Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Hotel & Retreat

If I could give more than 5 stars I would. Friendly, cheerful staff, and immaculate grounds and guest rooms. It's so quiet and peaceful. The restaurant is beautiful and the fresh food never disappointed. There's a lovely lodge with 2 fireplaces, and games, cards, books, and cozy blankets on several couches. Our room (casita) was clean and comfortable, and we loved the fireplace. (Yes, the wood is damp - it's a cloud forest afterall. If you call the front desk they will send someone to start the fire for you). The spa! These ladies are absolute professionals and so good at what they do I felt like a noodle after every treatment. Pamper yourself and try it out, you will not be disappointed. I highly recommend the coffee scrub, swedish massage, and lavender facial. *****

We were so disappointed with this accommodation on what was otherwise a fabulous trip to Costa Rica. This was by far the worst place we stayed. It’s 8km down a very potholed and bumpy track and the place was shrouded by cloud for our entire stay (thankfully only two nights!). I know we were in a cloud forest but the accommodation felt very dank and dreary and the rooms are very run down and in need of some major work. We had no outside furniture. There was a space where there obviously used to be a fridge but no more, and an incredibly noisy dehumidifier that we had to empty three times during our two night stay! Everything felt damp including the bedding, despite the dehumidifier but the bed was comfortable. Both sets of blinds were dirty and broken. The main building feels like an old hunting lodge and although there were two open fires they kept the doors open all of the time so it never felt warm. The staff were not particularly welcoming and we were very disappointed in the food offerings in the restaurant (one of us is gluten free and both our tour operator and ourselves had pre warned this hotel before our stay.) There was very little on an incredibly expensive menu that my husband was able to eat. The restaurant was inflexible with regards to accommodating a special diet. There was a complimentary tea/coffee station available in the lounge but when I asked if it was possible to have a decaffeinated coffee I was told I would have to pay €5! This place is literally in the middle of nowhere so there are no other food options available. Breakfast was ok but a bit basic compared to other hotels we stayed in and the waiting staff just seemed unfriendly. All in all we felt unwelcome and have reported our concerns to our tour company. The positives: we saw some incredible wildlife on a night/day tour with very knowledgeable local guides.

Although this hotel is in a unique setting in the Cloud Forest surrounded by wildlife, with interesting activities on offer to guests,there are areas where it could improve. The service level in the restaurant is not good. At dinner, my husband’s main meal was plonked on the table whilst he was only half way through his starter.Obviously this meant that his main meal was getting cold whilst he was finishing his starter off.The dirty starter plate stayed on the table until we had finished our meal which I thought was poor. Also, the wine measures seemed very haphazard.I and several others in our group experienced really small measures- approx 100/120ml of wine sometimes and when I did ask the waitress if that was a standard measure she said it was.At 8 or 10 dollars a glass (local beer was 8 dollars a bottle) I would have expected a consistent 175ml glass. At breakfast, the tables were very slow to be cleared and reset.Food seemed to be running out quickly and several times patrons had to ask for replenishment.On both days there seemed a dearth of saucers and everybody had a cup placed directly on the tables.I’m not sure if there were staff shortages whilst we were there but guest experience could be enhanced by more proficient service.