Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Boutique hotel with luxury rooms, located in the vicinity of "Rio Fortuna Waterfall" surrounded by lush biodiversity.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
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Nestled in a tranquil setting, Tifakara Boutique Hotel & Birding Oasis is often celebrated for its serene atmosphere, complete with live music and verdant surroundings. The unique amenities, such as the outdoor showers and complimentary breakfast, alongside wildlife encounters, consistently receive high marks. Although the cozy, well-equipped rooms are generally appreciated, some guests have noted noise and bugs as minor drawbacks.
While the hotel's cleanliness and service garner praise, opinions on value are mixed, with a few travelers pointing out unexpected charges. The location is widely recognized for its convenience to local attractions and tour logistics.
Location
Convenient
Atmosphere
Serene
Rooms
Comfortable
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Spotless
Service
Attentive
Amenities
Outstanding
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Ti-Fakara delivered far above expectations! My sister and I had the BEST time in this gorgeous piece of heaven. The food was delicious, the atmosphere - outstanding, and the beds were SO comfortable! Great AC, too! As great as all those aspects of Tifakara were, the staff are by far the most amazing part of this stay in Costa Rica! Randall, Camila, and Kevin were absolutely fabulous, helping us with a myriad of things and their recommendations were top-notch! I’ve traveled to 22 countries and I’ve never had a hotel that I’ve been able to message through WhatsApp about literally anything we needed or had questions about. It felt like they truly cared about our safety & enjoyment of their beautiful country. Above & beyond in every aspect of hotel service! Additionally, Steven, Melanney, Charlie, Alicia, & Leo made the restaurant and room service experience an absolute delight! Their meals and service were truly wonderful - chef’s kiss! A glowing review of Tifakara is not complete without mentioning the awesome Darien! He showed my sister toucans and showed both of us a ton of fascinating different frogs! He helped us understand how to work the safe and was so respectful, kind, and happy to share the flora & fauna with us! Costa Rica is now in my top 3 favorite countries to visit- and the staff at Tifakara have a lot to do with that! If you would like to experience the best vacation of your life - it’s waiting for you at Tifakara in Costa Rica! ❤️
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Date of stay: September 2024Trip type: Travelled with friends
Room Tip:September is off season so the tours and hotel experience was so personal. No crowd worries in...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Abie Grynspan, Owner at Tifakara Boutique Hotel & Birding Oasis
Responded 9 Sept 2024
Thank you very much for this wonderful review! we are very glad that you enjoyed your stay at Tifakara!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We booked our holiday quite late, only a few weeks before going. So many hotels were already fully booked for our dates. Tifakara only had one room available, which was a forest bungalow (no.14) so I booked it asap. The pluses of this bungalow are that it is at the back of the property so no noise from road, dogs barking, kitchens or other guests. It was spotless clean & pleasant temperature. I hadn't been sure about the half open shower but it was fine & we had no issue at all with bugs. My only criticism is that the space is small. I looked enviously at the other bungalows eg no. 3 where there was a big veranda with table & chairs (our small veranda only had one seat) & inside no 3. looked lovely & spacious.
We had 3 breakfasts & 3 dinners. The food was good, although the menu for dinner is quite small and by night 3 I was wishing there had been more restaurants nearby just for a change of scene (we did nor have a car). The seared tuna was particularly good however. Breakfast is a nice affair as guests gather early to watch the many birds in the tree outside the restaurant & chat about their itineraries and adventures. A tropical fresh fruit platter is provided for each guest table. Fruit, yogurt & pastries are left out as a buffet (tasty jams & marmalade too) & you can order hot dishes from the menu. Self service coffees & teas & cookies are available all day. In our room we got fresh water (replenished each day) & chocolates & fruit were left for us when we checked in. The sweet towel animals left by housekeeping were a sweet touch.
We did the frog tour with Josue on our first evening and it was fantastic. Do not miss this. We were lucky that the 7.15pm tour was full so we went on the 5.45pm one instead where there were only a few of us. We all thoroughly enjoyed it.
Overall we enjoyed our stay here. I would recommend booking a larger villa if one is available. The hotel has no lounge area as such (outside seating is available but no good if is raining!) & it would have been nice to have a covered outside area for us both to sit to watch & listen to the birds.
We didn't use the pool tho we enjoyed the jacuzzi late one afternoon.
This came across as a very warm & friendly hotel, not just staff but other guests too, which made it a pleasant stay. I wouldn't rate it 5 star but it deserves a 4.5.
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Date of stay: January 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Abie Grynspan, Dueño at Tifakara Boutique Hotel & Birding Oasis
Responded 1 Feb 2024
Thank you very much for the review. We are very glad that you enjoyed your stay at Tifakara!
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I consider myself pretty well traveled, but this… THIS is my favorite hotel! It was such a special place. So unique, so calming, yet so exciting. The entire property was colored by nature, with the backdrop of rainforest sounds. And looming in the distance, the Volcano Arenal. Two people here stood out to me, Jay and Randall. Jay worked the meal services during the day, and was SO kind and a pleasure to talk to. He was always busy, but handled it with confidence and professionalism, all while taking his opportunities to get to know the guests, if they wanted that. He was so sweet and skilled with people. He is a huge asset to that hotel! Randall from the front desk too was always there to assist us whenever we needed. He knew all the information pertaining to the area and was very kind, helping point out birds to us too! Each “room” is a little house… and the bathrooms lead to an outdoor shower (completely private and covered so no worries!) but you can wash out in nature it is just so fitting and perfect. I’m also a light sleeper and slept like a rock here. The beds and pillows are comfortable for sure.
One morning I went out to my private balcony, admiring the chirping sounds and a toucan flew right in the line of trees prob 20 yards away. A small group followed. There’s hummingbirds everywhere, a gorgeous pool, a frog tour (that we unfortunately missed but will do next time…) and it’s a very short walk to the La Fortuna waterfall!
I can’t wait to stay here again, in the meantime I want to share the review with anyone considering, GO! You’ll LOVE IT ! Book it now. Oh yea the food and juices etc are all great too. Shout out to the hardworking cooks !! The homemade jelly and pastries and juices were scrumptious too.
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Date of stay: February 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Abie Grynspan, Dueño at Tifakara Boutique Hotel & Birding Oasis
Responded 16 Feb 2024
Thank you very much for the review. We are very glad that you enjoyed your stay at Tifakara!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We booked the Premium Quadruple Room (Room 3) with two double beds for our family of 4 for 3 nights and were very excited for our first trip to Costa Rica. This review is mainly based on the room itself, as the hotel staff and restaurant was wonderful.
The open shower concept is perplexing to me, as it basically means that all the bugs and creatures of the jungle have access to enter your room. When I went to take a shower the first night, I was surrounded by flying cockroaches and other mysterious flying bugs, which made for a very stressful shower experience. Within minutes, these bugs made their way into our bathroom and then into our bedroom. I got dressed and visited the front desk to ask for help (there are no phones in the room to call). The staff was very helpful and sent one of their handymen down to the room where they put up a pretty decent net around the shower and removed the bugs from the bathroom. It solved the problem for that night, but by the next night, one of the gaps in the netting allowed a huge group of moths into our bathroom and some made it to our room. After a What's App exchange with the front desk, they sent a guy down, who went into bathroom and killed them all with a can of bug spray. He left the dead moths on the floor, leaving me concerned about the lingering odor of all the bug spray in the room and how we were going to go to the bathroom later. Another what's app exchange to ask for more help, which led to the next handyman who came in to clean up the dead moths. By this time is was 10:30PM and we were all tired. After two nights of not being able to relax, were desperate to move hotels. We asked about moving to their sister hotel (Noah's Forest) which looked to have availability. We were told that there was nothing was available, but eventually my husband was able to get them to agree to letting us squeeze into a smaller room for our last night.
Noah's Forest is a totally different experience. Moderns rooms with a closed shower. Very much a relief after two nights of bug drama and stress.
Everything else about the hotel we loved. The staff, the breakfast, the frog night tour with Randell (great guy by the way, he arranged to get the netting installed in our room the first night and taught us so many cool things about frogs), the restaurant and the live music at night. The hotel management needs to make the investment to close up these showers and seal up the space under the front door so that bugs can't enter there as well. For the rate we were paying ($366/night including tax), this experience was unacceptable, and definitely not "premium" as the room name implied.
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Date of stay: June 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Don't stay in a room with an open shower unless you don't mind bugs in your room. Made for a very...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Abie Grynspan, Dueño at Tifakara Boutique Hotel & Birding Oasis
Responded 28 Jun 2024
Thank you very much for the feedback. We are sorry the bugs issue and the way we handled it. For most of our guests the open shower is a magical experience, however we will do a net in case guests request it. Thanks again for the review.
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We enjoyed our stay! The staff, particularly concierge, were so friendly & helpful. They coordinated fun & very active adventures for our family. The hotel is nice, and the room was clean the whole time.
The welcome drink, departing gift, included delicious breakfast, all day coffee & cookies, and available laundry services were lovely & appreciated touches.
We felt like we were ‘glamping,’ as our room was nestled in the jungle and was over all bare decoratively but still nice & clean. The pillows were comfortable, the coffee & fridge were nice to have, and the outdoor shower was private with good water pressure & temperature. Two suggestions for the room - that do not deduct from our rating - would Be to add a set of drawers so we could unpack our suitcases, as well as a bedside table lamp.
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Date of stay: November 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Abie Grynspan, Dueño at Tifakara Boutique Hotel & Birding Oasis
Responded 29 Nov 2024
Thank you very much for this wonderful review! we are very glad that you enjoyed your stay at Tifakara!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
This gorgeous hotel is about 10 min from all the attractions but nestled up the hill with beautiful bungalows , outdoor showers and amazing hotel staff. The food was more than fairly priced, the hotel spa package was absolutely worth every penny and much cheaper than any other resort options, Rebecca comes to your room and sets up your personalized treatment and take her time with you . The location is truly perfect with rainforest all around , beautiful bird sounds throughout the day. The hotel staff are extremely kind and attentive , laundry services were inexpensive and quick turnaround. Please do no look any further than Tifakara when looking to stay in Arenal !
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Date of stay: July 2022Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Abie Grynspan, Dueño at Tifakara Boutique Hotel & Birding Oasis
Responded 11 Jul 2022
Thank you very much for your great review. We are very glad that you enjoyed your stay! :)
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Great hotel Very friendly staff Very clean Feel-good factor through and through Nightly frog sighting at the hotel included We felt very comfortable and can highly recommend this accommodation in all respects. Booking activities made on recommendation of the hotel..Were very pleased with it
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Date of stay: February 2025Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
My boyfriend and I stayed here for his birthday, and this hotel by far has the friendliest and most supportive staff that I've seen at a resort. It felt so much like a personalized experience. We were given welcome drinks upon arrival, the room came with some beautiful tropical fruit and chocolate, and we were greeted so graciously every time we stepped into the lobby of the resort and the restaurant. The pool area is a dream, especially when it rains hard. It was like asmr in person lol. The breakfast was so delicious every single morning (the Typical Costa Rican breakfast plate and the bread with fresh herb butter were my favorites). We missed the frog tours while we were there but we asked could we walk around and view the frog sanctuary ourselves. The attendant graciously walked us through the first part of the sanctuary, gave us a rundown of some of the frogs for the first half of the trail, and equipped us with lights of our own so we didn't have to miss out on it before we left. The even gave us a cute little setup with a birthday balloon, handwritten card, flowers, and champagne for my boyfriend's birthday, as well as pancakes with a candle in it that morning as they sang happy birthday to him. Everything here was pretty comfortable (be aware the bed was very firm but wasn't too bad after the first day) and very clean. It's right next to a good restaurant with beautiful views and great food, as well as a five minute walk to the la Fortuna waterfall. We had a great experience and would absolutely stay here again!
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Date of stay: August 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:It was a bit of a trek to get to. We flew into San Jose and took a shuttle to the hotel. It was a...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Abie Grynspan, Dueño at Tifakara Boutique Hotel & Birding Oasis
Responded 16 Aug 2023
Thank you very much the wonderful review! we are very glad that you enjoyed Tifakara!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
The villa was immaculate & very modern with all the amenities you could need the out side shower attached was a great touch. Breakfast was included and was very delicious the chefs were outstanding. The front staff (Kevin, Reynaldo, Camila & Lucy were so great & helpful every need was taken care off. Kevin outdid himself when we needed some extra help with our room & the red eye tree frog was an added touch to see up closed. The wait staff was outstanding chichi was so attentive and hilarious, Steven & Charlie were so kind alway had smiles on their faces. The pool area & game area was so clean & so easy relax at. The evening live music was a great.
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Date of stay: February 2025
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Abie Grynspan, Owner at Tifakara Boutique Hotel & Birding Oasis
Responded yesterday
Thank you very much for this nice review! we are very glad that you enjoyed your stay at Tifakara!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We loved this hotel! This was such fantastic value for our trip, and every member of staff was wonderful. A special mention to Steven who made us smile every time we saw him. We spent 4 nights at Ti-fakara this January, and had a wonderful time. I have been a travel agent for the past 20years and stay in lots of hotels for work and leisure, and I can honestly say that this was one of the best hotels I have ever stayed at (only very narrowly beaten by a 5* hotel in Bali). It may only be officially a 3* hotel, but the staff and the thoughtful extra touches make it worth so much more. Each and every ember of staff is passionate about what they do and their enthusiasm shines through. The management at Ti-fakara should be very proud of their staff, it really is something else and we cannot wait to return.
We were genuinely sad to leave, and actually, the other hotels we stayed at were much more expenisve but left us disappointed as we had been so spoiled at Ti-fakara. This hotel is a must if you are ever in the La Fortuna area, I cannot recommend it enough.
If I had to give some constructive criticism, a couple of small things would be - -We came to Costa Rica mainly for eco-tourism, so we were a little disappointed to see that plastic straws were still being used at the hotel - could these be replaced with paper or bamboo ones? -We had torrential rain while we were there and couldn't get our clothes dry before moving onto the next place - not much the hotel can do about this, but just pointing it out -One of the fixtures on the shower fell off making a loud noise every time one of us used it. I don't know it is was actually broken or if there was a way to use it to avoid this happening?
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Date of stay: January 2025
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Book in for the omplimentary frog night walk around the hotel grounds - we saw the red eyed tree...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Abie Grynspan, Owner at Tifakara Boutique Hotel & Birding Oasis
Responded 1 week ago
Thank you very much for this wonderful review! we are very glad that you enjoyed your stay at Tifakara Will take into account all your suggestions! thank you again for making us be better!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We stayed in a Tropical Forest Bungalow which did have a mini fridge even though it is not listed on the hotel's description. I would contact them directly to ask about the Basic rooms.
There are more places to choose from in the La Fortuna de San Carlos area.
PRICE RANGE
S$331 - S$568 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
Costa RicaProvince of AlajuelaArenal Volcano National ParkLa Fortuna de San Carlos
NUMBER OF ROOMS
18
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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