My family of five with three kids (14,12,9) really enjoyed this hotel. It was away from the heart of town just maybe a mile or so up the road and away from the city feel. It felt very luxious and our room was facing the pool. Since it was so affordable we decided to get two rooms side-by-side. This way we still had the ability to supervise and my daughters had the girl time they wanted.

We were also close to both the location we we went for Zip-lining at another resort called. Canopy tours was the company at the Los Lagos hotel. We booked this at the hotel for the going rate..very fair about $45 a head. It was the best time we all had on the trip and probably the best family experience we had in our lives!!!! The other great thing was aftter the zip-line which we did at about 1 pm there waste. Multiple pools which were heating by the hot springs of the mountain.

On the other side of the hotel heading into town we went up this hard rock road to the base of the volcano to get to the Arenal waterfalls. Also wonderful.

I would definitely stay at this hotel again and we all loved it!!

We stayed at La Pradera on January 27th and 28th as we toured the area. The hotel was about a 20 minute walk out of La Fortuna. The rooms are average, for the price and clean. The bathroom was great, all tiled and walkin shower. We had room #35, open the door to a beautiful view of the volcano. The walls are a little thin, but we did so much during the day that sleep was not a problem. Hotel served a great breakfast.

We decided to stay in a cabin for our honey moon. It was very cute and spacious, but the walls are literally just wood. It's Soooo loud at night with the bugs making noise, so bring earplugs. We had to wait over an hour for our rooms when we arrived even after check in time. They eventually gave us a lower rate when we complained. They fumigated around the cabin, but ER ended up with more bugs and cockroaches in the room afterwards!
Don't expect a great breakfast. They don't cover the fruit so bugs are around it always. You can walk into town (30 min) or drive for more authentic and cheap food.
Don't bother with the ATV tour. It's just on a farm across the street and the guide is a CREEP! Norman Herrera down in town has cheaper rates for tours and speaks English.
Sure it's cheap, but for $25 more, you can stay at Magic Mountain hotel across the street.

I stayed here on a tour arranged by Desafio Adventure Company and chose to upgrade to a hotel with a view of Arenal volcano. Having booked the tour spur-of-the-moment and not knowing what I was getting myself into, I am happy to say I was very impressed with La Pradera!

The hotel is smaller to medium in size and the rooms are just right for couple night's stay. When I went out rafting for the day, I was pleasantly surprised to see my towels arranged in the shape of a swan- that was an extra special touch (see pictures below)!

The breakfast buffet was plentiful and you definitely get your money's worth, especially since it's included in the rate, and it was quite a delicious, typical Costa Rican breakfast.

The hotel has a stunning location, and is right across the street from several more upscale hotels, which offer similar views. This is definitely the place to stay if you're looking for a charming, simple yet clean Costa Rican hotel but still want the view of Arenal Volcano.

The hotel can arrange adventure activities (ziplining, rafting, nature tours, canyoning, etc.). They are located about a 10-15 minute walk from a strip of small restaurants and souvenir stores. It's just one long street to get to the center of La Fortuna, which takes about 40 minutes walking along the side of the road. The staff knows advanced conversational English (they can definitely understand if you talk slow enough) and can arrange for a taxi ride which takes about 5 minutes to go to the center of town. If it's nice out, the walk really isn't too bad, although it is just on the side of the road.

Overall, I was very pleased with my stay at La Pradera. Next time I'm in Costa Rica and in the La Fortuna area, I will be sure to stay here for it's charming, cottage like feel, and tremendous location.