El Establo Mountain Hotel, Monteverde

Such a unique hotel. The grounds are beautiful. The staff are wonderful. Our room was at the top of the mountain. It is easily a 20 minute walk. The shuttles made getting around the hotel super easy. I would recommend staying as high up as possible. You get a good view and a bit more of a breeze.

I can't say enough about the staff. My daughter tripped and was injured and required stiches. The hotel staff offered to have a doctor visit the hotel to have her treated. They could not have been nicer.

I would definitely stay here again.

VERY noisy. It was so big. The restaurant was one of the best however. The breakfast, one of the worst.

This place was a dream. Don't leave during sunset, the views are amazing. We had the honeymoon suite, which was huge and the balcony made my life. We only had the breakfast buffet, which was great, bustling during pre-tour hours and the good variety. Treated to a spa massage, amazing. Wish we had more time here to check out the indoor pool and canopy tour but next time!

Note: Take the hotel shuttle or drive, everything is uphill; or walk, your calves will look amazing afterwards.

Everything was amazing. The room, the view, the staff, the food…. The only negative is we didn’t stay long enough to explore the grounds, restaurant and pool

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.

This is a gorgeous property staffed by friendly, helpful people, but the room itself fell short for me on a couple of measures. My three kids and I stayed in a family suite, which contained three beds--a full and a queen on the first level, and a king in the loft upstairs. I don't love this arrangement because nobody gets privacy--four people sleeping in one room is tricky for light sleepers and people who don't all go to bed at the same time. We were given a heads-up at check-in that the room contained neither heat nor AC; you're in Monteverde, it doesn't get very hot, and can dip quite chilly at night. I can never be cold enough when I sleep, so I wasn't worried about not having heat, but the room was pretty stuffy and the loft actually hot when we arrived--I suspect it hadn't been occupied in a couple of days. It did cool off once we opened it up, and by our second night the loft was very comfortable, but the first night not so much. Another complaint is that the room was *dark*--Costa Rica is known for its energy conservation measures, and of course Americans are spoiled with our expectations of bright lights and blaring AC everywhere we go, but once the sun went down (which it does in CR between 5 and 6 all year), this room was ridiculous. There was one mirror in the sleeping area, but it was practically useless because by daylight it was brightly backlit by the windows and by night it was too dark to see yourself; this left only the mirror in the bathroom for dressing and getting ready which, again, when there are 4 people gets complicated. Hot water can be a challenge in lots of Costa Rican hotels, and that was very much the case here, where basically one of us could count on a hot shower per day, even with long intervals between people. This hotel was also just missing lots of little touches--nowhere to put your suitcase (except the floor), no extra blankets or pillows, no key to the safe, not enough water glasses or coffee cups, or supplies to make everyone's coffee or tea. I'm sure all of these things could've been had by calling the front desk, but it's already necessary to call for a shuttle to get most places on the property (which is a mile long from end to end), so who wants to keep calling for blankets and a safe key? The lunch/dinner restaurant was good, pretty views and good menus, and our dinner server Carmen was lovely. My daughter and I headed over to the pool for a hot tub soak at happy hour after a long day of hiking, only to find there is no hot tub and the pool is not heated, so we bundled up in towels and watched the sunset with our drinks. Again--delightful young woman working the bar, good drinks, but how is there no hot tub in a place that gets so chilly?! I loved sitting on my deck with a cup of coffee and watching the clouds over the gulf of Nicoya in the mornings, and we saw lots of birds and small animals as well. The location is good, walkable to some restaurants and bakeries, close to town and attractions...just a little more rustic in terms of the actual accommodation than I would've preferred. But also not a bad value for what you get in terms of the whole resort.

Rooms had no Air conditioning and no fans were provided. N o nprivacy in the rooms open toilets. Guest service not upto the mark.

The location was amazing and the pool area and bar were fun, although the pool needed a few repairs. The staff and van drivers were very nice and at your door as soon as you called for a shuttle. The restaurant food was pretty good and the views from every location was stunning.

This hotel was so nice! It was extremely clean and the staff were all so nice and helpful. We loved feeling like we were out in nature but also was just a few minutes walk from restaurants and souvenir shops. The wifi was spotty at our room, but the staff told us in advance that they were having some wifi issues due to the high winds the area had been impacted by. It wasn't too much of a problem and was nice to disconnect from the outside world for a few days while we stayed here.

Amazing views. Beautiful rooms. We were a little worried when we hear no AC, but is was fine at night as it gets breezy and cool there even in the hottest part of the year.