo – you cannot beat grass-fed beef for flavor). Wish we had longer to be there and I would love to return on my own time! Kudos to everyone in the kitchen and love that a lot of the food comes from your own property.
~ TripAdvisor Guest, October 21, 2011
“Hotel Chachagua-a rainforest in your backyard”
The taxi ride from the airport was 2.5 hours. Expect some bumpy roads so take your motion sickness pills. But once you arrive, you will be greeted by Kaileen or Christian and a fruit drink to quench your thirst from the long taxi ride over. This modern hotel is a like a secret gem within the rainforest. They even have horses you can ride, farm, vegetable garden, and lake where they get their fish. Their restaurant has great food! All their meals are fresh using vegetables and herbs from their own garden and farm fresh eggs as well. Order “platos tipicos” with the fish. “Guanabano” is a delicious cold smoothie. We ordered it everyday we were there. We got the double bed room, with A/C and no TV. We chose that. Rooms are cleaned everyday and they even make animals with your towels. Our overhead ceiling shower had a great view of the rainforest so it feels like your showering outside. They were using 120Voltz so we didn’t need to bring converters for our laptops. The staff at Chachagua are excellent. Christian and Kaileen(front desk) will help you with anything: zip-lining, taxi, tours, solo tours, groceries, forgot the lotion to dive in their crystal clear pool? No problem. They’ll arrange it all for you. They made our stay very comfortable. Whatever you need, they will help you out. Make sure to visit “Ecocentro Danaus” in La Fortuna. It’s an animal sanctuary that had butterflies, tree frogs, squirrels, caiman, bats and even a sloth! This place is for the young and old. It was a great experience!
~ TripAdvisor Guest, September 23, 2011
“Immersed in the Rainforest”
My fiance and I went on a trip to Chachagua. The place is great! The rooms are very simple but nice. They were actually built by the towns people, which is impressive. The food was fresh and amazing! During our stay there, we did a tour of the property with Christian; he was very informative. We also did horseback riding — which was beautiful. We did not get a car rental, so we had a taxi pick us up for most excursions (waterfalls, ziplining, white water rafting, hot springs, etc..). The hotel arranged everything for us, which made it quite easy. Kaileen at the front desk was very helpful. The taxi’s definitely hike up the price for tourists — and they only want US$, not colones.
Overall, we loved the hotel. It was rustic, the service was great, and the staff was extremely friendly. If you decide to drive, it is a little difficult to find (about 2.5 hours from the airport), and you have to go down a dirt/rocky road for 2km — it feels like the road will never end; but once you are there, it truly is like living IN the rainforest — amazing!
I gave it “very good” because, even though beautiful, if you don’t have a car — you can’t really go anywhere else for food — you are stuck with their facility. Their restaurant was GREAT, but not having that option sometimes felt limiting.
~ TripAdvisor Guest, September 12, 2011
“Chachagua Rainforest Hotel”
My wife and myself are both well traveled people, which have been in different types of hotels around the world. We both agree that this hotel has been one of the best we have been in. It is a beautiful hotel in a parasidic place, which provides a great experience for those of us who love nature. The people are wonderful and extraordinarily nice and service oriented. The room (delux bungalow) was impecable, with all the details of a 5 star hotel in a rainforest!! The temperature was perfect (no need of air conditioner). The chef (Victor) was a life saver, as my wife was not feeling well and he prepared a special meal for her that suited well. We had a special tour provided by Christian to the volcano, which was an excellent experience (Thanks Christian!!). The hotel has been recently renovated and they are moving towards the idea of a self sustainable hotel (energy, food, etc). They have done a wonderful work so far with the organic garden, the excellent natural decor and moving ahead with their idea for the installation of a hydrogenerator plant, for which they will be able to produce 100% of the required energy. My only recommendations would be to fix the entrance road to be more driveable and to place more signs through the way to teh hotel. In addition, to provide more options for meals. Other than this, this proved to be an extraordinary experience for those who love nature and enjoy the nice details of hotels.
~ Hotels.com Guest, April 17, 2011
“Awesome!”
booked it on a whim and was bit worried when driving through the middle of no where, but it is just great! so beautiful, the staff is amazing (nature tours included on several trails) and we just had a blast. they arranged everything for us, food was on site and delicious, i was just so pleasantly surprised. Book it if you’re in the arenal area!
~ Hotels.com Guest, March 30, 2011
