Kimkim Trip Reviews for Costa Rica

We had a wonderful time snorkeling. It was definitely an adventure.

Ms. Glenda welcomed us into her home and helped us cook a vegetarian Caribbean meal with fruit and vegetables from her garden. It was a highlight of the trip!

This is a larger resort property. It is large enough that they run shuttles from place to place. If that's what you're looking for, then I think this is a good place to stay. They are a little stingy with bottled water.

A boutique hotel with a riviera-like view. Excellent staff. Very clean rooms and public spaces.

An outstanding boutique hotel experience with top rate service.

Stayed here for the last night - rooms were a good size and comfortable. Pool was on the cool side which is probably great on warm days, but it rained while we were there. Dinner food choices were definitely more targeted to international travelers, which while tasty, was a bit disappointing. Not much local fare (not even Patacones) Next time I would probably opt to head downtown and get dinner there. Breakfast was tasty. Great views of the volcano and downtown San Jose.

This was our least favorite hotel - it seemed a bit dated and the breakfast buffet was just OK. Bathrooms were large, but didn't have spaces to put anything. Bedrooms were very generous in size. Situated on a very steep hill which made for good views of the sunsets. Staff was very friendly and helpful.

Great stay, conveniently located between Fortuna and Arenal. Each room was its own little garden house, with a covered terrace, A/C, and a large bathroom. Not a lot of daylight in the rooms and somewhat damp feeling (comes with the territory of the location), which made drying clothes a bit challenging. Pool was great, but a but chilly (kids and teens didn't mind). Breakfast buffet in the morning was great with many choices.

We arrived after midnight and checking in was made quick and easy. Rooms are very spacious and were equipped with a microwave, hot plate and and (very loud) refrigerator, that we ended up unplugging during the night. Woke up to a gorgeous ocean view and lots of monkeys - their slogan is "more monkeys than people :-) Breakfast with a view was great - service very friendly and attentive. Beach is in walking distance - maybe 7 minutes - but downhill - keep that in mind for the way back up. Pool was refreshing. Proximity to Manuel Antonio was great and Quepos was also not too far. Would stay there again.

Andy (Andres) met us at the hotel in the morning and we all went to the park together - him on a motorcycle, us in a taxi. Worked out great! It's a very popular park and they only let in a certain number of people which meant we had to wait for maybe 45 minutes before we could get in . We spent that time drinking delicious coffee and learning about the local hummingbirds. Once we were able to get in our guide heard from other guides that no one had had a successful sighting of the famous Quetzal so far. We tried our luck in the known spots, but it didn't look good. As we marched off Andy heard the tale tell sign and we immediately started running towards the landing spot (tree). He spotted the bird after a short while and helped us get some great pictures. He is super knowledgeable about all things Monteverde and a great photographer. We ended up spending more time with him than originally planned and enjoyed it a lot.

It felt a bit touristy in the beginning, as there were a lot of people. They do split up into smaller groups (~20) which then made it better. Our guide was fabulous. By the end of the tour he knew the majority of all our names and he was very engaging and knowledgeable. Following the "lifecycle" of a cocoa bean - including eating it at the end - was great. And learning more about coffee and sugar cane was also very interesting.

It was very rainy that morning, but we still had a great time on the ziplines. It does take some patience before you get up the mountain as they can only transport a certain number of people at the same time. But it was worth the wait. We usually do not opt in for pics taken during these types of activities ,but this time it was definitely worth it as they captured all four of us a lot better than we could have with our phone cameras. Our walk through the rainforest was a bit impacted by very strong rains at times, which affected not only visibility but also the animals (or the lack thereof) . Our guide definitely tried to make up for it. He spotted quite a few different snakes in trees, that again we would have missed without him for sure. While a hike down to the waterfall was not part of the program he chose to include it to make up for the lack of animal sightings which we very much appreciated. He knew his stuff and still turned the walk into a memorable experience.

It was nice to hang out in the warm waters. Drinks are delivered to you in the pool - until a certain time. It was not crowded (evening). Included buffet style dinner was OK. We didn't spend all of the allotted time there. I think 2-3 hours is sufficient

Our guide was great - we had a small group of 8 people and he made the slow walk/hike "through his office" very interesting. It was great to see that the guides from the different groups worked together as far as communicating where animals had been spotted. He helped with getting great pictures also - through that special telespcope most guides seem to be using today.

This activity was mostly booked for the young adults in the group and they had a blast, from the kayaking to the snorkeling. While I didn't do the snorkeling part (long story, but has to do with glasses...) I did go into the warm water and our guide gave me a small piece of pineapple. All of a sudden I was surrounded by small blue and yellow fish that were eating that piece. Our guide also made sure that we got to the snorkeling spot before all the larger catamarans would arrive so that we actually had that area mostly to ourselves for a while, which was great. Enjoyed a quick picnic of fresh pineapple and watermelon and water on a small beach and made our way back. Our guide did tell us a lot about the local birds that we could spot from the water - very informative

Honestly we would have skipped this one if u are already in a beach destination for most of your stay in costa rica. It was too long of travel and the beach is crowded ive personally seen much better beaches instead of this island.

We enjoyed our tour! Learning about the estuary/ mangroves. The kayaking and snorkelling was fun and beautiful sunset

The Arenas del Mar hotel is beautiful with very modern finish out. The staff are OUTSTANDING with an extremely freiendly environment and high end focus on customer service. Everyone greeted us with a smile and tried to accomodate every request we had from the initial greeting on our arrival to our departure. The food was great for a resort (which we typically have mixed feelings on) and the private beach was amazing. Our kids (10 and 12) could not get enoughof the waves there and played in the water for hours. It was also proximate to the national park and both my wife and I went down to the wider and longer public beach there and did runs there which we thouroughly enjoyed. We would love to return!

Amazing hotel with a lot of character. Only complaint is that the bed was so hard.

Gorgeous beaches with lots of wildlife! It rained on us towards the end which was a little disappointing.

We could tell at the dock this the boat was going to be the best and most fun. Drinks and food were a bonus! Very comfortable ride with good music and vibes.

I have been zip lining before but this place was much bigger and had better views. Very fun experience.

Really cool experience. It rained most of the hike at the hanging bridges but that was a cool part of the experience in the rain forest! A lot more animals came out with the rain. The waterfall had lots of stairs but it was worth it!

Hotel has 2 separate areas - the one closer to the beach was much nicer. Super friendly and helpful staff, from front desk, to cleaning staff, to the maintenance guy who fixed our TV. The included breakfast was a bit underwhelming but location by the beach was great.

A bit spartan but very comfortable & super friendly. Nice pool.

Wildlife did not cooperate and we did not see that much.

This was enjoyable if a bit boring. The trail was very crowded with other groups. As the guide does all of the spotting of wildlife, and you see everything through his telescope, it feels like there is little to do but just follow along. We did get to see a sloth though.

Kayaking was fun & beautiful but snorkeling site was way too crowded. Guides were very nice and helpful, but they did not have a life vest small enough to properly fit my 10-year-old son. It would also have been nice to have flippers for the snorkeling.

enjoyable, easy

Did this with my kids, age 10 and 14, and the chocolate making was their favorite activity of the whole trip. I was not expecting much from this but it was a great experience. Loved tasting chocolate at the different stages along the way.

Bridges and wildlife were fun, but the trail was way too overcrowded and too much time spent navigating around other tour groups. The guide was good and lively but ours was a mixed Spanish/English group and it felt like the English speakers didn't get as much attention.

The hike was nice and a good intro/first activity to Costa Rica. Trail was a bit crowded. Hot Springs was fantastic and my kids especially loved that part.

From the moment we met our guide, Eric, we knew this was going to be a special experience. We sadly only got to spend 24 hours here, and one of my biggest regrets of our entire trip was not getting to spend more time here. The lodge is secluded and nestled in a gorgeous little area, close to the village. The activities offered were some of our favourites of our entire trip, and our morning “rockstar” canoe excursion was SO WORTH the 5:30am start time. The food was wonderful, the property was great and the staff were amazing.

We barely got to stay at this hotel, as our flight was severely delayed and we checked in at 3 am and checked out at 6am. The staff were absolutely lovely and the room was clean and quiet. I wish we’d had more time here!

So while a cute, quaint hotel… there were ants and mosquitos and other bugs in the two rooms we had. The front door glass was shattered, making us question the safety of the hotel. Has good potential.

In a very bad part of San Jose, not safe to walk in or at least we did not feel comfortable doing so. No hot water in our two rooms, but staff was nice and restaurant was great!

Fantastic exhilarating white water raft trip! Very good and safe guides, highly recommend!

Adequate hotel. The AC worked well. Beach front is a relative term....you could "kind of see" the beach if you squinted. The room was very dark but reasonably clean. The food was adequate.

An absolutely wonderful hotel! The views were incredible, the food was AMAZING and the staff was extremely helpful!

The grounds are amazing! We saw so many beautiful birds from the comfort of our deck! It had a fabulous view of the volcano and the mineral springs were very nice! The 24/7 coffee in the lobby was not 24/7. The food was pretty good for breakfast but only adequate for dinner. Contrary to advertising, there was NOT a lunch option. The staff was friendly. Coffee was not very good for a country known for amazing coffee....probably the worst coffee we had in a hotel during our stay. The hotel is fairly far from the town, but we considered that a positive. A taxi is needed if you wish to visit the town.

Loved the location and value for this hotel. The area was extremely quiet...an oasis literally in the middle of town. The room was very large and could easily have accommodated 3 more guests. The breakfast was VERY good and we LOVED the coffee!

A good location. The hotel itself was okay, the food was okay. The AC was appreciated!

We really enjoyed the experience. The 3 1/2 hour drive each way was tedious, but the rafting was amazing!

The weather severely impacted this tour. It was raining very hard.

LOVED the animals and the guide was outstanding! The park is WELL worth the effort and expense to view! The boat ride is about an hour from Drake Bay

This was VERY fun! The runs were awesome, long and had amazing views! Even in the rain it was SO worth it!

This was the most amazing thing EVER! I have been a certified scuba diver since 1976 and I have NEVER experienced anything like this basic snorkeling experience. We literally ended up in a huge bait ball of sardines while hundreds of dolphins and a 35 foot Bryde's Whale feed very close to us! This was not the guide's intent, but the bait ball moved towards us for protection from the feeding frenzy.....truly a National Geographic experience of a lifetime!

We had a late start to the excursion, but after that it was very good. We saw many nice birds in a short amount of time

Very good guides who were patient and very helpful! We really enjoyed our first experience rappelling!

The guide was new and not experienced. One other guest pretty much monopolized the whole hike. They needed to book a birdwatching tour since they were only interested in that. The guide ignored the needs of the other guests. She was nice and tried to be helpful but it was by far, the weakest of our tours.

The hotel was on a beautiful grounds away from Uvita with a clear ocean view. The swimming pool is the centerpiece of the hotel and is large and deep. It was refreshing after spending the days in the heat during our activities. The hotel room was a bit small for four people, but the room was clean, and the balcony made for a bit of extra space. The hotel staff were very professional. The waiter in the restaurant went above and beyond to make our stay comfortable. He was so kind. Overall, it was a lovely place, but it felt a bit dated, and some things were in need of repair.

The hotel was an unusual and quirky place but overall a good experience. The grounds are impressive--you have multiple swimming pools, several airplanes, and oversized accommodations, which is excellent for a family of four. However, the hotel was a bit dated, and the room smelled musty. I imagine it is a tough climate to manage between the heat and moisture. The daily breakfast was great and it was so fun to see monkeys every morning. I can't believe all the monkeys at this hotel!

The hotel was on a sprawling property that felt like an escape but was still within walking distance of different shops and restaurants in Santa Elena. The room we were given was perfect for a family of four--it had three beds, a loft, and a balcony, so it felt spacious and comfortable, which was much-needed after being in the same room as everybody for the past week. The hotel had a lovely pool, a good breakfast, and peacocks! We also had a bonus cat in our hotel room--there's a resident cat who makes the rounds, and she appeared a few times and gave us a few laughs.

The hotel was a large, beautiful property in a great location in La Fortuna. The property was well maintained and had plenty of places to explore for walks, swims, or soaks in the hot spring pools. Our room was large enough for a family of four, and the huge patio made it feel even bigger. The onsite pizza restaurant and the daily breakfast buffet were excellent. My only complaint about the hotel was the beds--they were zero stars awful. I've never slept on a less comfortable mattress. Even with the bad bedding, the hotel was amazing but if they could get better beds it would be sublime.

We stayed at this hotel twice--once on our arrival from SJO, and again the night before we departed. The first room we stayed in was way too small and a bit run down, but the second night we stayed we asked for an upgrade and the room was very nice. If the hotel were based on the second night alone, it would be five stars. The hotel is a bit out of the way so not near many restaurants if you don't have a car, but the onsite restaurant is good. The hotel was very peaceful and the grounds are beautiful.

Great place to stay for all kinds of activities

Very friendly and attending hosts. Awesome breakfast and wonderful place to watch birds, sloths etc. right from their deck overlooking the forest.

great location right on the beach with easy walks to restaurants and bars. Very nice staff and clean place. Our room faced the ocean on 2nd floor and was very roomy with a kitchenette making our stay even better. The continental breakfast was set in front of the door at allotted time.

Nice big rooms with lots of windows which we loved Easy walking to restaurants etc

They cancelled even though it was clear and sunny.

Agency booked. We needed to do more homework about hotel and location.

Perched up on hill, room great, views incredible. Deck area great. Restaurant & Bar enjoyed

We did not do due to extremely long day prior

Should be added to Hacienda Day as basically in same area, repeat long drive. Pottery demonstration was fabulous.

2 hour drive each way. Tour guide not available when arrived, lots of sitting and waiting. Almost 8 hr day for 1.5 hour tour + lunch. Place was amazing though once got going.

Short 45 minutes but learned lots.

Private and thoughtful guide, learned lots, saw lots.

We kind of raced through as busy with large groups blocking way. But still fun