My husband and I stayed at Monteverde Lodge for 2 nights in February of 2007. This is an ecolodge and throughout our tour of the rest of the country, we stayed mainly at upscale hotels, so this was quite different. However, overall, it appeared to be the best option in the area.

The location of the lodge is very convenient to downtown Monteverde and also to the nearby Ecological Sanctuary. The check-in process is seamless and the people who work at the desk are very helpful in suggesting things to do in the area and arranging them for you. The restaurant associated with the hotel is quite good. It also has a great bar where you can play cards/ wind down in the evening- very laid back atmosphere. There is also a hottub- but be forewarned- it is solar powered and if there is no sun that day it is cold!! The rooms themselves are clean but the linens and furniture are somewhat outdated. The grounds themselves are very nice with a garden you can stroll through. Overall we were pleased with the property.

When we were in Monteverde, despite it being the drier season, it rained quite a bit. We did a canopy tour in poor weather and this was still great. We also visited the Ecological Sanctuary and saw monkeys, birds there- was actually a better self tour than the much more touristy Cloud Forest Reserve (which was crouded- humingbird garden great!). There is a frog exhibit in town, but this was marginally entertaining at best. The town of Monteverde is small and not quite what we expected. Overall, Monteverde was somewhat of a letdown- our only disappointment in Costa Rica. This is, of course, just an opinion, and may have been slightly influenced by the weather.

However, if you are visiting Monteverde, the Lodge and Gardens is likely the best accomodation in the area.

We spent two nights at the Monteverde Lodge for our honeymoon. It’s an ecolodge…no TV and no extra electric items. They also heat by solar panel! We had one of the cheaper Garden View rooms. The room was kind of small but we really didn’t stay in our room too much. The walls are pretty thin and we heard the people in the pool area. The grounds are beautiful. We walked around their trail and to the look out. It was absolutely wonderful. The hotel staff is great. We did eat at the restaurant twice and found the food to be wonderful. We also went to town and ate at the Treehouse Café. This restaurant is a must. There is a huge tree growing in the middle of the restaurant. We sat outside under the branches both times we ate there. The food is wonderful and they give you a coupon to use their internet service for 30 minutes.

Stayed at this hotel the weekend of August 3, 2007. The hotel is a little pricey, but worth every penny. The rooms are large, comfortable beds, (we asked for a room with a california king size bed... they only have 3, but we were fortunate enough to get one of them). The rooms were very clean. There were a few bugs, but that's because we kept our windows open... its the rain forest for crying out loud!!! The water pressure in the shower was superb. (This Lodge was built to be ecologically friendly... the lights are dim, the water is heated (80% anyways) by solar panels on the roof of the hotel, no TV's or radios. but again, you're in the rain forest for crying out loud.) There is a coffee maker in the room, and they offer Britt Coffee (I'm not a coffee drinker, but my wife tells me it's Costa Rica's premium brand) The views were spectacular, and they have a garden on the property (which my wife and I unfortunately did not get a chance to see.)

Good review so far... but that wasn't the best part of our stay. The best part was the customer service. My wife unforetunately fell ill during the trip. They went out of their way to make sure she was OK. Halfway through our meal at the on-site restaurant (which by the way has some pretty excellent food, although expensive by Costa Rica standards) my wife felt faint, and needed to return to our room. She left first, leaving me by myself to finish the meal (people stared at me like she walked out on me because she was mad, but I assure you, that was not the case.) I told our server of the situation, and that I would like to be with her. He told me he would deliver the rest of our meal to our room so I could be with her as I finished it. The Front desk personnel were wonderful as well. Luis kept inquiring how my wife was, and provided us with medicine, and offered to call a doctor on her behalf. Luckily, she felt better the second day, but just knowing people genuinely cared was comforting.

All in all, although a little more expensive than other hotels you can get in Monteverde, to us, the stay was worth many times more.

PS. Their hotel policy is to not recommend any "zip-lining" places because of the lack of governmental regulations. If you are desiring to go zip-lining through the rain forest, we recomend Selvatura... $40 US (we managed to get it for $30 with a student ID... YMMV on that one though), and it had the most cables, with a "tarzan swing"... great experience!!!

We stayed at Monteverde Lodge for two nights and had a pleasant experience. The rooms are large and comfortable. The girls at the front desk were very helpful and friendly, though the same cannot be said about the restaurant staff who were generally slow and not too concerned with providing friendly service. The food in the restaurant is good, however. The hotel is within walking distance to the small towns of Monteverde and St. Elena though there are no sidewalks and the road is really curvy. A cab to either town is just a few dollars. In St. Elena there is a really cute restaurant called Treehouse that has good food and a great atmosphere.