My wife and I spent the initial 3 days of our honeymoon at the El Tucano resort. Like people said earlier - this resort is a bit out in the boonies so don't stay here expecting a big party and tons to do in walking distance. You're going to need a driver. This is not a bad thing though as there is a lot of beautiful countryside to see and little villages and towns all around, as well as an hour ride to the Arenal Volcano area and La Fortuna.

The wait staff in the restaurant was great, we had a young man named Jerry help us all weekend, very cordial and polite. Spoke pretty good English for the most part. Food prices weren't bad at all and the food was pretty good (try the "traditional" costa rican platter and the aztec soup). Overall the staff was helpful - they did miss us on a wakeup call however.

Inside the main lobby is a booth for "Frank Tours" - I wanted to post here mainly to give props to Frank who was our guide and driver throughout our stay in El Tucano. He spent a lot of time with us - driving us from the airport, driving us to Arenal Volcano and back, and even driving us to Guanacaste to the Grand Papagayo Resort for part 2 of our honeymoon (6 hour trip!). Frank offers a lot of activities including boat tours, hiking, canopy tours, pretty much anything you need. He speaks exceptional English, answers all your questions, and is very friendly and a fun guy to be around. We even got to meet his family on the way back from La Fortuna. He was worth every penny and we definitely want to recommend hiring him if he's available to take you on a tour or a drive anywhere in the region. Definitely one of the highlights of our trip.

My husband and I and our son just came back from Costa Rica.We stayed with friends, and one night we decided to take a tour and stay overnight .We drove from La Paz Waterfalls, thinking we would just stay somewhere on the way to Arenal.We got lost, and of course at night it is hard to find anything, but we did find El Toucano.I thought its part of the Occidental Hotels, it has to be good.Well, it definitly needs work.It is in a great setting,a nice location,etc.The rooms were horrible,ours smelled like cat pee .I asked for another room, but even though there werent many people there, she wouldnt switch the room.We were so tired from the drive, we stayed for the night.The next day we had the breakfast buffet, which was o.k.We stayed at the huge pool,my son had a massage which he said was good.We didnt know anything about the trails or any other amenities, I only found out when I got home and went on Trip Advisor(which I usually do first.)I think under better management, and some really good renovations, this could be a 5 star hotel.But not the way it is now.Also,the front desk girl could be better at her job, by telling guests what there is to do there.She seemed like she couldnt be bothered).Also the next day at check out,they charged me for an extra meal, which took the front desk person 3 phonecalls to adjust, instead of just doing it himself.I look forward to this hotel updating, if the Occidental chain has anything to do with it.Otherwise, it will go the way of many mismanged hotels, closing because Americans and others expect more today.Costa Rica is building many luxury resorts on the Pacific side, I hope they do the same here, without losing the charm of this hotel

We loved El Tucano! It is out of the way of the La Fortuna hubub, but close enough to day trip it. We rented a car in Quepos and drove to Quesada which took most of a day. It is a scenic trip to say the least! The spa is mostly a Tico resort, which was appealing to us as we are learning Spanish. There was one other American family and the rest of the guests were locals. English is spoken by nearly all of the staff. We had excellent massages, and my wife had facial, mani, and pedi which she loved. All of the services were very reasonably priced.

We enjoyed the natural sauna and the hot pools. The one natural pool down by the river was wonderfull! I loved hearing the rushing river during meals! It is a lovely lush setting with luxuriant jungle all around you. I saw Tucanos, Blue Morpho butterflies, and many other wild creatures. There is a nice trail system on the property which I used every morning. My only complaint was the fact that no coffee is available before 7 am. As an early riser, I found this odd and inconvenient. The breakfast buffet is excellent. The dinner buffet was also quite good.

It is a very attractive property. The buildings are quaint and white washed with red tile roofs. It has the feel of a little Spanish village. I would not describe the rooms as luxurious, but we found them cozy. There is no internet, so if you need it you would have to go into town ten minutes by car. There are tennis courts and a mini golf course.

The trip to Arenal took about an hour each way, and was well worth it. We got a perfect view of the smokiing top but no lava. The best view was off the dirt road between Tabacon and Lake Arenal (turn left heading towards the lake). We also drove up to Poas which is so pretty! The little towns up there are charming. It was cloudy and rainy so we couldn't see much most of the time, but it was awesome to be immersed in clouds. We also liked the scenery around the town of Zarcero south of San Carlos.

I would stay at El Tucano again. It was a lovely retreat in the mountains.

Nice Spa and Hotel where you can pamper yourself with a mud wrap, and anything else from a pedicure to a massage and beyond. Soaking in the stream or in the baths of thermal springs or swimming in their pools are also available. High in a local tree you can watch the Montezuma birds nesting and hopefully as we saw, a pair of Red Macaws. This is high volcanic area and thermal springs are the center. Rooms are roomy and comfortable and the help willing to jump in and help when needed