We stayed at Arenal Manoa Hotel when we visited Costa Rica in November, 2011. The hotel is situated on beautiful grounds with the view on Arenal volcano. The cabins are very nicely done with a spacious room and a beautifully done bathroom. Really nice breakfast at the in grounds restaurant

The swimming pool is fed by a hot spring and has a view on Arenal volcano.

The hotel is conveniently situated to all Arenal attractions.

My wife and I stayed there for 3 nights Jan. 26-28, Room 210. The hotel is about .25 mi. off the main road, so it is very quite and peacefull. The landscaping is great and so was the staff. Large rooms and bathrooms. The pool was nice with a large hot tub and bar service. Happy hour from 5-6 with 2 for 1 drinks - hard to beat sitting in the pool or tub and watching the volcano.

The open air dining room was very nice, with a direct view of the volcano. The included breakfasts were good and we had one dinner that was also very good. We wished we had stayed there for dinner again on our last night instead of going to Don Ruffinos in town - not that great.

La Fortuna is only 5-10 minutes away. In town we had a great lunch at Restaurante La Cascada and great pizza at a place just north of the Burger King - can't remember the name.

After 5 nights at the JW Marriott on the coast, we actually preferred the Manoa and wished we had stayed 3 nights at the JW and 5 at Manoa - just more relaxing and more the Costa Rica we wanted to see. We enjoyed just hanging out at the hotel almost as much as going to see the sights.

The only real negative was that you can hear your neighbors through the wall a bit if they are talking, but not a big deal. My wife also thought the beds were a bit hard, but they were fine by me. We would definitely recommend Manoa and stay there again.

If you like highly manicured manufactured hotels this is probably for you. Grounds are certainly very colourful with not a twig out of place - even the birds build their nests neatly! Rooms look ok but lighting is dreadful, no comfortable seating and you can hear your neighbours' every word and more through the walls. Without a car you can feel very trapped and taxis into town are $12 dollars each way. Dinner expensive but ok - nothing special. Restaurant very big and noisy. Staff friendly and very helpful. Good views of the volcano when not shrouded in cloud. Does not give the essence of Costa Rica, could be a hotel anywhere in the world. Would research better next time.

This hotel has beautiful rooms and views. The breakfast has a lot of variety. I would come back if I go to Costa Rica again.