El Castillo Holidays from £956

Location was good as it was near the airporrt. Breakfast was good but room was small and dated.

Staff was helpful and nice, rooms small but clean and comfortable, breakfast was good and location was central for getting around San Jose

Thoroughly enjoyed this resort, our home for 6 days. Not pretentious, truly authentic beauty. All staff were not only accommodating, but felt like friends, Joaquin, Luis, Jorge, Fernando, Leah and Justin, to name a few. Large rooms, excellent housekeeping, and restaurant had great options, some excellent ones. Could use more selection in cocktails for all inclusive. Lava springs and foliage/landscaping were the fantastic icing on the cake. Close to nature hikes, wildlife, and excursion options. View of volcano is spectacular, if the clouds cooperate.

My husband and I stayed here with our kids (ages 10-21) and the whole family loved it! The resort was clean, well kept, had beautiful views around every corner. The thermal springs are both easy to get to and tucked away and despite the busy tourism week, never felt overcrowded.

Fabulous stay in a wonderful location. The staff are truly top-notch. Attentive and friendly. Every request was answered with “Of course, with pleasure!”. Food was excellent. Morning coffee with steamed milk delivered to our room early morning so we could sip and watch the sunrise from our balcony. A variety of on-site tours are included. The guides are excellent. Special shout-out to Sandra for finding the small Red-eyed tree frogs during the night tour. Scarlet macaws flying all over the lodge, monkeys everywhere, all sorts of beautiful birds and interesting critters right outside your room. The grounds and views are beautiful. Hike to a waterfall within ten minutes. Pool is nice too. They will take you down to the secluded beach and set you up with chairs and cooler. The beach is beautiful but very rocky. We had the Matapalo suite. Very nice though close to the entrance and main road so the intermittent traffic noise was a minus. We had a small issue with a large wandering spider and then a bark scorpion getting into our bathroom (each just once) but they responded within 3-4 minutes both times. They installed a door sweep on the bathroom door within hours to prevent them entering the bedroom- very speedy response. The view was outstanding however. Overall Lapa Rios is an outstanding lodge with wonderful staff, and I cannot recommend it enough. Five stars.