We took the advise of the reviews and booked a day trip with Frank. He was wonderful. We did horseback riding up to the zip-lining tour, which was incredible, a little scary, but worth the hike up to the first platform. Frank then took us to a wonderful steakhouse, stopped off for some monkey-spotting and even took us to the grocery store and pharmacy on the way back to the hotel. He even offered to let us use the internet at his home if needed. He is a genuine, nice person that really takes an interest in assuring you have the best trip. We only wish we had a second and third day to spend with Frank!

Thanks Frank for the wonderful experience.

Sarah and Daniel

Just like some of the other reviewers, I am writing this because we loved Frank, the tour guide. He was awesome. He was the most willing, kind, helpful person we've met.

We chose three tours, the all day tour which included the volcano, iguanas, monkeys and the arenal volcano at night. We also did the Cano Negro tour which was really awesome as well. Caymans up close...whoa.

Anyway, Frank was the kind of tour guide that stopped at the pharmacy for the daughter of the family that we were touring with. While he wasn't with us asked a doctor friend for advice for her. That is the over the top tour guide service that Frank gives. He will become dear to you by the end of the trip...and his daughter is the adorable spitting image of Frank.

So, you should book with Frank.

As for the hotel, it was pretty cool. We thought the food wasn't good but the El Tucanito bar which is about 15 minutes from the entrance of the El Tucano is amazing. Bring your Spanish dictionary. :) We went there twice and drank and ate ourselves silly for about 30 bucks.

Do the hot springs and the little hike connected to the hotel. Those were nice. Bring your bug spray.

We stayed at the El Tucano in December which we thought was the end of rainy season - wrong! Even though we had mucho rain, we had a fabulous time exploring the local area with Frank Tours, the local guide. We saw lots of wildlife, and amazing vegetation and birds. Costa Rica surprised us. In this area it is largely undeveloped (non-touristy), and many sights were within a reasonable drive - best bets are La Paz Waterfall Gardens (the only extremely commercial place), Arenal and Cano Negro, which we caught on a sunny day (see my pictures). If you get the chance also visit Bosque thermal springs a few kilometers down the road, and the La Marina Zoo - both great activities for a rainy, quiet day. Otherwise be sure to book Frank Tours, his expertise and enthusiasm made our trip. Overall the hotel was very beautiful, the rooms were average, and the staff were decent, and helpful, though sometimes a little more low-key than North Americans might expect.

We just got back from staying at El Tucano and had a really great time. The hotel is very comfortable and situated in a beautiful setting - it seemed as if we were in the middle of the jungle. The staff on the whole were very friendly and accommodating. The rooms are generous and clean. The only minor criticism I had was that the rooms could have used de-humidifiers; due to the high humidity in the region, it was very difficult to dry out our clothes.

The best part of our vacation, however, was Frank of Frank's tours. Frank is the resident tour guide for the hotel and he was absolutely a pleasure - very accommodating, friendly, personable, and helpful. We booked 3 separate tours with him and would not have enjoyed our stay as much without him. We highly recommend the tour to the Poas Volcano. We also enjoyed the ziplining tour which also includes a horseback ride to the zipline site.