2 outdoor pools, open 7:00 AM to 9:30 PM, pool umbrellas
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Reviews of El Establo Mountain Hotel

3.5 out of 5
El Establo Mountain Hotel
Diagonal to Escuela Rafael Arguedas, Monteverde, Puntarenas

Reviews

8.2

Very good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 428 out of 1000 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 308 out of 1000 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 150 out of 1000 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 65 out of 1000 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 49 out of 1000 reviews" "

8.8/10

Cleanliness

8.2/10

Staff & service

8.0/10

Amenities

8.2/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.8/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Sebastian, Parsippany

Travelled with family, Travelled with partner, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I'll be back with some friends soon again
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024

10/10 Excellent

Pujitha, Moraga

Travelled with family, Travelled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We had a fantastic time at the hotel. The staff was extremely friendly, polite and helpful. Ideal for families with young kids. We were able to organize the tours once we got to the hotel. We are waiting to go back!
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024

8/10 Good

Ramesh

Travelled with family, Travelled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The resort is very good with lot of in-house activities and tour desk to organize local attractions. But property has no elevator and AC. Though the outside breeze is good enough but at time it can become very hot during the day. Need atleast a ceiling fan and brighter lights in the room. Room is big with nice canopy view. Restaurant has limited menu choices esp. for vegetarians. Friendly staff and well maintained resort with complimentary breakfast and free parking. Provides free shuttle to go inside the property. Overall good experience except the inconveniences mentioned.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024

4/10 Poor

Rami

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Staff & service
They said we had a $25 resort credit, but we could only use it at the restaurant or bar at the pool. So we used it at the pool, but at checkout, they said we owed $25 because we got drinks during happy hour, so the $25 resort credit did not apply to that. No one told us that and the guy at checkout was totally unapologetic. It's not a big deal, because it was only $25, but the rudeness of the staff and lack of clarity about the report credit policy was not appreciated. If you happen to have a resort credit, probably best not to use it or just assume they will find a way to not apply it.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

Shoab

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful eco lodge with gorgeous views and excellent location to national park and other attractions. Very comfortable beds and loved the fresh air coming in from the windows. Saw lot of animals and birds from room balcony too. Highly recommend!

10/10 Excellent

Yuting

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
If you stay at this hotel, you will have the access to some of the tours reserved exclusively to those who stay at the hotel but not people from outside hotels. We were able to have tour guides just for the two of us during a day walk and the zip line. Also there will be shuttles that pick you up in front of where you stay to take you to the tours, which are inside the hotel, in a few minutes. It is super convenient and I highly recommend. There is also a spa place inside the resort.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024

6/10 Okay

John

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities
Paper thin walls, noisy Great views though
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

Charles Clayton

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This is the most awesome hotel. The view was incredible. The staff was amazing. They gave personalized service and totally remembered who you were. There were excellent tour opportunities on site and very knowledgeable guides. The only issue was with the Expedia booking. We specifically set our flight times through them and the airline changed our flight which made us cut our stay by one day to allow us to catch our flight at 6 am.? It was very inconvenient. If you can get to this hotel it is the best!!! I rate the hotel 10 out of 10.
Stayed 6 nights in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

STEPHANIE A

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We absolutely LOVED our stay at El Establo! It was one of the highlights of our trip. The grounds are incredible, the view from our room (we stayed in 908, so we were the highest possible vantage point on the property) was unbelievable. When we woke up in the morning, there was a rainbow and its arc was below our balcony - it's that high up in the clouds! The pool area is amazing - so luxurious and quiet. The food and drink options are great. We did a night walk on site with Donner and it was incredible. We saw glass frogs, tarantulas, snakes, olingos and birds. He was knowledgeable, entertaining and great with our kids. It is an easy drive from the hotel grounds into the heart of Monteverde to walk around and explore. Cannot recommend this hotel enough!

8/10 Good

Susan

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Staff & service
Lovely property with fabulous grounds. It is huge but with separate buildings. Only interaction with staff was strange, very distant and kinda creepy interactions at breakfast hall. Tried to book a guide for the park with in-house staff: he essentially lied to us that there was no way to get a tour the following day, that the park was fully booked. Later found out that his company filled all THEIR allotted slots, easily booked with others. Dont judge Costa Rica by this place! It was the Most unfriendly place during our entire month tour.
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2024

6/10 Okay

Tom

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

8/10 Good

Demitrios, Surrey

Travelled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This property was very quiet and peacful
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

2/10 Terrible

Deepiga

Disliked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
They did not even have a fan . The shower was just spraying water that was too strong. No body lotion no extra towel nothing ! There are many better places around !
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

8/10 Good

Janice

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

David J

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The view from our room was gorgeous. The staff so friendly. Breakfast was conveniently early and good. We had our own car and the property will shuttle you up and down so know that waking between property hot spots (the pool, bar, restaurants) may not be walkable for some.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Andrew

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The property was amazing! The view from our balcony was outstanding! The staff is super friendly. We had a great experience and would highly recommend this hotel.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Lasha, Converse

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Out side of rolling blackouts and rooms with no WiFi it was a great hotel with a ton of things to do. The food at dinner was great. The free breakfast was good for free but I would have liked pay food options as well. The same things over and over again get boring.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Marcia

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We loved this property and found it to be better than advertised. Gorgeous views, extremely convenient location, many great activities nearby. Stunning sunset view across the road from the property, people gather there every night for the beautiful show. The restaurant was good. Gift shop well-appointed. Staff was excellent, and went out of their way to help us with some specific requests/questions including arranging transportation. Grounds are beautiful and well-maintained by competent and kind gardeners/grounds-keepers. We saw many coatis on site, birds including two toucan sightings. There are peacocks on site. There were high winds while we were there and the upstairs bedroom/loft was quite noisy so we did not use it for sleeping. The room was well-appointed and very spacious. There are through and through vents so that the air flows from outside, through the room, and into the corridor outside the room - good ventilation. There are sitting areas throughout which promoted socializing and we met some great new friends. The proprety is very hilly but easy to walk for those with good mobility, strength and cardiovascular capacity (one mile uphill to the very top of the property). Note that in the evening the resort is very quiet and dark. Pathways are generally lit well enough to walk in the evening. The hallways and rooms are dimly lit after sundown, so if you need to work (or watercolour paint!) it's best in daylight or bring a small desk lamp. Wonderful. Highly recommend
Stayed 6 nights in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Phil

Travelled with family, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful property with extremely friendly staff.
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2024

6/10 Okay

Brent

Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2024

4/10 Poor

Jenny meow chaow, Bellevue

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We checked in for 2 nights, and boy, was the weather a rollercoaster! Warm days and chilly nights had us playing tug-of-war with the windows. Leave 'em open, and you've got a symphony of blinds flapping in the wind—hello, noise complaints! Shut 'em tight, and suddenly it's like you're simmering in a sauna. Can someone please pass the ice cubes? Now, I'm all for eco-friendliness, but a ceiling fan wouldn't go amiss, even if it's just for a breezy illusion. And let's talk about the room and bathroom—haven't they heard of updates? I'm pretty sure our grandparents stayed in more modern digs! Oh, and the lighting? Let's just say, if you're into that 'creepy haunted mansion' vibe, you're in luck! The dimness both indoors and out had us half expecting Casper to show up for a chat. On the bright side (pun intended), navigating the hotel grounds in our trusty self-drive was a breeze. Overall, it was an okay experience—emphasis on the 'okay.' But will we be back? Let's just say, we'll be exploring other haunted mansions, er, hotels, next time.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Tanya

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Suprabha

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great Hotel to stay. There was no room upgrade but it was a very comfortable room
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Holly

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Views of the mountains
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Gary

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities

10/10 Excellent

Rebeca

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Gregory

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Gorgeous views of the sunset from every room. Helpful and respectful staff
Stayed 4 nights in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Adrian

Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2024

4/10 Poor

Thanikachal

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
Incorrect check in time & No hot water
The check in time in Hotels.com was mentioned as 2pm but the front desk said it is 3pm. Also, the hot water for the shower lasted only for 20 minutes. You have to call and wait for the shuttle which takes some times more than 15 minutes.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Vasudeva

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful views from room
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

wang

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Christian

Travelled with family, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The view is amazing, great staff but a little bit short at the El Establo restaurant !
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Lionel

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Allen, Palm Desert

Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2024

8/10 Good

meredith

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Overall nice property in a great location. The room is nothing special, but it matches the pictures and is clean. It was a much bigger property than expected. They have their own hikes on property that you can explore. Every room has a view and the sunsets are great.
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Ganning, Irvine

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Best view and easily access to different tours inside the property
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2023

6/10 Okay

Joan

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Andrew

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We had a wonderful stay at El Establo! Property is very large and well-maintained; we were able to get a taste of the jungle just by walking between buildings, and enjoyed private walking trails up in the mountains above the rooms. We enjoyed both restaurants on premises, but especially the traditional Costa Rica dishes on breakfast buffet at Las Reinas: they had some kind of amazing homemade papaya pineapple jam and great Costa Rican coffee. The most pleasant surprise was abundant wildlife on premises: we saw more birds, agouti, and coati from our balcony than in the cloud forest! Property was quiet, safe, and staff were helpful with reservations and arranging transportation.
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2023

8/10 Good

Ouma

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Mubaraka

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful property. Very helpful and hospitable staff. Lovely buffet breakfast. Very convenient shuttle to room.
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Shashikumar

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

6/10 Okay

jay

Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023

2/10 Terrible

Erick

Travelled with family and small children
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We stayed at this property for two nights. On our first night as we were getting ready for bed we started seeing bugs appear inside the room which as we got close we realized they were wasps. It from 2-5 wasps to like more than 30 inside the room. We had our 2 year toddler. We called the front desk multiple times but there was no answer because they were closed. We also called the after hours line and there was no answer. We ended up having to grab a mattress and somehow squeeze it in the bathroom where we spent the night with our 2 year old. It wasn’t until the next morning when they helped us changed rooms that we realized there was no screen for the window and it was how the wasps got in. We complained to the front desk about our terrible experience and how this was their fault because there was no screen on the small window as there was in the new room we got transferred to. The customer service we received was horrible. They didn’t seem to care or feel bad about our experience. We asked for a refund for the one night and got no where. No one helped us and they did not offer us any services to at least try to offset the horrible experience. Very disappointing with how this issue was handled. As it seemed they just pretended they were going to do something about our refund but never did. Never did we get an answer from any manager or staff. Would not stay here again.

10/10 Excellent

Dawoodi, miramar

Travelled with family, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Excellent views, staff, breakfast. Internet connectivity is spotty in the rooms. Good at reception.
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2023

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great place to stay
Location was beautiful with fantastic views of sunset. Room was in good condition. Breakfast buffet was great and had many options. Some of the issues I can think of is that room only had coffee. Having tea bags as well would have been great for tea drinkers. Wi-Fi was an issue where if we closed the door of the room, we couldn’t connect to Wi-Fi despite them having extenders. But this is a remote place and having Wi-Fi itself is probably a luxury.
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2023

8/10 Good

Sreevalli

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
The scenery in this hotel is excellent! You have to stay here to watch the sunset, night time sky and amazing scenery... all of this from the room itself. The cons are the walls are paper thin. You can hear everything people in other rooms talk. Bath rooms are ok, beds are good. Staff is very helpful and nice. Not many vegan options in the restaurant.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023

6/10 Okay

Julia

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Our Family Suite was Confort and had a wonderful view towards the Gulf of Nicoya( sunsets). My complaint is with the food neither our dinner nor breakfast was adequate. Breakfast was disappointing, cold not eell prepared Gallo Pinto, below par fruit, stale bread, etc.
Spring Rolls, but not really.
Family Suite
Sundet from the balcony
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Megan, Rohnert Park

Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

YuSon

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This property is huge but the way it's designed, you feel almost in solitude with nature and cloud forest. Saw a beautiful rainbow every day which was a nice bonus. Everyone on staff is polite and helpful. Shuttle service was necessary for me because I have knee issues. Breakfast and the upper restaurant for lunch and dinner is amazing. I didn’t want to leave.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Renee

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful resort. I saw the bad reviews but we had a wonderful experience. The front desk staff were amazing, they gave us the Expedia credit towards our dinner at the restaurant. The shuttle buses were available to get us and our luggage to and from our room and the views are astounding I would definitely stay here again.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023