There are at least 30 pools carved out of the woods filled with naturally hot water. The pools are fairly secluded. When you are there you just lie in the hot springs or lounge on chairs next to the pool...that's it. At first I was dubious ("hon, what are we going to do for 3 hours?" I think I said). But the time flew by. The pools are very romantic, ideal for couples.

The service was below average for Costa Rica. The people we encountered had blunted affects, like they were just punching a clock and going to work. Because the place is so beautiful their attitudes really stuck out.

Food: we had lunch and dinner included in our trip. The food is delicious, but it is served buffet style. Don't bother getting too dressed up. We brought a nice change of clothes for dinner, but it was not necessary. In fact, we were seeated close to the pool. Every 5-10 minutes we heard loud screams from inebriated adults riding the pool slide (which was about 30 feet away).

Kids: we wouldn't bring our kids here. They have an area where they can play, but it is equivalent to any resort pool.

BOTTOM LINE: we'd return for the hot springs, but with a expectation of mediocre service.

The hot springs are really beautiful and a must see. The rooms in the hotel are nice with normal amenities. However breakfast is $29 per person, per day for a normal buffet, food at the bars and restaurants is really expensive since the service is poor and the servers are not friendly. The front desk and tour desk workers are nice and polite. The excursions offered through the hotel are limited and much more expensive than if you book directly with the company. Would recommend because of the hot springs and spa.

We took a day pass to the hot springs in August 2012 and had a wonderful time. Our pass included dinner and just the food cost 25 dollars per person which is high for even Costa Rican standards. Other parts of Central America tends to be more affordable than Costa Rica and in other areas of Arenal you could eat with 7 USD (drinks included), so I was surprised that when dinner time came, they were trying to charge an extra 7 bucks for drinks. At the front desk, no one told us that a drink wasn't included. We didn't make a big deal because it's not that serious...life goes on. However, the waiter we had was really nice and gave my boyfriend and I a drink each without charging us so I thought that was really sweet of him. The food was average but dessert was so delicious and we had a wide range of dinner plates and desserts to choose from. Some of the staff their were extra personable and service overall was good. The springs are beautiful and the water is very relaxing. There were about 4-6 different pools, each had different temperatures ranging from cool to warm. The springs were pretty hot and relaxing plus the view was other worldly. If there ever was a garden of Eden, I would picture it to be like this.

We are ending our 3 night stay at Tabacon. Having traveled many areas in the world, this has to be the most magnificent area I have ever been. While I must agree with many of the reviewers that the food experience leaves much to be desired, the property itself makes up for that shortcoming. The thermal hot springs is like none other in the world. Yes, there are people there, but go in the morning and head straight up to Shangrila - the adult section and an oasis amongst the springs. Yesterday we arrived at 11:00 and saw no one for at least an hour. We stayed Monday-Thursday and would repeat this again as I am sure the weekends are busier. The spa treatments we received we unbelievable. You must do a couples massage in the bungalows by the river. You can select any massage treatment for this experience. The rates here were no higher than any other Caribbean resort we have travelled to and lower than Tahiti. We stayed in Rainforest Suite 706 which was very comfortable. I do think it could be noisy with other guests in residence. The staff were all very pleasant and accomodating with the exception of the dining room in the main hotel. The thermal springs area owned by Tabacon is a short 5 minute walk. There is an on demand shuttle as well which we never waited more than 2 or 3 minutes for at the end of our spring visit. We will be back for sure!!!