Quite a change from Arenal if you're coming from there. By the way the only to explain the drive is BUMPY!!! A good portion of the ride is hilly, rocky road, but the boat ride across Lake Arenal was really enjoyable. By the time you get to the FV, you're really glad to be there. The FV (Monteverde in general)... more

Hotels in Monteverde are generally not fancy. Fonda Vela has very nice grounds for walking around and seeing birds, the rooms are spacious, the restaurant has good food, and they're building a pool. Monteverde is very buggy and we couldn't figure out why there aren't screens in the windows. more

The only bad thing about this place is that you have to get a taxi into town, it's a bit far to walk- and too dark at night! The grounds are lovely and we had a lovely huge room. Good breakfast and the staff were all really nice and helpful. more

Road up to the hotel is bumpy but worth the trip. It seems like it is the last hotel on the block before entering the forest. You must take a cab into town for the restaurants and shopping. Overall, it's clean, quiet, and there are a lot of trails around the hotel for you to explore into the forest. The... more

After staying in ARenal for 3 nights, we spent 3 more nights here in Monteverde. The front desk man was extremely helpful and nice. However our rooms, although they were big, smellllled like moldy basement. It was gross. The blankets felt damp and just were not warm and comfortable. I understand we went in the beginning of the rainy season... more

Getting to the hotel was quite a bumpy ride. The roads are quite rocky, narrow, and steep. Hotel Fonda Vela is pretty far up the mountain. The scenery along the drive is nice though. We checked in very quickly and the front desk attendant was extremely welcoming and helpful. If you have luggage, take my advice - have the bell... more

no hot water in room31 on 4/20/09; noisy construction work behind room starting at 6:30am; unhelpful front desk staff; would not stay there again. travelers staying in other rooms mentionned very small water heaters and need to let water run a long time to get some hot water; whihc we did unsuccessfully. more

As other reviews have noted, the junior suites on the upper level are quite large. Our family of 5 was very comfortable, with 3 beds in the room, nice dark hardwood floors and lots of space. Looked out over nice gardens. Lots of paths to explore from the hotel, and only a short distance to the Cloud Forest Reserve. The... more

This hotel is tacky and much of our room was nonfuctional--no working phone, no screens on the windows, no A/C, no working mini bar (all the drinks were hot). The hot water handle fell off on day one and was not replaced for day two. Looked like something from the 1940s with no updating. The front desk staff was wonderful,... more