On the plus side, we needed a place to stay after we bailed on the 2nd night of a reservation at a terrible place in Arenal. On the down side, Hotel Tilawa was creepy. We knew about it because we found out before our trip that "Volcano Brewing Co" was located there and we're into microbrews. Somehow we found the hotel, which is sort of near Lake Arenal. When we turned and drove down the obscure road we arrived in early evening, still light out, but with heavy clouds looming. The hotel looked closed, but we walked up any way since we were running out of daylight and had no other option. Thankfully there were people inside sitting at the bar. I still don't know if these people were guests, locals, or worked there. Then some nice younger guy came down and was able to help us. He checked us in... sort of... they never took our names but just gave us keys. We were hungry and asked about the restaurant, which was dark, but apparently the chef was still there. I don't know how he did it, but the chef made an amazing meal and the beer from the microbrewery was really good. On the downside again, some random dude who I think was the caretaker was drunk and wouldn't stop bugging us at our table in the dark, creep, not-really-open restaurant. After dinner and ditching drunk dude, we played pool upstairs (where the rooms are also located), so that was fun and killed some time. Now here's where it gets really creepy. The lounge / pool table area is open to the outside. The fog rolled in while we were playing pool and set the stage for the creepiest setting since the hotel did not seem fond of light. It was SO dark there and the fog just creeped us out even more… not to mention there is nothing around this area/hotel. Meanwhile, drunk dude would rear his slurred mumbles and annoy us. We drank another beer and went to our room. The room was comfortable and the hotel has such potential if not for no lights and no hot water and random dude. Any who, don't stay here. There website makes it look legit, but its just creepy and weird. Too bad too...

This place could be so awesome but the furnishings were of absolutely poor, dilapidated quality... things just seemed in a sad state of affairs and completely neglected. The most kept-up part of the place are the external grounds which are maintained. Internally, the bedspread on my bed had ink stains on it and there were a lot of dead bugs in the bathroom that obviously had not been cleaned up. Paint was faded and it just looks like there is a lot of maintenance that has been neglected in the long-run. What this place COULD be is far from what it is now.

BE AWARE: The owner (an American) only accepts cash payment which is not clearly outlined upon check in and caused us problems upon check out.

While the microbrewery is great, dinner at the hotel was promised at a certain hour only to have it be dragged out two hours later before the dinner plates hit the table. We were starving at that point, and no amount of beer would have tempered our appetites after a long day of hiking.

That being said, however, the view from the lake rooms is stunning. Please also note that when storms come in, the temperature can drop. I spent one night shivering under the very thin blanket - literally with teeth chattering.

I would echo the sentiment of many of the other reviewers on this site. This hotel, when originally built, would surely have been a nice hotel in a great location. However it has not been cleaned or maintained in a considerable period of time. We only stayed one night but the room we stayed in had huge crack across the bath which resulted in water leaking directly through the wall into the bedroom. The bathroom was full of ants (which we could live with for one night) but finding an entire nest (complete with eggs) of large ants under the pillow in our room was a clear indication that the room had not been checked in days. The only redeeming feature of the hotel was the young personable son of the owner/manager who dealt with moving rooms for us. Having stayed in some "unique" and "rustic" hotels/hostels in my life I would say that there is a clear distinction between "back to nature" and dirty/uncared for. This hotel certainly falls in the latter category.

We stayed at Hotel Tilawa for 4 days. Originally we were only planning on staying two nights, but we loved it so much we decided to stay longer. The hotel is well off the beaten trail and if you are expecting to be pampered by employees, go somewhere else, like tamarindo.... That said though, the manager and his team was very helpful and provided a very mellow, yet enjoyable stay. There are so many activities, and so many things to see that we should have stayed longer....

Thanks TILAWA! we will surely visit again!
p.s. Their micro-brewed beer is some of the best beer i've ever had! Nice going.