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All 63 La Fortuna de San Carlos hotels

Lost Iguana Resort & Spa: Traveler Reviews

3.5 of 5
1.5 km North of Arenal dam, La Fortuna de San Carlos, Arenal Volcano National Park A2004, Costa Rica
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Lost Iguana Resort & Spa
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Most recent review
5 of 5 stars Reviewed March 31, 2007
MichiganAnnArbor Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Rating summary
  • Sleep Quality
    4.5 of 5 stars
  • Location
    4.5 of 5 stars
  • Rooms
    4.5 of 5 stars
  • Service
    4.5 of 5 stars
  • Value
    4.5 of 5 stars
  • Cleanliness
    4.5 of 5 stars
Date Rating
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Senior Reviewer
7 reviews 7 reviews
5 hotel reviews
6 helpful votes 6 helpful votes
“Best repeat visit”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed March 31, 2007

This was my third trip to this incredible resort- I absolutely love it here! Staff was all very friendly and helpful, the food was wonderful- where else can you be eating dinner while seeing lava cascading down a volcano? The views from our room were amazing and I love the newly added "lava wake up call" feature- if you haven't seen lava yet, you can ask to be called at night when the lava is typically more active and they will only call you when you will be guaranteed to see it- how thoughtful is that! The sounds of the rain forest and animals at night is unforgettable- this spot is truly magical and represents what Costa Rica is all about. We loved our trip to hanging bridges, the canopy zip lining (my husband went with friends, I just rode the gondola up but loved that too), the waterfall we got to swim in, and Tabacon's heated river and waterfall was great. We even went on a nature guided tour on the grounds of Lost Iguana and saw toucans for the first time! I recommend this spot to anyone!

  • Liked — amazing views of the volcano and sounds of the rainforest
  • Disliked — steep hills- got a free workout every day!
  • Stayed March 2007, traveled as a couple
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
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Orange Beach, AL
1 review
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
“Nature Lover's Delight”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed March 30, 2007

We stayed for three nights and departed on March 28. We had a wonderful experience and would highly recommend this charming hotel. Our spacious room was thoughtfully furnished with handmade furniture and traditional craft items. Within 10 minutes of arriving, a Chestnut Toucan landed in the tree in front of our porch! There was a kaleidoscope of colorful exotic birds singing and flitting about. At night, we sat out on our very private porch, listening to the sounds of the rainforest and watching the volcano spew lava. The air smelled like ginger and the fireflies danced across the night sky. It was magical.

We found the front desk staff to be warm and friendly and readily available to assist. They have several expert guides available a very reasonable price. One of them, Johnny, was formally educated in biodiversity and took us on a tour of the nearby Hanging Bridges. We learned much from him about the rainforest flora and fauna. Using his trained eyes and ears, he spotted many camouflaged creatures we would never have seen had we gone alone. The hotel has several hiking trails on the property which you can explore on your own or with a guide

Breakfast changed daily and featured a combination of traditional Costa Rican foods (tropical fruits/rice and beans/a delicious raisin corn bread with the consistency of cheesecake) and the typical North American fare (eggs/bacon/sausage/pancakes or French toast). The staff was quiet and efficient; their English was good enough to get the job done, but probably not good enough for conversation. We were entertained each morning as birds came to feed on a large feeder. One day, a tyra (a relative of the weasel) came to steal the bird food.

Overall, it was a wonderful experience and we can't wait to return.

  • Stayed March 2007, traveled as a couple
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 3 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
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Houston
1 review
4 helpful votes 4 helpful votes
“Loved the hotel and I am picky!”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed March 29, 2007

Absoulutely loved the hotel! I am one of those travelers where my husband says he will wait in the lobby for me to check out the room because he knows that I will have it changed. Anyway the rooms were very, very nice. Huge and comfortable. It was decorated with local flair, which I loved. We had the luxury suite and asked for a downstairs room because of the huge outdoor lava shower. The first two days we had rain and it was amazing to stand out there and shower amid the rain! The staff was great. The restaurant staff good use more help though (not enough). The front desk was very helpful, especially with the tours and even had one of them go with us white water rafting. The grounds are beautiful and suggest doing the hike on the property. We did an adventure week with zip lining, white water rafting, bridges, kayaking, night tours, rappelling. It was all
very exciting. The only disappointing adventure was the rappelling. Not what I expected. The hotel was a little away from La Fortuna, but
we had a car (I suggest getting) and so it did not bother us. The hot
springs were hot, very, very hot and expensive. That was also disappointing. Tobacon is overrated. La Fortuna is a nice town but don't feel like you have to rush in there because you are missing something. There is plenty to do in the area. We were lucky that our last night we got to see the volcano and lava! The last suggestion I have is with the airlines. Make sure you get there 2 hours ahead of schedule!!!!! We were there an hour and they bumped us. There are not
enough flights out of Costa Rica so all of the airlines overbook big time! They sold our seats and we could not get out of Costa Rica for 2 days.
Veronica, Houston, TX

  • Liked — The beautiful hotel
  • Disliked — The restaurant staff
  • Stayed March 2007, traveled with family
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Chandler, Arizona
Senior Contributor
23 reviews 23 reviews
11 hotel reviews
Reviews in 13 cities Reviews in 13 cities
20 helpful votes 20 helpful votes
“Lost Iguana - Wouldn't stay there again”
2 of 5 stars Reviewed March 28, 2007

Stayed one night in one of the Celebrity Suites. The front desk reception crew was very friendly. The room was nice, but smelled so musty we had to leave the room for a while and open the windows. We immediately went down to the pool, intending to spend a couple of hours at the swim-up bar and enjoy their happy hour. The bartender was rude and couldn't have cared less that we were there. He disappeared often, he didn't have ingredients to make very simple drinks - so our pool experience was terrible. We ate dinner at a restaurant in La Fortuna, which was excellent but super expensive! The free breakfast at the Lost Iguana was very good, but the waiters were very slow to ask us what we wanted to drink, but when we got to the end of our meal, they were very quick to take away our plates.

Overall, our experience at the Lost Iguana was so-so, for the price of the room ($350+ for one night) we expected so much more from the staff. Wouldn't recommend it!

  • Liked — The view of the Arenal Volcano
  • Disliked — The bartender, and the overall ambience of the resort - very boring
  • Stayed March 2007, traveled with friends
    • 2 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 2 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
Was this review helpful? Yes 2
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Seattle
2 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
“Great place to stay”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed March 28, 2007

We loved our stay at Lost Iguana. We are a family of 4 with a 7 year old son and a and 17 year old daughter. I would agree some of the staff was young and inexperienced but overall exceeded my expectations. We stayed in the Las Casitas, it was a beautiful 2 bedroom unit that was at the top of the hill and very private. the deck was thge size of an average family room and had tremendous views. Mikel at the bar was tremendous, he took care of us and even took a walk into the gardens to find bullfrogs for my son.

The only negative thing I have is some concerns with the front desk staff, they did not communicate very clearly and took a long time to get things together (took 45 minutes to check out), but hey this isn't the US so a little inconvenience is no big deal.

I will definitely come back to CR and stay at Lost Iguana

  • Stayed March 2007, traveled with family
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 2 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 2 of 5 stars Service
    • 3 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
Was this review helpful? Yes 1
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
 
 
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Additional Information about Lost Iguana Resort & Spa

Also Known As:
Lost Iguana Hotel La Fortuna De San Carlos
Lost Iguana Resort And Spa
Lost Iguana Hotel
Hotel Lost Iguana
Lost Iguana Resort & Spa Costa Rica/Arenal Volcano National Park
Address: 1.5 km North of Arenal dam, La Fortuna de San Carlos, Arenal Volcano National Park A2004, Costa Rica
Phone Number:
Region: Costa Rica > Province of Alajuela > Arenal Volcano National Park > La Fortuna de San Carlos
Amenities:
Bar/Lounge Fitness Center Free Breakfast Free High-Speed Internet Free Parking Kids Activities Kitchenette Restaurant Room Service Suites Swimming Pool Wheelchair access
Hotel Style:
#8 Family Hotels in La Fortuna de San Carlos
#12 Romantic Hotels in La Fortuna de San Carlos
Price Range: $$
Hotel Class:3.5 star (3.5*)
Official Description (provided by the hotel):
The Lost Iguana Resort is Arenal's newest hotel, offering luxury accommodations in the rain forest The resort's 100 acre property overlooks the world's most active volcano, Arenal Volcano located near La Fortuna, Costa Rica. A premiere, upscale retreat nestled gently in the jungle, the Lost Iguana Resort only offers rooms with large private balconies overlooking the Arenal Volcano and Arenal River Gorge. All rooms are spacious and well appointed with first-class furnishings, artwork and full amenities. ... more   less 
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