Unlike some of the other reviews I read, the people in the facility were actually very hospitable and benign. I'm not just referring to the check-in area, but the person in the small diner they have to the janitor there. My friend and I had no qualms about service what-so-ever. The tent was $32, but since we split the cost it wasn't bad in actuality. Otherwise the dorms were $12 and the private rooms I'm not certain of.
The only downfall to our stay was the weather. I highly advise to travel there when the wet season is over. It was overcast and rained for most of our stay which put a damper on some activities we did or wanted to do. In light of that, the establishment was one of the best places we stayed in on our travels throughout Costa Rica (which consisted of hostels mainly). The tent my friend and I shared was fantastic (although it would be better for an actual couple haha). I was elated to see the tent area in which we stayed in for a few nights. They were elevated on a wooden platform with lights at each corner which provided a lovely lit walkway at nighttime. The beds were comfortable, but some of the sheets had stains and holes in the fabrics. I tried not to ponder on it too much!
Another aspect which facilitated our trip was booking expeditions through the front desk person. Since we stayed in a few chain hostels by the same owner/company we were able to make reservations for a white water rafting trip in another district which was marvelous and efficient for us!
All in all, definitely stay here for a more safe and pleasing experience. It's well worth it.

This was the second hostel my friend and I stayed at in Costa Rica and it's pretty impressive although could make a few improvements. The reception area is welcoming, the staff are extremely friendly and can offer some great advice, the restaurant (although not particularly cheap) serves some fantastic food/snacks, there are 4 computers with free fast internet access, there are some beautiful tents you can stay in if you're willing to pay a little extra, there are plenty of bathrooms and plenty of room in the dorm rooms. The pool looks amazing I must admit and other people never seemed to have a problem but the water in the pool turned my friend's hair green which didn't best please her! Maybe some sort of chemical imbalance or something? Oh, and the view from the grounds is one of the best in Arenal/La Fortuna I reckon! The volcano is stunning (when it isn't covered in cloud!).
Anyway, the air con was a little annoying. Granted, it had air con. But this was put on automatically by staff at about 10pm and then it didn't go off until 10am the next morning. As they ultimately have the controls you can't alter the temperature and so the people in my room were freezing most of the first night there. We altered the temperature a little after this but as happens in a hostel not everyone agreed on this being better!
Oh, and you had to stand at the end of the pathway at night by a locked gate waiting for someone to buzz you in from reception. Several times we must have stood there for 5 mins or more waiting for the guy on reception to notice us without shouting! I know it's for security but I would say they need to look that way a little more, ha!
All in all though a pretty good stay and pretty good value for money! Well done!

I stayed here in March 2009 with 3 buddies and being the traveler that I am we did not spend too much time in the actual hostel, but like any good hostel you can meet people from all over the world and they have a place to chill out and get a drink. The staff was great in giving info about the city and tours. I had a blast in Arenal.

I booked this hotel through Expedia and when I got there, I received very rude service from the hotel clerk. I was interrogated about where I made the reservation and then how much I paid and if I paid. Then he proceeded to make up a lie about the room being flooded and sent us to another hotel. We had to change hotel rooms for each night of our stay, it was not fun. I ended up canceling the last night. The only good thing I can say is that they did give me a refund for the last night. I also heard from other people who stayed there that another couple ran into the same problem of booking the hotel through Expedia and not getting a room. My advice is to ask people who have traveled there and do some research. La Fortuna looked like it had a bunch more cute hotels and I'm sure they were nicer than this one.