We were a group of 8 from the UK doing an extensive tour of Costa Rica. The Sapo Dorado hotel was the poorest hotel that we stayed in during our three week visit. All the rest, whether "rustic" or upmarket were fine and had lovely staff. I agree with other reviewers that the rooms need upgrading. No regular maintenance seems to have been done for a long time - No shower door, broken wash basin, most lightbulbs non functioning, toilet rolls sitting on the floor and an almighty electric shock when we plugged in the fridge, due to frayed wires. We also got stranded on our balcony when the french doors slammed shut and we realised that the external door handle had dropped off! Reception didn't get round to fixing anything during our stay. This was the only Costa Rican hotel where we were troubled by cockroaches in the rooms every night. One of our rooms had no footpath or lighting leading up to it and it was an "interesting" journey trying to find your way back after an evening out. We were provided with a torch but it had no batteries in it.
All of the above problems were minor irritations, but the surliness of the restaurant staff was truly outstanding. Breakfast is by order only - no buffet. I asked for pineapple and a glass of orange juice - I was informed by a sour faced waitress that I could not have both - It was "not allowed". I then requested toast and peanut butter instead - I was entitled to receive this but my request for some jam and butter was refused. "Not allowed". Only one cup of coffee allowed, and it was the worst tasting brew of waterey coffee we experienced during our entire stay. And this is a country that produces superb coffee. Monteverde is a beautiful place, and the Sapo Dorado has an enviable location, but they need to get their act together as the rooms are more like a backpackers hostel than a hotel and theri staff need some serious cutomer service training. There are much better places to stay in Monteverde.

We were all set to get rustic during our visit to the Monteverde cloud forest, and we somehow were under the impression that we were really staying in the jungle. This was not the case. El Sapo Dorado ("The Golden Frog") is about a minute drive or five minute walk from the downtown Monteverde area (a few blocks, not a big city or anything), and about a twenty minute drive from the actual cloud forest proper. This was somewhat disappointing.
Our cabin was pretty big, I think the bathroom had been redone in the last few years so it was decent, and the cabin itself was just that, a cabin. Not a hotel room, not too nice. Exactly what you'd expect from a cabin, I guess. From what we understand from other travelers this is pretty typical for Monteverde. There wasn't a chest of drawers or hangers to hang things up, although we did have a second full bed in the room so we just spread our stuff out on that.
The staff was helpful and courteous and the restaurant was good (sometimes empty). The breakfast was excellent.
It was a bit of a walk to our cabin on a road made of irregular rocks which was not fun.
We did several tours here:
The zipline tour through Selvatura was phenomenal - 13 different ziplines and a "tarzan swing" at the end. Highly recommended! You don't really see animal wildlife (at least we didn't) as you're zipping along but the experience and the views of the jungle are unforgettable! We also did "canyoning", which was really rapelling down waterfalls. This was amazing - challenging and fun. We got banged up just a bit but it was well worth it! They also only charge $10 to get a CD of ALL the pictures they take of your group - so worth it! Don't remember the name of the company, but it's the only one offering canyoning in Monteverde.

We stayed at the Sapo Dorado as part of a tour package. The hotel was....ok. They advertise free Wi-Fi, but the cabins are so far from the lobby that the wi-fi does not reach. The cabins are quite a hike from the lobby and the rooms are very secluded. As a previous reviewer said, the rooms could use a serious update, but they have a fridge and coffee maker and the views were very beautiful. There is a ton of foliage right outside of your window and one night we were freaked by some huge sounding animal outside the cabin, until we discovered it was a horse. The breakfast here was just ok, bread and eggs or gallo pinto with a little bit of fruit. We stayed here for two night, but the computer room was being used for a meeting one night. However, we discovered it was no big loss then next night when we found that none of the computers worked.

I was not looking forward to staying at this hotel but my husband and I really enjoyed staying here. The food and service at the restaurant was excellent. We are both picky eaters and we found the choices healthy and delicious. The owner made sure to come over to our table and to answer all our questions and make sure we were happy with what we ordered. The rooms are very comfortable and they even have a fireplace which is great because it does get cool at night. Ignore the other reviews. This is a clean comfortable place to stay in Monte Verde with excellent food and service. You should definitely stay here if you are in the area.