We were on an eco tour of Costa Rica, stayed here 3 nights, including over New Years. The rooms were great, pool ok, food less than satisfactory, especially the one evening buffet we had at the hotel. Fireworks on New Years Eve was great. The rooms were scattered all over the mountain and one needed transportation, particularly in the rain to the reception gift store as well as the dining room. They ran shuttle vans all the time. For the type trip we were on, this was not the type place we stayed for the rest of the time. One advantage was that we were able to get 6 lbs of laundry done for $15...price had gone up from $10...maybe for the high season?

Hotel Layout--poorly designed requiring shuttle bus to travel anwhere within hotel; site on steep mountain makes walking impractal. Total lack of central gathering space in spite of pool/bar, these were poorly used (actually vacant most of the day) due to the difficulty in access--except for morning breakfast, the hotel felt empty with little opportunity for guest interactions. Food--breakfast buffet adequate; but lunch/dinner in dining room was slow, poorly prepared, and the staff were clueless in managing the simplest requests. Eco-aspects: need for gas powered shuttle defeats eco-friendly aspect. Lighting throughout marked by "glare bombs"--so much for sky/star watching. Compact flourescent use was laudible, but fixtures were poorly designed to meet basic lighting needs. Rooms: there was no sound barrier between rooms; room furnishings were cheap and actually broke with normal use; lighting inadequate; plumbing noisy. There is no access for disabled guests, No heat availability in rooms, Advertised jacuzzi unavailable expcet for high-priced spa services. Service: many staff were nice and tried to help, but others had no english skills and or no hotel experience. Shuttle bus drivers uniformly nice. Views: by far the best part of the hotel, once the rain cleared, the views were fantastic overlooking the gulf. Overall--very strange hotel, obviously much money has been spent on this site, but the overall experience is mostly negative.