The Springs Resort & Spa at Arenal

Overall, a solid 4.5/5 stars!!! We really wanted to give this resort a 5/5 but the food was hit or miss during our stay and overpriced for the quality. We genuinely enjoyed our time there and would recommend it 100%! First, the service and attention to detail is top notch! Our concierge, Stephen, was so helpful and his recommendations were spot on! Our favorite server and bartender - Juan Carlos- always made our drinks to perfection and was always smiling - he even remembered our drinks and the names of everyone in our party. The rooms were spacious, clean (despite a few ants), and had great views of Arenal volcano. The grounds never felt crowded- in fact, it felt as if we had the resort all to ourselves most of the time! The kids also really enjoyed the game room and never wanted to leave! The activities were extra but so much fun for us and our children. We had a couple of mishaps during our trip but the staff was quick to make it right and they did!! We hope to be back!!

Top notch family resort luxe stay with all the A++ amenities and yet felt close to nature at all times, helped by the fact that the springs are amazing and populate the property at every turn as well as in the secondary adventure area (our faves and where an anteater casually walked by while we were soaking). We loved tubing the rapids and the rock climbing. All meals where delicious and the staff is the embodiment of pura vida -- kind, warm, attentive, sincere, helpful. Hats off to Arney (? concierge who was amazing), Arley (tour guide who patiently answered all our question), and Danny (front desk) who helped accomodate us when we need to stay an extra night. AND THE VIEWS!! Get a room with a view of Arenal! Beyond breathtaking, even when cloudy.

We recently spent two days at the Springs utilizing day passes. We couldn't quite afford to actually stay at the hotel but the day passes really did the trick! If we could justify spending that much money for a room we would stay here in a second! The place is absolutely beautiful, service top notch, food great, and the views.... I should say we normally stay at Hyatt, Marriott and other standard hotel brands. We like full service hotels but do not usually stay at Four Seasons, etc.... So to us this place was over the top! The property is remote, 15 minutes outside of town, but tucked away in an amazingly beautiful spot (and I am not one who normally appreciates natural beauty). You enter through a guard gate and they were pretty good at checking our credentials to get in. One slight slip was we pulled up to the valet, not considering that self parking was even an option, and the valet took several minutes to get out there to help us (there were none when we arrived around 10am on a Saturday) and basically used words and/or facial expressions to indicate we should self park. We normally valet at hotels so this was odd but one of the only slipups and was minor. We took his suggestion and self parked which was maybe 100 feet away so not a big deal... although later it was POURING RAIN when I had to go get the car. Anyway, went inside, checked in, got our wristbands, were given a map and off we went! First stop, after the well appointed locker area, was the main swimup bar/restaurant. We had a couple drinks, swam in the pool, and before we knew it was lunch time. The nice thing is at this bar they had menus from multiple restaurants on property so the variety was much more extensive than a normal bar menu. We ordered a variety of Costa Rican and Mexican foods and all was good. The bartenders were excellent btw! I'd say our favorite was Anthony. My wife would have been happy if he had asked our college age daughter out, right there on the spot, as he was a cute kid. Props to Anthony for smiling a lot and being very efficient with everything we asked both days! After all that we headed onto the bus (an old rickity school bus) for the 5 minute ride downhill (way down) to the river. That is where another bar is, natural hot springs, horses, rock climbing and the river rafting. We did the river rafting. For day pass users we had to pay $50 or so and it was well worth it. The guys on there were super-helpful and friendly in getting us down the river. Everybody enjoyed it! It's not difficult rafting but I wouldn't put my 80 year old mother in law out there. After that I sat on the river's edge for a while, sipping a beer, and chillin'. A GREAT atmosphere to just relax. There were not a lot of people. The rainy season probably has less people than other times of the year I assume. We got back into the pool, at our favorite swimup bar, for dinner. Another great meal from a variety of restaurants. Service was as attentive as it ever is in CR! It started to rain so we decided to call it a night. The next day we got there at a similar time (10:00ish) and headed toward the locker room. As we did we passed the spa. As I knew my wife and daughter were heading to ride the horses I opted for a massage. They only had time for one hour but were able to get me in right away which was nice. The price was typical for a nice resort. I don't remember exactly but maybe $150-200!? The massage was excellent and the spa was very nice. I actually enjoyed hanging out in the chairs, near the spa check-in, just overlooking the volcano. I sat there for a half hour just waiting for the family to get back and it was truly a relaxing time. We went back down to our swim up bar for our last meal and to say goodbye to Anthony. Another great meal! They do charge for refills of iced tea so be prepared for that. After that we headed back to San Jose... in pouring rain! If you don't like driving and/or aren't a great driver I would strongly consider having someone else drive. You really have to pay attention to the roads as they are narrow and the rain was as hard as I ever seen it in my life! POURING! In conclusion we would all go back to the Springs! Overnight if we're feeling crazy but even the day passes were really amazing! FIVE STARS!

Our babymoon at The Springs Resort & Spa in Costa Rica was pure perfection! We stayed in Villa Catalana, and everything from the warm, attentive staff to the delicious food and amazing excursions was flawless. I’ve traveled around the world to many resorts & this one tops them all. The resort is the perfect mix of private and family-friendly, it’s so spacious we often had entire pools to ourselves! The attention to detail made us feel so cared for, and I can’t wait to come back with our kids to experience it all over again.

We had an absolute amazing time and experience at The Springs. Cannot wait to return!! The grounds are gorgeous and the staff could not be more helpful, kind, caring and friendly. Bayron and Tony were some of our favorite people there. Highly recommend this VERY special place.