Vistaverde Lodge

Off the beaten path! This gem is above Santa Elena with a view of Arenal and the lake. If you stay here, remember that it does take time to get up and down to Santa Elena and Monteverde. However, it is quite close to Selvatura and Treetopia. The food is from their farm and excellent (as well as reasonably priced). The caretaker is very attentive. It can be much cloudier and rainier up at the Lodge than down in the town. The road is rough. AWD is an asset, though can probably make it without.

We booked that lodge for an overnight stay in Monteverde, because we did not want to travel all the way back to Manuel Antonio, where we had our house. When we arrived at the lodge at 5p.m. nobody was there. We looked into every window, we called the owner, we could find nobody. No notice at the door nothing. The rooms did not seemed like they were in use. No lines on the bed nothing. We waited nearly an hour. We could not reach the owner by phone, so we decided to go all the way back to Monteverde. This was by far my worst Costa Rica experience ever.

There was something otherwordly about this place... It's very high up (1600m above sea level), often in the clouds, surronded by prime cloud rainforest... It's very beautiful. It's a bit remote, but there's hiking to do literally on the doorstep, and it's very, very relaxing. The food in thr restorant has a real homemade quality to it, food and wine are affordable, breakfasts are included and again of the highest quality. The decor in the room (a beatiful, bespoke wooden ceiling) was breathtaking and really insipiring. A truly memorable, nourishing experience for the senses and the spirit!

Pros - breathtaking views of Volcan Arenal and the lake; good breakfast included in the room cost; staff are friendly; a nice respite from the hustle bustle of town life Cons - basic room with minimal furniture; no hot water: no Wi-Fi outside of main lodge; road conditions are not good so you’ll need to make sure you can drive on unpaved gravel mountain roads; suggest arrivals before sunset so you don’t have to drive in the dark in a cloud forest with low visibility

We took a group of 14 people to Vista Verde. We were in a 22 passenger van and had no problems getting to the property. The roads are gravel and that is what we expected. The views of the Volcano and lake are amazing when the clouds are not around. We were there for 2 nights and the rooms are basic. We had extremely high winds while there. You are in a cloud forest so Its a gamble weather you see the volcano or not. At one point we had a clear view of Lake Arenal and Volcano within 5 minutes it was gone. Breakfast and dinner was really good and Karina and Swaty are were great. Lots of interaction with both of them. They bent over backwards for our group.

We arrived in the dark amidst the clouds (drive from Santa Elena is along an unpaved road with some steeper hills, it felt quite the expedition in the dark with very limited visibility due to clouds), we were shown to our rooms when we arrived. The rooms were very spacious and beds super comfy. Ejollio (I apologize as I know that is not how his name is spelled) was an amazing host/manager. He prepared a late snack for us to enjoy. He is very knowledgeable on the area, and has been working at the lodge for 25 years. He also makes the best banana pancakes!! We awoke in the morning to the most amazing view across lake Arenal and the volcano. There are a number of trails from the property, the one to the waterfall is steep, but well marked with a well maintained trail. It starts to the far right of the main lodge. The trail to the left of the lodge is not so well defined, but will leave you feeling like a true explorer that may or may not be lost!! The lodge gives you thee sense of being in the middle of nowhere. The road into town was closed for a few hours one day we were there. Although it didn't impact us, others were unable to get through for tours.