Hotel La Pradera

Jut got back from a week in CR and this is where we stayed for the last four days of our trip. It was a very nice hotel not fancy. It was very clean and very safe which are high priorities for me. The breakfast was very good and the staff was very friendly and helpful. They went out of their way to accomodate us. I also thought that the pool area was nice. We had a great view of the Arenal Volcano from the front porch of the room! I would definitely stay there again.

“Very nice time there!”

Hotel La Pradera

“Great choice for quiet hotel close to town”

Hotel La Pradera

We had one of the private cabins with 2 double beds, which were very nice. Parking is close to cabins. We brought a portable grill so every night we BBQed on the well lit furnished porch - don't worry, we cleaned up after ourselves. You get a feeling of being very secluded yet you're only about 2 miles from La Fortuna. Breakfast was great every morning. Front desk can arrange any trips you can think of and are very helpful with no price markup! You might even be able to negotiate a cheaper price than found elsewhere (paying cash or booking multiple tours) - But you didn't hear from me! Safe is available at front desk, I used it often and didn't get any attitude. Great views of volcano from your front porch (if it's not to cloudy).

“Beautiful grounds and view, great pool and hot tub”

Hotel La Pradera

Beautiful scenery, great view of volcano. Pool and hot tub are fantastic. Shower head in shower was horrible. Room was good, no phone, no in room safe. Maids were very sweet and did a great job. Breakfast was good, but never ate any other meals there...it just never got busy and the restaurant didn't seem that exciting...pretty basic menu. Front desk was helpful and they had internet at the front desk also. One bother was the frog or some type of animal going all night long. They also never gave hand towels or washcloths, only body towels....TV channels were fine. Electricity did go out one night, but it was out in the whole town of Fortuna. Grounds are very dark at night....flashlight is a necessity and umbrella too. Very pretty place, I was happy with it overall.

“Great place to stay outside La Fortuna”

Hotel La Pradera

We decided to stay outside of La Fortuna town for the last 2 nights of our stay in the Arenal area. It was too noisy in town and we wanted to find a place to relax and to sleep at night without being woken up by car engine noises.

We had a rented a car for the last 2 days and we had flexibility now. We were able to drive on our own and to find a place to sleep at that was appealing to us. I am so glad we stopped here and decided to stay for 2 nights! The hotel is amazing. I wanted to stay away from the American style hotels and wanted something more private and traditional. This hotel provided exactly what I was looking for! I have added pictures of the room, bathroom and the hotel grounds in the travelogue section. You have your choice of a private cabin or a standard room in a building that has 5 rooms in a row, each one with its own private patio/balcony. We decided to pass on the private cabins since they had only 1 queen bed in the room and I really wanted a room with 2 queen beds (which the standard rooms provided). If you are not in your 20s anymore, you will be glad to stay in a room where you can have your own bed at night. We were pretty sore after all the daily activities and sleeping in a bed alone was exactly what we needed :)

We paid $65 per night, taxes and breakfast included, for a standard room for 2 people. The room was pretty big, it had a remote controlled A/C, a TV and a great bathroom with a shower that could easily accommodate 4 people at the same time. The hot water took no time at all to come and the hot shower felt like a blessing at the end of the day.

The hotel has a nice restaurant on site (a little bit on the pricey side, so we skipped it and ate in town since we had a car) and computers with free internet in the lobby, so you can check your email and browse the web with no problem while staying here. The pool area is very nice and clean and the jacuzzi with hot water is just amazing. We spent time there every day, soaking our sore bodies in the jacuzzi even during the rainy periods of the day. It was nice and warm outside and the rain really did not bother us at all while being in the jacuzzi.

There are several tours that you can book from the hotel, but we booked tours on our own, from the town of La Fortuna. They do have ATVs on site, motorcycles and bicycles that you can rent if you want to.

We really had a great time staying here and we will definitely book a room at this hotel again on our next visit to Arenal.

Unique hotel qualities: all rooms provide volcano views and you feel like you are sitting at the base of the volcano. There are private patios for every room. Grounds are very well maintained, with lots of birds and flowers. The only noise you here is the one the coming from the birds. They do chirp a lot, but this is much better than the car noises you hear if staying in La Fortuna town.

“Nice location, nice rooms, nice price”

Hotel La Pradera

The Pros: Good location if you have a car. 2 Minutes to La Fortuna, 5 Minutes to Baldi Hot springs, 25 minutes to the best location to see the volcano. The included breakfast was nice on saturday, but on sunday we were surprised to find an amazing buffet with just about anything we could want for breakfast! Everything was so good! The room was basic but very cute, with a private porch with chairs and a small table. The room was clean. The front desk staff was GREAT! They booked us with great tours (the Cano Negro tour is a must for animal and nature lovers). We came at the last minute asking for a tour that we were 99% sure that already started. They made some phone calls and arranged something for us. The restaurant staff was great too.

The Cons: No Phone/ alarm clock in the room, but no other budget hotel we've been to in CR had them.

“Great volcano view from the spa”

Hotel La Pradera

The hotel offers a wonderful view of the volcano,both from the rooms and pool & spa area. There's a choice of standard rooms or individual huts and both have outside chairs and table to watch the volcano. The rooms near the drive tend to be noisy so we moved to the far end of the row. Breakfast is good and we enjoyed being entertained by Carmelita, the resident parrot who walks around the dining room greeting guests. The hotel is about 25 mins walk from La Fortuna town though there are a couple of restaurants nearby.

“A basic base”

Hotel La Pradera

This hotel feels a lot like a " Motel" as it is positioned right beside the main road into La Fortuna. However it is only 2K from the town and is directly below the majestic volcano at Arenal. Reception staff are welcoming and helpful and speak really good English. A taxi ride to town in $2 one way but beware always fix a price.

The rooms are a choice of Wooden Cabin or standard room. It is not a big hotel and there are only a handful of wooden cabinas. These have a nice front porch with a great volcano view. Also parking right outside.The rooms are basic but have a large, if not dated bathroom, and a fridge and TV. There will be some wildlife present in your room so make sure you close your bags and shake out hanging clothes unless you want to bring them home.

The area of Arenal and La Fortuna has many activities including tours to Cano Negro, ATV tours and Canopy. The Volcano hikes are also popular.

However my tip would be to have a hire care in this area. The roads are good and easy to navigate. We had a great day by heading away from La Fortuna towards the lake. Go to the end of the dam bridge and opposite the sign for the Hanging Bridges and Lost Iguna there is a Kayek hire. Take one accross the lake for an hour or two ( $12 for a double per hour). It a great way to see the volcano and lakes. Then drive out towards Arenal and have cafe and Kuchen at the German Bakery. Buy local art and handmade local jewellery here. After head for lunch at the amazing Cafe y Macademia ( see my review for here in resturants).

If we were doing this again I would stay in a hotel , lodge or B&B by the lake and not in La Fortuna. It may cost a bit more but it is really nice. You can also easily access the hot springs at Baldi ot Tabacon from the lake accomodations. This hotel has all the basics and is good value for money but I would splurge a little and head for the lakes.

Also aviod the on site resturant, it is expensive and not great. Recommend Soda Pradera in centre of La Fortuna - authentic, cheap and full of locals.

“Bats in room.”

Hotel La Pradera

Hola. We had a great first two days here. Nice grounds, decent breakfast, spacious volcano view cabin. Front desk was pretty good. Then there was a bat nest above the bathroom. We could here them moving around. Then one got in. We left and try to get him to leave as well but we knew that bats in Costa rica have a high % of rabies so.....Anyway we knew we wouldn't be abl;e to sleep in there so we asked for another room but they were full. Unfortunatly. They found us a room in the hotel two down. Not as nice. So we ran in out of our room at 11pm trying to pack with the thought of bats above our heads. Anyway again, we got into the to other hotel slept and got up early for a good drive to Montezuma. They then charged us for the cheaper hotel for that night. 15$ cheaper then the cabin. I thought it would have been right to give us the night for free but they said they can't help if bats get in the room. Well, I know you can't control nature but maybe you shouldn't build cabins out of board and batton where really anything rodent or bug like could get in. We live in cottage country ontario and we have had bats to and have had to sleep in the guest bunkie so we know bats happen But I don't think we should have had to pay for that night. The staff didn't care that we had to run in and out of the room packing at 11pm and dodging bats{exaggeration}. So this leaves me to not recommend la pradera based on the fact that if something goes wrong. Your on your own.

“Great views of the volcano!”

Hotel La Pradera

My husband and I stayed in a spacious cabin. A bit sparse on decor, but the room was very clean and the outdoor porch had great morning views of the volcano. Breakfast was ok and got us through until dinner on some days. The front desk was helpful, but we booked our tours directly with Desafio anyway. Lighting is an issue here - the walkway to the cabins is very dark! The hotel has the largest hot tub I've ever seen - wonderful after long days of tours!

“Nice Location & Hotel”

Hotel La Pradera

Lots of nice things about this hotel, but a very few simple things they could do to improve things.

We booked the bungalow / cabin style rooms, and they were lovely, nice and private detached bungalows, with your own little veranda area. Nicely laid out, with TVs and Fridges in each room. Nice shower area, but watch out for the sharp edges on the shower door!!

The maid was great, making lovely designs out of our towels each morning, and letting us back in when we'd locked ourself out one day!

They have an issue with lighting, the bungalows are a slight walk from the main building, and on 3 out of the 4 days the lights which lit up this path weren't on. They switched them on when we told them about it, but that was after we walked in the dark from our room to reception, not impressed! The rooms have no phones, so couldn't even phone to tell them to turn on the lights! If you're staying here a flashlight is a MUST after dark.

Breakfast was a nice self service buffet, with sausages, toast, jams, eggs, plantains, coffee etc.

The place is very close to town, one of the closest. $2 to $3 in a cab, or just under half hour walk.

We did their in-house ATV tour. I stupidly decided we should do the 'rough' tour, which is in the farm area. BAD idea, it was very slippery, and very dangerous IMO. Our guide flipped over in his ATV and it nearly landed on top of him, luckily I was taking it a lot easier than him. If given the option of the 'Waterfall route' or 'farm route' defn pick the waterfall, unless you are VERY adventerous.

Reception staff weren't the best, they never seemed like they were going out of their way to help. These girls need to learn something about hospitality from the countless other great Ticos/Ticas we met.

We ate in the restaurant once each for lunch & dinner. The food is nice, decent price, but the place is often VERY quiet, not many people seem to eat in the hotel. Recommend the Jalapeno Steak for dinner.

One further tip, it is cheaper to book tours from the guys in town, next door to Pradara Soda (cafe), rather than directly from the hotel reception. Don't worry, you can use the reception phone for local calls for free.

They also have one PC for internet access, although often the internet was down, and the PC seem riden with Viruses!

“Great place (grounds, room, etc.), but unfriendly & unhelpful staff”

Hotel La Pradera

Very nice grounds and cute individual cabins that each have volcano views (spend the extra $15 for them as it feels much more private). HUGE bathrooms with plenty of hot water. We really liked the look and feel of this place a lot. I liked the breakfast spread (eggs, pancakes, sausage, cooked plantains, granola, yogurt and fresh fruit) , but my wife thought it was just okay. Location is great too as it is only 2km out of town (20 minute walk or $2 cab). Free and fast Internet in the lobby, but only 1 computer (there is free wifi too there if you have your own). My only complaints are that the staff is not very friendly or helpful and that they seem to overcharge a lot for activities and weren’t very helpful regarding them. I recommend going into town and talking to a few touts to find want you want. Or better yet, go to the Gringo Pete’s hostel and book there (we went on a tip from another traveler and Pete and Marta were very friendly and saved us lots of money on things).

“GREAT HOTEL”

Hotel La Pradera

La Pradera is a great centraly located hotel. We stayed in one of the bungalows. It was a great room, with great staff. I would recommed this hotel to eveyrone

“La Pradera -La Fortuna Great Place”

Hotel La Pradera

We spent 4 nights at La Pradera out of our 14 day stay in early June. We had a cabin in the back that was perfect for our family of 4. It had a private porch, was quiet and very comfortable. The tiled bathroom was spacious and we had plenty of hot water. The AC worked well, and the room had a mini fridge in it. The maids arranged our towels into different creative animals everyday. Breakfast was included and varied from day to day. The grounds were beautiful and lush.

The location just outside of town made it more peaceful and was just a few minutes drive into town. They have mopeds, dirt bikes and ATV for rent on the property at very reasonable prices. They can also arrange about any type of tour desired. The Front desk staff were fluent in several languages and very accomodating.

We would definately stay there again.

“Great place to experience the area”

Hotel La Pradera

Nice clean hotel in a great location. Cheap, great pool & a hot tub, amazing views of the Volcano, close to town (5 mins. by car), great staff very accommodating and knowledgeable about activities in the area. And Lola the parrot that lives in the dinning room is fun too! They run an ATV tour out of the hotel that was lots of fun. We discovered a butterfly conservatory up around the other side of the volcano that was really cool and worth the 20 minute drive if you are into that type of thing. Food at their restaurant was decent but for a really great meal at a really great price go to Don Rufalo's (or something close to that spelling) on the main drag kitty corner from the gas station. AWESOME.

“Pura Vida at La Pradera”

Hotel La Pradera

Great small hotel right outside of La Fortuna, one of my favorite hotels our 3+wk CR trip & also the cheapest! Feels like you’re in the countryside on the property, minimal road noise, virtually none in the cabins. Three rows of standard rooms ($65/nt including breakfast & tax) and a row of cabins ($80/nt including breakfast & tax) set in the back all with volcano views (although we wouldn’t see the volcano until our last hour in the area). The rooms and cabins were decorated very similarly and simply, both with good size bathrooms with huge tiled showers and great A/C units, TVs, soap, shampoo and perfectly manicured front lawns and gardens. The wooden cabins were more private, with larger porches & rocking chairs, and a small fridge. We stayed in a cabin and loved it, good birding just from the porch and felt like the perfect mountain cabin, very clean and comfortable. No radios, clocks or phones in any of the rooms. Some friends traveling with us noted that the standard rooms had very thin walls, and they could hear everything said in the next room over – I would definitely opt for the cabins if they’re available. There were three pools on site, one with a lovely small waterfall, one heated pool and shaded seating areas nearby. The restaurant was great, very tasty buffet breakfast and well priced & great tasting Costa Rican food. There was also a nice bar stocked with reasonably priced cold beer. I could have easily spent a week there. Only downside is they only offer you two towels upon arrival in your room, they only have one size towel, but they will give you a couple more upon request – they also have safety boxes available for use a the front desk, but not in the rooms.