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Hotel Fonda Vela – reviews, photos

3.5 of 5
1km past the Monteverde Cheese Factory and 2km before the Monteverde Reserve., Costa Rica
Hotel amenities
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212 reviews from our community

What travellers say about this hotel
  • Costa rica(14)
  • Cloud forests(13)
  • Very nice(10)
  • Hot tub(8)
  • Junior suite(8)
  • Swimming pool(5)
  • Great Place(4)
  • Ice cream(3)
  • Free internet(3)
Traveller rating
    59
    85
    42
    13
    13
Only show reviews for Family (58) | Couples (93) | Business (1)
Date Rating
new york
Senior Reviewer
9 reviews 9 reviews
Reviews in 7 cities Reviews in 7 cities
8 helpful votes 8 helpful votes
“old, uncomfortable, no frills”
2 of 5 stars Reviewed 5 January 2012

My husband and I went to Costa Rica the first week of December. We went to other areas of the country and had wonderful hotels. This was the exception. The rooms are clean, but in major need of updating. The chair/sofa in the room was impossible to sit on due to cushions and fabric that essentially made you fall off! The bathroom and wire rack "closet" were especially in need of updating. The dining room, which is really your only option for dinner unless you have a car to get around, is satisfactory but expensive. Female waitress our second night was wonderful, but male waiter on first night disappeared after serving us our dinner. We later saw him watching soccer on tv at the bar.

Here's the most annoying thing. We had bats above the seating area in our room. They were in the wall or the roof, not in the room. I watched them fly out at dusk. They made quite a racket pre dusk and all night with their squeaks, shrieks and scratching. We notified the front desk at dusk the first day, after I confirmed their presence when i saw them fly out. No one came. We called later that night when it got very noisy, but again, no one came. Someone finally came the following day while it was bright and sunny out - when the bats were sleeping.

Front desk seemed to be run by teenagers every day. Pleasant but not professional or helpful.

Never went to pool area so can't comment. Won't recommend this place to anyone.

Room Tip: don't stay here
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  • Stayed December 2011, travelled as a couple
    • 2 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 2 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 2 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 2 of 5 stars Service
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Ask catsamiNewYork about Hotel Fonda Vela
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
San Antonio De Belen, Costa Rica
Reviewer
5 reviews 5 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
“Beautiful Scenery”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 3 January 2012

I stayed at this hotel during the last days of 2011. The Hotel is very nice, the scenery is espetacular, the surroundings are kept beautifully. One of the things that I think it lacks is service, in the pool area you almost do not have anyone serving, for example if you want something to drink or eat, or just ask any question. The Hotel indicates Internet access as one of the services, but the only in the reception and restaurant you have the service, not in the rooms and I really needed it and was one of the things which I liked about what they offered, therefore I was very dissapointed. Please change your advertisement in this regards. In general, the food is good except for the breakfast. Nevertheless, Santa Elena is a beautiful place and it is worth the trip...INCREDIBLE the beauti of the scenery.

Room Tip: Rooms with terrace near the pool are the best, too bad they gave us another one.
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  • Stayed December 2011, travelled with family
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 2 of 5 stars Service
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Ask Lucrecia B about Hotel Fonda Vela
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Palo Alto, California
Contributor
12 reviews 12 reviews
Reviews in 9 cities Reviews in 9 cities
5 helpful votes 5 helpful votes
“Nice rustic venue”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 31 December 2011

My family of five stayed here for two nights in late December. The accommodations were booked through a travel agent so we did not know anything about the hotel prior to our arrival. Some people might be put off by the rocky dirt pathways necessary to access the hotel restaurant or pool areas and the rooms were just average. However, the staff were first-rate, making dinner recommendations, reservations and taxi arrangements (since we did not have a car). We only ate lunch once in the restaurant, but I enjoyed my meal. The pool was awesome, with a bar, music, a heated jacuzzi, and game table area (pool, ping pong, etc). Wi-fi only available in the hotel lobby. it's nice to be disconnected to a point. I wouldn't have minded it being available at the pool.

  • Stayed December 2011
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
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Ask Noodler_10 about Hotel Fonda Vela
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Austin, Texas
2 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
“Meh”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 19 November 2011
2
people found this review helpful

The Fonda Vela isn't a bad place, just be sure to know what you're walking into. It's quite a ways outside of the town of Santa Elena, but super close to the Monteverde Forest Reserve. So, it depends what your priorities are--what do you want the shorter drive to be? The rooms are pretty stodgy, how my grandmother would decorate, so you'll have to bring your own swagger and romance. This is by no means a luxury hotel but Monteverde is not a luxurious place--as long as you know this going in, you shouldn't be surprised like I was. We were on our honeymoon here and I definitely wish we had stayed elsewhere--but the rooms are prepaid so there wasn't much we could do.

  • Stayed November 2011, travelled as a couple
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
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Ask Jenntots about Hotel Fonda Vela
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Senior Reviewer
6 reviews 6 reviews
Reviews in 5 cities Reviews in 5 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
“Great place in Monteverde”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 2 November 2011
1
person found this review helpful

This hotel was a great place to stay during our one day visit to Monteverde. However, this hotel is much further out of town than others--which equals more time in the car on their horrbile roads. As you will read about when looking into going to Monteverde, the roads are non-paved and it takes a long time to get to anywhere due to this. Food at hotel restaurant was good but a little bit expensive. We were told breakfast was included in our stay, but then were charged for it when we checked out ($18). However, eating at their restaurant is much more convenient than traveling anywhere else. Staff were all very helpful and friendly. Pool area was nice with bar and hot tubs. Drinks average $5-$7 each. Rooms were nice and very large (we stayed in a junior suite). Monteverde is everything everyone has mentioned, cold-damp-rainy-foggy, so be prepared!

  • Stayed October 2011, travelled as a couple
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
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Ask NicoleAlissa about Hotel Fonda Vela
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Additional Information about Hotel Fonda Vela

  • Fonda Vela Hotel
  • Fonda Vela Monteverde
Address: 1km past the Monteverde Cheese Factory and 2km before the Monteverde Reserve., Costa Rica
Price range (per night):* INR4,753 - 5,256

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