Mountain Paradise Hotel

Arenal was discovered as a very tranquil area and it is one of the safest destinations in Costa Rica. La Fortuna, Arenal is known for their volcano, which is located in Costa Rica's northern lowlands.  The volcano has an unavoidable and beautiful presence when you are traveling in Arenal.  This place is amazing and I definitely recommend people to travel here.  The hotel that we stayed in was called Mountain Paradise Hotel and it is located near the Arenal Volcano.  The hotel received four leaves rating for their ecological sustainable hotel and is known for their excellent restaurants, which are Arenal Koita Restaurant and the Ave del Paraiso Restaurant.

Arenal Koita Restaurant 

Ave del Paraiso Restaurant

When we got to the hotel we met up with Esteban our tour guide.  He worked for 11 years as a natural tour guide and talked about the different projects that the hotel provides to public schools in Arenal.   Some of the projects that they do with the kids are creating recycling projects, bringing kids to the hotel and giving them a tour of their ecological sustainable hotel, and also purchasing trees to reforest the land.  The reason why Mountain Paradise Hotel does these projects with the kids is because they want to teach the importance of recycling and how beneficial it is to the planet.  I think it is a great idea that they are providing these projects to the students because they are the future and by teaching them about recycling they can not only improve their lifestyle, but also teach their friends and family as well.  It is by law that in Costa Rica all hotels have to be eco-tourism.  Mountain Paradise Hotel keeps their hotel green by recycling, turning off heaters at night, and electricity is run by solar panel and hydroelectric.  Since there is a lot of humidity and rain (6m of water a year) in Arenal, the hotel does not need to use chemical often to keep the pool clean.  Also they get their food from local farmers, which make this hotel sustainable. 

The room that I stayed in was beautiful and also the shower in the bathroom was different from the other hotels that we have been too.  They had a waterfall shower and it made you feel like you were in the rainforest and a jacuzzi outside. I wish we were able to stay here for another night, so that we can enjoy what this hotel had to offer. But with our tight schedule we had to get early and travel to more places in Costa Rica.  If you are looking for a nice tranquil area that is also eco-friendly I recommend Mountain Paradise Hotel. 

PURA VIDA!!

** Certification for Sustainable Tourism Program (CST)- This is a product of the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT). The CST was designed to differentiate businesses of the tourism sector, based on the degree to which they comply with a sustainable model of natural, cultural and social resource management.