My is almost ditto to Ashtep's, we stayed in the new suites which are gorgeous. The staff is awesome, all bilingual and very helpful. The computer screwed up our rates upon checkout but the receptionist was very cool about it and did not make any sort of fuss, just called the manager to fix it so she could complete checkout. The free continental breakfast was more than plenty; they will give you eggs on top of the mounds of fruit and bread if you ask. Just a couple of hairs to split; the suites aren't actually suites; they have a bedroom and a bath, not a living area or kitchen type arrangement which is what a suite by definition is. No biggie but they advertise a mini-fridge and our room didn't have one. By the time we got to Monteverde/Santa Elena we were in the habit of carrying around some of the country's excellent cheese and beer with us so a mini-fridge would have been nice. Also, we had to really fiddle with the hot water in the shower; it was just barely tolerable warm until we figured out to slow the speed of the water coming out of the pipes to about half. Then it was steamy hot. There is some sort of workshop next to the property and the workers were banging on metal until late in the night. We were able to tune it out but we definitely rolled our eyes at the noise more than once. ;) Never ate at the new Peruvian Restaurant as frankly, by the time we got to Santa Elena towards the end of our two weeks there; we were a little tired of the overpriced restaurants that are popping up all over the country... the menu sounded delish, however!

Overall, highly recommend - do haggle on the price - we did and it was worthwhile... we would stay again checking out the forest suites next time given the option. They looked adorable.

We stayed at this apology for a hotel during our wonderful visit to Costa Rica.

Check in was efficient and friendly. The rooms were not ready, so we left our luggage and went for a walk into the cute town of Sante Elena.

When we returned we noticed that our rooms, which looked great, had been heavily sprayed with insecticide. We had to leave the doors and windows open, because the smell was overpowering. There were bloodstains on the walls from dead insects.

The room was spartan with no coffee maker, TV, fridge or even a cupboard in which to hang our clothes. The only clothes rack was in the bathroom adjacent to the washbasin.

After enjoying a night walk in the Children's Forest and dinner at the thoroughly enjoyable Sabor Tico by the soccer fields, we returned to the Ficus Lodge. There was no hot water. We asked the receptionist who sent someone to fix the problem. The issue was then, that we had to wait an hour before we could shower. We discovered that our other two rooms in our party also did not have hot water.

In the morning, we were very surprised to learn that our reservation excluded breakfast. We paid the breakfast amount. The breakfast, however was adequate.

The second night of our Sante Elena vacation was a duplicate of the first, with no hot water... again!

The beds was not particularly comfortable either.

In the morning we decided to wander around the hotel grounds. We found a much better section of the hotel up the hill. It became clear that the hotel uses the new section to publicize itself, but puts guests into the old, decrepit rooms.

It was highly embarrassing for me, as I lead groups to visit various countries. I rely on tour companies to get me decent accommodation. This was definitely not decent, it was downright awful!

We spent 2 nights at the Hotel Ficus (new name) in mid-September. Our check in was smooth and the receptionist spoke excellent English. We booked one of the new "Sunset Suites" up the hill from the other cottages. The room was very nice and provided an amazing view of Santa Elena and the sunsets. It had a wrap-around balcony, huge shower with hot water, nice beds, and a sitting area. The older rooms are situated in the forest, surrounded by trees and plants. The downtown area is within easy walking distance. The hill is fairly steep into town, but should be fine for just about anyone. The staff was very helpful, and arranged several tours during our stay. The noise from the road woke me up a few times at night (loud motorcycles). Our building was the closest to the road, so maybe request one set back a bit. We ate breakfast at the restaurant and were satisfied. The coffee was excellent, as was their homemade jam. The hotel offered cable TV as well as wireless internet.

I stayed at this hotel for 2 nights in July 2011.
The setting is beautiful, very close to downtown Santa Elena (5 minute walk!) but also removed from the road. The seeting makes you feel like you are deep inside the cloudforest! The staff was very helpful with the check-in, and many members of my group did laundry, which was returned the following day, thankfully a quick turn-around!
The rooms were wooden, cabin style, and comfortable. the beds had thick bedspreads, a boon during the chilly wet-season! The showers were wonderful and hot also.
Breakfast was buffet style the first morning, serving traditional and American-style foods, and great coffee. The second morning it was a served breakfast and fruit plate, and again wonderful coffee.
The staff were very welcoming, and I would love to go back!
The hotel recently changed it's name to FICUS, and they have more bungalows and a new restaurant further up the jill from reception. Definitely worth checking out!