Our room (No. 07) was located at the top of a very steep hill. Coming down was OK but walking up the hill was a killer! A hotel shuttle was offered but generally it was not available when needed.

The hotel staff were very pleasant and our room was spacious, clean and had a good view, but the wooden floors, wall and ceiling were unappealing and made it feel box-like.

Spouse and I and 36 others on a Collette Vacations tour stayed at the Hotel Heliconia. The rooms (in the "zero" building) were incredibly large with a beautiful view. Others said their rooms in the 200 building were "dark" and small. All rooms were up on a very steep hill. Most times a shuttle was available to take you to the room, but once when I was the only one requesting the shuttle, I was told I would have to walk up the hill (I did).

All was going well until I went to check out and pay for incidentals. There were three (3) signs in the lobby with the "American Express" logo, leading me to believe they acepted AMEX. They did not. I became somewhat irate and asked why they were false advertising . Then the clerk tore down one of the AMEX signs - I guess to show me they did not take AMEX. Two such signs were still in the window the next morninh\g, however.

The rooms and food were fine, the poor attitude of the staff and the false advertising would discourage me from ever staying here again. There are many alternative nearby nice hotels.

I'd read some of the reviews on here before we went out to Costa Rica and approached our stay at the Heliconia with some trepidation. But really there was no need - from the welcome drink on arrival to our departure, the hotel proved to be far better than its ranking here would suggest.

We stayed in one of the family suites on the hill - yes, it's a little walk from the hotel itself, but the walk is worth it to have what is essentially your own lodge. Some people here seem to be complaining about the smell of damp in the rooms - there was certainly nothing like that, although there was the smell of wood everywhere; but then I think you can expect (and enjoy) that when you are staying in a wooden cabin.

Breakfasts were great, probably the best we had in Costa Rica. And -most- of the staff were friendly and helpful. Although we ended up not booking any of our tours through them, they were always willing to offer advice, to contact operators on our behalf (ones we suggested rather than the ones they have links to at the hotel) and to sort out transport that was cheaper than booking a taxi.

There are, of course, a few small issues - the restaurant for dinner was expensive, though with four good restaurants within a minute of the place, and town only a ten minute walk away (though a steep walk back) that's really not a problem. And the box lunches are rubbish - make up your own before you go out for the day. I could also see that in the rainy season the cabins might get a bit cold - unless they put in a heater when it's needed.

But overall, it's a great place to stay and so nice to have that bit of isolation and not feel like you're just in a standard hotel.

We found the staff at this hotel really helpful, you get a welcome drink on arrival and the reception staff are really knowledgable about the local attractions and tours. They are commision based to Selvatura Park I think, but they were more than happy to tell us all about any other companies we asked about too.

The rooms are okay, nothing special but fine.

We were disappointed with the jacuzzi's - there are 4 but they were all cold and we couldn't use them. The bar is nice and the barman really helpful, breakfast buffet is nice as well and they cook your eggs freshly.

I would recommend this hotel if you are looking for basic comfortable accommodation.