Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Hotel + Retreat

This property exceeded all of my expectations! I stayed on this property for 3 nights with my boyfriend and it
was an absolutely breathtaking experience. The hotel has nature trails, a hummingbird garden, an open lobby with fireplaces, and incredible 360 degree views. The Cloud Forest is very unique in that one minute you can be completely engulfed in a cloud and the next, clear skies with views of the Arenal Volcano.
The food was incredible, the staff was amazing, and the property is magical. A definite must for those looking to experience something other than the beaches of Costa Rica.

Wow what an absolutely breathtaking place! This was our first stop in Costa Rica on our honeymoon and I wish we would have stayed here longer! It is such a special place. The ride to it is a little bumpy but it is well worth it! Absolutely breathtaking views and the staff and food were amazing! Big thank you to our server Ricardo who was so welcoming, very friendly and made us feel at home. We most definitely recommend this place if you want a beautiful and one of a kind experience.

The view from the balcony of room 16 was absolutely amazing, waking each morning to the toucans. The food here was good and the service from every member of staff was excellent. The trails were nice although as there is little else to do given the long ride in, I think a couple of nights is plenty. Love the hummingbird garden.

This was the most peaceful hotel stay of my life. It was the first stop on our honeymoon in Costa Rica and I was blown away by the nature to be observed in the wild life reserve, especially the hummingbirds and the frogs at night. We loved hiking the trails and going on the guided night walk to search for creatures. The room, which was our own charming villa, was incredibly cozy and romantic, with a gorgeous jacuzzi and a fireplace that helped us warm up after rainy days. The food was absolutely incredible with such a wide variety on the menu. The service was so gracious and kind, with wait staff allowing us to practice our Spanish and helping us when we got stuck. The bromeliad and orchid exhibit was amazing. We honestly had the most wonderful time here and I couldn’t stop saying how much I love this place. Thank you Villa Blanca staff, you made our stay so special. If you’re debating coming here, please do. It’s the most tranquil place and it deserves to be enjoyed.

If you’re at the restaurant, ask for Christian. This man changed my life.

This is a famous property in the area. The restaurant is delicious with high quality food and they allow you to do the hike as a guest or as a client of the restaurant. The property is in the middle of a nature reserve that makes it perfect for hiking and bird watching. The weather is also very enjoyable all year around. Hope to be back soon 😇

Highly recommend this hotel. Staff is extremely friendly. Great chefs It's located in a private farm, ex Costa Rican president's house turned in to a hotel. It's a great place to go unplug from the world.
We had the pleasure to have this great server/bartender. Pura Vida 🤙

This is an awesome hotel right in the heart of the Cloud Forest. The rooms are perfect, very comfortable beds, fireplace if chilly. Large bathroom with shower. Patio seating front and rear. In room safe. Coffee machine & fridge.
The Reception & Restaurant staff are so very helpful, friendly & polite.
The night walk through the rainforest is highly recommended along with the early morning bird watching/spotting tour, the guide was so knowledgeable & explained everything. We saw snakes, frogs, Funnel Web Spider plus lots of other animals.
The self guided trails are very good, we were lucky enough to stumble into a family of Coati's several times.
The hummingbird feeders are perfect, you can sit & watch them for ages.
Restaurant food is very very good, breakfast is amazing (sports breakfast).
We spent one day White Water Rafting on La Balsa & spotted Toucans, Sloths plus lots of other birds.
I would definitely come again !!!

Gorgeous place. Service is amazing and the front desk people (Roxanne and the other members) are wonderful! They helped arrange vaccine tests for us at the resort and went out of their way to make our family feel special. Wonderful place to wind down and get drowned in nature. Pura Vida!

We enjoyed our stay at this lovely inn. We had a room with a fire place. Our back porch had a view of the pretty white chapel on the hill. We had two bathrooms, one with a very large 2 person jacuzzi tub. The food was fantastic and we enjoyed the best homemade raspberry ice cream ever made. We went there specifically to see the quetzals and our tour guide, Jovier, with assistance from Ignacio, the guide at the nearby reserve where the tour occurred, worked hard to make sure we weren't disappointed. We saw a lot of beautiful birds and were able to spend considerable time observing quetzals tending their nest. The night tour of the cloud rain forest was also well worth it. We spent two nights here between our visit to the Osa Peninsula and Arenal. We recommend it!

My fiance and I LOVED our stay at Villa Blanca in March 2020! We spent three nights here on the last leg of our CR trip. We loved the secluded location, high in the forest and away from the busy cities. The road to get there is bumpy and slow, but the scenery and the views of the rural farms make up for it - and it's something you should expect when staying anywhere remote. The location itself was absolutely beautiful with fantastic views, especially when the clouds broke and you could see out in the distance. The villas were cute, comfortable, and quaint! We loved building our own fires each day and enjoyed the rustic feel. The casita was the perfect size for us and we were happy with the amenities in the room - fireplace, rocking chairs, mini-fridge, large shower, patio, etc. - and the staff was helpful and friendly in restocking our firewood each day. We utilized all the trails on the property and enjoyed a few rainy hikes to see the beautiful flora and hummingbirds. We also enjoyed exploring the other buildings on the property, including the unique, historic church, the greenhouses, the movie theatre, pool table room, and the dairy. We were able to participate in the milking and feeding of the cows, which was a fun and educational experience. Due to the remote nature, we stayed on site for dinner all three nights, which was fantastic! We thoroughly enjoyed the delicious meals with fresh, local meat and other foods made on the property - butters, sauces, bread, etc. Everything was above our expectations and we looked forward to our meal there each day. Additionally, the included breakfast was also fantastic and we could not get enough of the homemade jam. We had to leave early one morning for a COVID test and early on our check-out day and the staff was nice enough to prepare us to-go breakfast so we would not miss out on the meal. Overall, we could not recommend this place enough and the number one thing to rave about is the staff. We had the same few staff members throughout our stay attending to our housekeeping needs, our happy hour orders, and our meals. They were incredible! Their attention to detail, friendly demeanor, helpfulness, and general great attitude made us feel welcome, comfortable, and pleased with our stay. Our favorite server / bartender / Jack of all trades was extremely helpful and even planned a special dinner for us with specially chosen wine suggestions, a song playlist, etc. We could not have asked for better service! This was definitely the best place we stayed on our trip. If you're up for an adventure and looking for a remote location with some peace, quiet, amazing views, good food, and great service, please book your stay here!

This place is amazing. The staff are more accommodating and helpful than anywhere I've ever been. The resort itself is clean, well kept and absolutely breathtaking.
The only downside is that due to its seclusion, your options for dining are minimal without driving a significant distance. The only option is the on-site restaurant. The food is very high quality, but comes with a price to match. While this isn't a problem for some, it may be something to consider if you're traveling on a budget. With that being said, a lot of the food is grown and made on site, such as the bread, vegetables and cheese. Everything we had was delicious.

I also need to mention one of the staff members there by name who made our stay just that much better. Julio, in the restaurant, greeted us with a smile every time we saw him, he seemed to have such a positive attitude and passion for customer service.

Catherine also too us on a very beautiful and educational bird watching home, which my SO and I very much enjoyed.

I went with my wife to Villa Blanca, looking for a relaxing experience and that is what we exactly got from the Hotel. The personnel is very kind and help us with everything we need, no matter the hour or the ask. We loved the day walk we had, connecting more with the nature, the visit to the vivarium was very educative and funny, same as the visit to the dairy. The restaurant offers a very tasty options, we loved everything we tried.
We loved the experience at the spa too, the massage therapists were very kind.
It will be good to have a convenience store, in case a customer requires some basic stuffs like sunblock, a gift, or some sort of Aid things like toothbrush, floss, etc.

Villa Blanca was amazing! The facilities and lodges are in superb shape. The lodge and restaurant staff were extremely professional and very nice people. We traveled with an infant, not an easy thing, and they were all very kind in making accommodations and flexing to the different needs and schedule an infant demands. We really enjoyed our guided hike with Esteban on the reserve grounds, he was knowledgeable and personable. And of course, the natural beauty and views were simply stunning!

For the first time I used a travel agent to book our trip CR (our second time going), because the deal when CR reopened on Nov 1st 2020 was incredibly cheap. Villa Blanca was our 3rd and last stop after an amazing vacation thus far. I will honestly admit Villa Blanca would not of been a resort I would of ever chosen if I was self-booking my trip. Reason being is the wife and I who travel quite often like to be in the thick of things, near the town where various restaurants and bars are plentiful, where there is several adventures and experiences to choose from. We basically like to "hit the ground running" as soon as we drop off our luggage in our rooms, and spend our entire vacation just trying to see it all.

Don't get me wrong we love doing it our way, so when we knew we were going to Villa Blanca it was "sure it'll be different different experience for us." An indeed it was totally different from anything we are use too. Simply put when it took a road to get there (5mi took 30min) that you really don't want to travel on again till you leave, the feeling of feeling secluded and isolated from the world, no noise pollution (cars, motorcycles, etc), just the sound of nature is all you here, with two rocking chairs in front of your little cabin. Well all I can say is that this resort in a sense forces you to stop, relax, and re-group things in your mind and get your thoughts straight. It's something I don't experience often in my life and to do it for 3-days straight well that just may of never happen in my lifetime.

The resort is laid out beautifully and I love the simplicity of it. I enjoyed our cabin/accommodations and the use of the fire place at night, being able to have a front porch with our rocking chairs, shower/bathroom was huge and the bed was extremely comfy. We spent our time walking up to the dairy farm to see the few cows, walking along the trails around the ground, checking out the hummingbirds and chapel, and lastly taking the night tour getting to see reptiles and insects in their natural habitat.

Also the wife bought me a massage at the spa, as she said "I deserve it for planning the adventures we went on in CR." The massage was amazing, in-fact I pretty sure I doze off a few times. Only thing I wasn't sure about is that my wife said they didn't offer couples massage, yet there was a second massage table in the room. Perhaps they were just short staff that day, but I never did inquire further as to why.

We also spent our time with Julio (bartender/waiter). The wife and I always say were all ways talking to just each other, lets get out and learn about others in this world and Julio was just that amazing person to get to know. In fact the wife and I only shared one breakfast in the dinning room, our other meals including two dinners was spent with Julio just learning about his culture and his selection of Costa Rican liquors/drinks. We also got some excellent tips from Julio on where to go in San Ramon on or way back for lunch and photo opportunities.

Simply put this resort allowed me to experience pure relaxation while feeling I was in the clouds during the day, and feeling I could touch the moon and stars at night.

Absolutely beautiful resort! Highly recommend if you are looking for; beautiful resort, lovely and spacious rooms/villas, gorgeous landscaping and views, friendly staff, on site activities, away from the city, view of Arenal volcano, delicious food created with ingredients from onsite garden... the list could go on and on.
I think it's worth the mention that the road to get here is a bit long, bumpy and can take you 15-20 minutes off the highway just to get to the resort, but VERY MUCH worth the drive. The resort is about an hour from San Jose International airport. There are restaurants and shopping within about a 30 minute drive (remember, it can take 15 minutes just to get to the main road from resort).
On the property they have hiking trails, hummingbird walks, cows you can milk, gorgeous views in every direction, a movie theater, small game room for the kids and much more. On clear days you can see the volcano from the property. It isn't called 'Cloud Forrest" for nothing, most days there is a low cloud cover around the resort and visibility isn't far, but it's the close up that will take your breath away so you don't mind the clouds.
Our experience: We visited the first week of December 2020. The resort had just recently opened up again after being closed due to COVID-19. The first night we were one of only two rooms booked. The staff was so friendly and attentive (who else did they have to check on, right?). We stayed in a villa. The room was sparkling clean (we know because we brought our own cleaning stuff due to the pandemic), we wiped down all light switches, door handles, nightstands, remotes, bathroom, etc. and were pleasantly surprised to see our cleaning towels clean after wiping everything down. Room service and fresh lines were offered every day, but we chose not to have them come in. Continental breakfast was included in our booking ; homemade bread, fresh jams (pineapple & blackberry) and a good sized plate of fruit provided. Coffee and Orange juice as well. Everything was delicious! I highly recommend asking for two servings of the jams! So good! We ate dinner at the resort two evenings and it was scrumptious both times. The menu changes depending on what is available. Everything we had was fresh and delicious; steak, chicken, pasta, vegetables, mashed potatoes. So good!
I can’t say enough good things about this place. On our trip we stayed at three different resorts and this was by far our favorite. The views alone are everything! But on top of that you have a super friendly staff (everyone we came in contact with on the property was so friendly and spoke great English), cozy and clean rooms, walking trails right outside your room, fresh and delicious food. If I could rate it 10 stars, I would. If you are thinking about booking this resort, think no more. Do it! You won’t regret it.

We went for a wine tasting and pairing experience. It was amazing. We felt our tastpuds travel to Italy, Chile, France and Spain. Sitting on a world travel table with excellent live music that took most our senses to enjoy the experience.
And the lodge looks amazing. Peaceful, and authentic.

Beautiful yet somewhat remote resort. The helpful and knowledgeable staff members are what really make Villa Blanca stand out. We decided to stay on site while we were there rather than take the winding semi-paved roads back and forth daily and we weren’t disappointed. There was enough to do to keep us leisurely occupied including time at the spa and nightly nature walks. If you keep your eyes open, there are many opportunities to view birds, pisote, moths and butterflies regularly.

I think this might be my new favorite hotel. Our delux casita was cozy and comfortable. I initially laughed when I saw the wood burning fireplace in our room because... It's Costa Rica, who needs a fireplace? But you're up in the mountains where it's much cooler and we definitely ended up lighting ours to stay cozy and warm! The staff were all wonderful and Julio in the restaurant was especially friendly and helpful. The food is great, but not cheap. They grow a lot of their own produce to use in the restaurant. The views from this place are breathtaking and don't forget to go down and help milk the cows in the morning! It was the first time I've ever tried fresh, still warm milk from a cow. The bird tour with Katherine in the morning was informative and fun. Overall, a really wonderful experience and we would both stay here again and recommend it to anyone looking for a great spot to stay.

Beautiful, peaceful resort. Food is delicious and service outstanding. We loved the fireplace in the bedroom to take the chill off. Road to resort is long, winding and bumpy with potholes but the drive is totally worth it.