Review: Tifakara Boutique Hotel

With its lush, jungly grounds, this property feels a world away – but it’s only a 10-minute drive from La Fortuna’s bustling center

TLDR: Why stay at Tifakara Boutique Hotel?

Tifakara Boutique Hotel offers the best of both worlds: it’s a nature lover’s paradise bursting with lush flora and fauna, with the modern conveniences of a boutique property and easy access to La Fortuna and its environs.

The tiniest touches – outdoor showers outfitted with luxe rain shower heads, a complimentary frog-spotting tour of the grounds, and all-day coffee and cookie service – take the guest experience from good to great.

Keep reading for our first impressions, along with detailed reviews of the guest rooms, surroundings, service, food and drink, amenities, and more.

Set the scene. Give us your first impressions.

Our driver picked us up in San Jose early on a Sunday morning, eager to get on the road before traffic picked up. We had the enormous van to ourselves – we’d booked a private transfer with Ride CR – and happily connected to the van’s wifi, chatted with our driver, and settled into the leather captain’s chairs.

Over the course of the next 3 hours, the landscape became increasingly jungly and hilly. Soon enough, we caught our first glimpse of Arenal Volcano in the distance. Our driver told us how the volcano – long thought by locals to be dormant – had unexpectedly erupted in 1968, spewing rocks, lava and ash over 5.8 square miles and burying 3 small villages.

As we passed through La Fortuna town, we made a pit stop at the Seven Tours office to make arrangements for river tubing and the Arenal One Day combo tour (which would take us to the Mistico Hanging Bridges, Rio Fortuna waterfall and the 1968 lava fields).

Finally, we turned onto Diagonal 301 – a winding two-lane road dotted with farms, small resorts, and the occasional art gallery. Within about 10 minutes, we turned into Tifakara Boutique Hotel’s gravel parking lot, unloaded our luggage, and said goodbye to our driver.

As we made our way past a burbling fountain and under a pergola dripping with trumpet vines in full bloom, it became clear that we were in a tropical paradise. We made our way past the lobby’s elegant arched colonnades and towards the reception desk, where the staff greeted us warmly. While our room wouldn’t be ready for another hour, we were welcome to lounge by the pool.

We promptly changed into swimsuits and left our luggage with the receptionist. Within minutes, we were enjoying the jacuzzi and sipping piña coladas, feeling especially grateful to have traded in Chicago’s chilly, grey spring for this verdant, tropical oasis.

Tell us about the rooms. How did you sleep?

The rooms at Tifakara Boutique Hotel range from basic with no frills to deluxe bungalows, complete with private balconies and luxe outdoor showers. We stayed in a Premium Quadruple Room, which was kitted out with two queen-sized beds, a spacious indoor seating area, a private covered balcony, and an outdoor shower with a luxurious rain shower head.

The interior furnishings are simple and tasteful – think crisp white linens and rattan bed frames. But the views from each room are the real draw – the dense jungle foliage offers total privacy, not to mention a front-row seat for bird watching (we saw toucans diving into the canopy on multiple occasions).

It’s not an exaggeration to say that the guest rooms at Tifakara Boutique Hotel are in the jungle, rather than near the jungle – so be prepared to hear chirping birds and other jungly sounds throughout your stay. If you’re a light sleeper, bring ear plugs. Similarly, don’t forget to close the doors to both the outdoor shower and the bathroom – especially at night – to keep bugs from getting into your room. We kept flip-flops by our beds as makeshift fly swatters.

What’s the surrounding area like?

From Tifakara Boutique Hotel, it’s just a 6-minute walk to one of La Fortuna’s must-see attractions: the Rio Fortuna waterfall, where you’ll descend (and later ascend) upwards of 530 steps to get to the waterfall’s base, where you can swim, take photos and relax.

The property is also just a short, 10-minute drive from La Fortuna’s city center – but if you’re not renting a car (we didn’t), don’t despair. We got around town via a mix of taxis, Ubers, and tours with complimentary pick-ups and drop-offs included (a very common offering among tour operators in Costa Rica). If you find a taxi driver you like, it’s wise to get their card and save their WhatsApp number.

One final note: while it is theoretically possible to walk from Tifakara into central La Fortuna, we wouldn’t recommend it for safety reasons. The roads outside of the city center are narrow and winding, with no shoulder or sidewalks – which doesn’t stop vans, trucks and minibuses from whipping around corners and blind curves. It’s worth waiting for a taxi.

How was the service?

The service was warm, attentive and accommodating. We particularly appreciated the staff’s invitations to hang by the pool before check-in and after check-out, which made waiting for transfers far less of a headache.

Also worth noting: the concierge can coordinate a broad range of excursions and activities for your stay in La Fortuna (including private or shared transport to your next destination).

Tell us about the food and drink options.

At Tifakara, every booking includes breakfast in the nightly rate. Luckily, there’s not a breakfast buffet in sight – every item on the menu is made-to-order, and to great effect. We especially loved the Montecristo sandwich, a cheese, turkey and ham sandwich wrapped with delicate layers of egg and spices, and finished off with fresh blackberry compote and a fuchsia hibiscus bloom.

The property is also home to the Bosque Restaurant & Bar, where we ate dinner both nights during our stay. From 12pm to 3pm, the kitchen serves up a range of light bites – think quesadillas, burgers and tacos. The dinner menu is available from 3pm onward, offering up a range of pastas and risottos, fish (Emily raved about the crusted queen sea bass) and steak.

And of course, there’s an extensive cocktail menu (also available for poolside service). Don’t sleep on the piña coladas.

The cherry (er… cookie) on top? All-day coffee and cookies, available in the lobby. We made a nightly ritual of grabbing hot chocolate and a handful of cookies before retiring to our room for the evening.

A final note on food and drink: If you’re staying at Tifakara for only a night or two, the menus offer enough variety that you won’t get bored with onsite dining. If your stay stretches beyond 3 nights, you’ll likely want to venture off-property for some meals to keep things interesting.

On a scale from 1 to heavenly, how do the amenities stack up?

The amenities at Tifakara certainly fit with the tropical paradise vibe. The pool area is, to put it simply, stunning – with dense jungle foliage surrounding it on three sides, majestic views of Arenal Volcano, and plenty of tasteful design details (think rattan lounge chairs, glittering blue floor tiles and smooth pebble edging around the pool’s rough slate waterline tiling). The poolside bar service certainly doesn’t hurt, either.

Our other favorite amenity? The complimentary evening frog tour. At 7pm each night, guests are invited to join a free guided tour of the hotel’s gardens – which, as it turns out, are specifically cultivated to appeal to all manner of tropical frogs. If you’re even the tiniest bit squeamish, it’s best to wear closed-toe shoes during the frog tour – and keep an eye out for snakes!

Finally, while we didn’t partake during our time at Tifakara, the property also offers an extensive menu of in-room massages. Pricing is exceptionally reasonable compared to many hotel spas, with rates for 60-minute massages starting at $85 USD.

Anything else we should know?

Most travel guides recommend renting a car when visiting Costa Rica – which in our experience, is absolutely not necessary. Tifakara Boutique Hotel was the perfect home base during our time in La Fortuna – it had everything we needed onsite (including a restaurant and bar) and we found it easy to get around town without our own vehicle.

For more details on seeing Costa Rica without a rental car, check out the 1-week, car-free itinerary that we followed.

The verdict: Would you stay at Tifakara Boutique Hotel again?

A thousand times yes. The gorgeous grounds alone are cause for a return trip. Book your stay.

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