We stayed at the El Estable for two nights at the end of May because it was available and was recommended in several travel guides (Frommer's and Fodor's). Although the physical plant seems to be upscale and modern, we experienced too many negative incidents to compensate for the appearance and the cost.
Poor service at El Establo in Monteverde: late May, 2008.
§ Late at night, a staff member tried to enter our room from the patio by first trying to open the chain-locked patio door and then attempting to open the door fully by reaching his hand through the opening and manipulating the chain (unsuccessfully, fortunately) in order to release it. We were never told why he had tried to enter the room.
§ Our room had no air-conditioning (which was a surprise), and we found several of the louvered windows open on our arrival. There were no screens on any of the windows or doors, so we couldn’t leave them open to get fresh air or to cool off the room without risking entry by unwanted creatures.
§ Upon entering the room the first night, we were surprised to find some spiders, a number of large, beetle-like insects crawling around the floor and other insects flying around, in the bathroom and near the bed. We had to dispose of these before we felt comfortable about going to bed.
§ The TV remote didn’t work consistently and the staff didn’t do anything until the next day. Someone had to come to the room in order to get the TV to turn on. We never got an explanation of what was wrong.
§ The room had a locked safe as we expected, but there was no key provided in the room and no instructions about how to get a key were provided in the room or when we checked in. This wasn’t corrected until the next day.
§ There were no instructions about how to make calls from the phone in the room and no directory for the hotel’s departments, i.e., housekeeping, front desk, etc.; nor was there a local phone directory.
§ I dialed ‘O’ and talked to someone about these unsatisfactory events but didn’t receive any accommodating responses. For example, instead of being offered any apology or helpful suggestion, we were told ”you should have asked for the key to the safe when you checked in”.
§ We called the front desk to inquire about getting some ice (which my wife needs daily to treat a medical condition) it took more than 45 minutes before it arrived. We later found that ice was available from a machine located on the same floor, a few doors from our room. And, there was no guide or brochure listing the hotel services or features provided in our room, and nothing was mentioned when checked in.
§ No room service menu was available in the room, although the hotel’s brochure claims room service is available.
§ The staff was consistently ill informed or ignorant of the hotels features. They were uniformly reluctant to help or apologize or offer to help when challenged. The desk staff seemed poorly trained for such a large facility. The only consistency in their behavior was their defensive pose, and the implication that whatever the issue was, it was somehow our fault.
§ We asked numerous times to speak to the manager or some responsible individual about our issues with the poor service and were repeatedly told by the staff that we could not talk to him or her, that we could only write a letter to the hotel address.

When our tour guide in the previous town heard we were headed to El Establo next, he couldn't rave enough about the place. It's apparently quite well known and loved by locals who've had the chance to stay here.

The hotel is situated on a very, very steep hill. Most people who stay here will need to rely on the shuttle vans that come by every few minutes. (Sometimes you need to call from your room for shuttle service). We lucked out and got a room in the very first building behind the reception area, so our walk was up and down hill, but very short compared to the rest of the hotel.

Views from all of the rooms and the grounds are stunning. When the sunset peeks through the clouds, it's the most brilliant shade of pink that I've ever seen (even compared to Jamaica and Hawaii). Our room had two double beds and was quite large. We had a small TV, beautiful deck, phone, alarm clock, etc. The bathroom came with all the amenities you could need, and it too was very large with a separate bath and tub.

There are two pools, the lower one is simple and clean. The upper one is gorgeous, with a small workout area right behind it. And the view from the pool was enough for us to walk all the way up to it to check out.

Only complaints here: very hard bed and the noise level from the hallway was quite disruptive, but tended to calm down at night. Most people were early to bed, early to rise.

We loved the included breakfast buffet every morning. The restaurants here at the hotel are quite expensive, but there are many places within walking distance that offer better prices and better food. There was a pizza place down the street that had the most incredible pizza I've had in my life as well as the biggest fruit daiquiris you've ever seen (less then $3 each). Ask the front desk and they can point you in the right direction.

Overall, I really enjoyed my stay here and would definitely come back.

Visited this property the first of July with my husband and 3 teenage sons. We rented two of the loft units and found them to be clean, well appointed, with a nice view. You could watch the cloud cover roll in each afternoon from the private deck. We had no problems with noise or bugs but then again the hotel was less than full. The food at breakfast was decent. On the downside, the tour desk seemed to always have a wait or to not be staffed in the middle of the day. The sports equipment never seemed to be available for use even though no one was ever on the courts. The one time my sons did manage to use the tennis equipment, they accidentally hit a single tennis ball into the trees - cost us $5. If you lose a pool tool, it's $50. Hotel is a bit pricey but not bad overall.

Pros:
view
rooms are well appointed
food was decent

Cons:
tour desk not available
lack of sporting equipment
$5 is a lot for a single tennis ball

I live in Costa Rica and I can really tell how El Establo is one of the best hotels in this country, therefore I have been there 3 times. El Establo offers a luxury hotel, with big and comfortable rooms. If you are looking for adventure, this is the place, they offer lots of tour deals and even their own canopy. The spa is amazing, the gym and pools are really nice, the hotel is in a hill but they have efficient shuttle buses service. Monteverde is a place that is characterized by its abundant flora and fauna, for adventure sports and its peace. I totally recommend this hotel.