How can you beat $50 per night for your own cabina, complete with front and back porch with hammock and chairs. This charming family run business has only 4 cabinas, perfect size. The grounds are lovely. Some of the best bird watching on our two week trip right from the back porch. A gentle walk to the river right out the back gate. Approx a mile from Fortuna town. Best for those with a car, but still doable with a taxi. Loved being outside the town centre with a more natural setting.
The owners wife will cook breakfast and serve on their outdoor patio(family home is right across the street). $7 per person.
Nice restaurant, decent pricing at Casa Luna hotel, walking distance (5 minutes) right up the road. Highly recommended.

We chose Hotel Cerro Azul for our La Fortuna accommodation based on their Trip Advisor reviews and were SO glad we did! Everything about this beautiful little place was excellent-- the setting, the cabins, the amenities, and definitely the owner/manager Alvaro-- and we'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for somewhere to stay that's a little out of town and right in the middle of the Costa Rican wildlife!

First, the setting. Hotel Cerro Azul is located about 1.5km out of the town of La Fortuna, on the road to the Rio Fortuna waterfall. We didn't hire a car during our stay, and while we were initially a bit put off by the distance into town, we found it to be an easy 20 minute walk with stunning views of the volcano. I'm sure we would have been able to get taxis easily enough, had we wanted to, but we didn't even bother, it was that easy a walk. As mentioned, the hotel lies on the road to the Rio Fortuna waterfall, a road which also takes you to the start of the challenging (though rewarding) Cerro Chato hike. We never made it to the waterfall (we were too exhausted after the Cerro Chato hike to handle the thought of the stairs down!), but we heard many great things about it and I'm sure we would have appreciated its proximity to our hotel.

Being just that little bit out of town also meant that we were able to right in the middle of the Costa Rican countryside. The grounds of the small hotel (with only 4 cabins and a reception desk) are green and lush, decorated with many native plants. Next door/behind the cabins is a huge paddock with a beautiful horse, and we spent many hours lying in the hammock of our balcony, watching the many birds and squirrels go about their day. The small number of cabins meant that the place was always extremely quiet and peaceful, which is what you want to truly enjoy Costa Rica!

The rooms themselves are great. The beds were comfortable, TV had lots of cable stations, the fridge was nice and roomy, showers were clean and strong; everything was perfect!
And then there was Alvaro. The man is brilliant! So sweet and helpful, he was always happy to accommodate our every desire. He can arrange any excursion or activity you want, and gave excellent recommendations as to the best things to do during your trip. He was sweet enough to let us leave our things in our cabin for almost a full day after we checked out, and then organised for his son to drive us to our next hotel, just outside of town! He really is such a sweetheart.
Overall, a fantastic place to stay, if you want to get a true taste of Costa Rica (instead of being caught up in the mini-America that is La Fortuna), and highly recommended!

We ended up staying here because I could not get a reservation for one of the nights of our stay. What a wonderful surprise! The cabin was immaculate. The owner is so nice! It is quiet and in the woods, so you really feel like you are in nature. (Unlike the large hotels with pools in the area). He provided us breakfast in his home across the street, which was great. It was also very convenient to see the waterfall and we went swimming there. Also convenient to the main area for dinner. We really enjoyed our stay and would recommend it to anyone who wants to stay away from the crowds and large and fancy hotels. The bathroom was huge by the way!

My wife and I spent three nights at Cerra Azul and couldn't have been happier with our arrangement. The owner, Alvorro (sp?), was exceptionally hospitable. You could tell he takes a great deal of pride in his property....as well as his Trip Advisor rating. That goes a long way. He was quite concerned with our satisfaction, and as a result, we were quite satisfied!

There are four private cabinas on the well-maintained and nicely landscaped property, which is located just a minute or two outside La Fortuna, which was perfect. Our other option was a hotel in town, which looked nice, but we didn't have to contend with street noise at Cerra Azul. A big plus. Yet we were close enough to town to pop in and out of town as we wished (we had a car). The cabinas are located on the road that leads to the waterfall--a very worthwhile excursion. You can hike straight up from the cabin (maybe add 30-45 minutes), or drive up and hike from there (20 minutes?). Wear your swimsuit and take a dip in the pool under the falls.

If you're up for a more ambitious hike, be sure to head up the road, and when you get to entrance to the falls, take the road to the right to the Cerro Chato trailhead. It's a 2-hour hike straight up the side of the mountain (and then 1 to 1 1/2 down). No switchbacks--it's very intense, but the reward is worth it: a swim in a bright green lake that was once a volcano.

Those are two excursions readily accessible from Cerra Azul. Of course, the many, many adventures the Arenal area offers are well documented, so I won't go into those.

The cabinas were quite nice. Nothing fancy, but very nice. Satellite TV (satellite didn't always work), A/C, hot water, decent bed, nice back patio with hammock (and vegetation made it feel isolated, even though the next cabina wasn't far). The bathroom was surprisingly large.

Breakfast was included and served on the owner's front porch, directly across the street, each morning. Eating at their home made the experience feel that much more hospitable. I'll be honest, we grew tired of typico food by our vacation's end, but her typico breakfast was fantastic!

We'd stay at Cerra Azul again in a heartbeat.