jittery_eric
24 de agosto de 2024
A visit to this property is a worth every twist and turn of the journey over hill, dale, winding lane and potholed dirt track to the heart of the Costa Rican rain forest. The Amor Arenal took shape back in 2016 when owner/entrepreneur Rafael Checa acquired the 106 acre site and invested $20 million to create this 31 key property in a singular La Fortuna location looking out on the world’s most active volcano (and also the 3rd-most perfect conical shape of any stratovolcano). For such a small property, it has an enormous number of reviews, perhaps an indication of the passion guests feel about this place. Instead of recapitulating well-trod ground, here are a few suggestions to make the most of your experience. A special shout out to bellmen Jose (who I stiffed with a tip until I could make it into La Fortuna and withdraw some cash from an ATM at a bank across from the church -- the addition of an onsite ATM would be a plus) and Yeffry who made our ingress and egress seamless. Let’s start with booking. If you covet World of Hyatt points as I do, you are in luck! But to earn them, you’ll have to avoid my blunder. Earlier this year, Hyatt fired up its partnership with Mr. & Mrs. Smith, a booking platform with 1,500 boutique properties around the world. World of Hyatt members can earn 5 points per dollar for Mr. & Mrs. Smith property reservations booked through Hyatt along with an additional 4 points per dollar for using a World of Hyatt Visa for payment. But that’s not what I did. At the Amor Arenal, 21 of the “Canyon Casitas” have king beds and 10 have two queen beds. When I was making my reservation, I needed two separate casitas: one with one king bed and the other with two queens, but only king bed rooms were showing as available on Hyatt site. So I contacted the hotel directly. They confirmed availability and I booked directly with the hotel. No bueno. No Hyatt booking channel, no Hyatt points, alas. This one’s on me; it’s no fault of the Amor Arenal. But future Hyatt booking enthusiasts, you have been forewarned to only book through the Hyatt site. During check-in, concierge Marilyn at reception asked me if I had plans during my stay. I told her my three goals: look at the volcano, zipline through the forest and spot a sloth. She said she could help out with the last one and led me about 50 feet down the driveway from the reception area, pointed up at a Guarumo tree and lo and behold, there was a baby sloth just hanging out, as sloths are wont to do. She then proceeded to walk over to another tree where sloth jr.’s mom was enjoying a similar moment of still sloth self-actualization. We met the dad the next day. Despite their solitary nature, it’s hard to visit this property and not spot a sloth or three. About a dozen are said to make the property home. And if you’re wondering if sloths move as slowly as depicted in the film “Zootopia,” the answer is no. They move much more slowly. Most of the time they don’t move at all, sleeping
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