First Impression: Tabacon certainly lives up to its reputation. Stunning property surrounded by the rainforest. This is one of the most relaxing stays I’ve ever encountered.
Length of Stay: We stayed three nights at Tabacon Resort & Spa at the start of our vacation.
Location & Accessibility: Located near Arenal Volcano, Tabacon is a 3 hour drive from Liberia Airport. We opted to stay near the airport after arriving into Costa Rica and began the drive to Tabacon during the day. I highly recommend doing the drive during the day if you aren’t familiar with driving in Costa Rica as the roads are windy with a lack of signage (good to have GPS). Plus it’s a very scenic drive so it’s great to enjoy the breathtaking views on the drive up. Once you get close to Tabacon you’ll see signs. It’s easy to stop at the first sign for the Spa but keep going father till you see a left turn into the Resort property.
Budget: We booked the “Take me to the Springs” package which included 3-night accommodation, welcome drink, daily breakfast at the restaurant, one dinner at the Ave del Paraiso Restaurant, $75 spa credit (per person), unlimited access to the Tabacon Thermal Hot Springs, complimentary access to Shangri-La Gardens, Wi-Fi, valet parking and more. In total, we paid $934.95 for the package.
Facilities: The property is stunning. The resort is higher up on the hill, so it’s a easy walk or shuttle ride down to the spa. The spa is absolutely stunning, I was more impressed with it in person than photos I’ve seen previously. There are a couple restaurants on-site but if you stay longer than 2 days you’ll want to explore the local restaurants around Arenal. We ended up taking advantage of the daily breakfast by the spa, then grabbing a quite lunch off-property near town, and either dinner at the hotel or in nearby towns. The Ave del Paraiso Restaurant was close by our room, very romantic setting with a wide range of choices for dinner and it was part of our package to have one night of dinner included.
Hospitality: The experience at Tabacon was very relaxing but it’s because of the hotel, amenities, and scenery. We felt welcomed during our stay but didn’t encounter the level of hospitality of other places we’ve stayed in Costa Rica. They didn’t make an effort to get to know you. It could be that the guests stay less nights than some of the other resorts. The highlight of our trip was housekeeping because every night they would do turn down service for our room and the shuttle drivers because they really made an effort to engage with guests during their stay.
Pool & Spa: The spa is really the driving force behind staying at Tabacon. From the photos I had a general idea of what to expect but actually seeing it in person is overwhelming. There are so many pools, coves, waterfalls, rivers, and relaxing spots to soak in that you could spend all day trying to experience all of them. After 3 days, we found our favorite spots after exploring the first day. Our package included the Shangri-La Garden access which offered relaxing sleeping/reading pods as well as less busy waterfalls, pools and rivers to wade through. I highly recommend going to the spa during the day to get familiar with the pools and waterfalls, but also going back to the spa at nighttime when it’s raining. It was just like a sound machine you turn on at sleep except you are fully immersed in the experience and sounds in the dark.
The best part of the hot springs is visiting the spa if you have a chance to book yourself a spa treatment during your stay. The $75 spa credit in our package came in handy as we booked ourselves body wraps. The pineapple and aloe wrap sounded amazing as it combines my love of pineapples with a massage followed by a wrap. After you check in for your appt, you’ll meet your masseuse and make your way through a forest to your outdoor spa experience. Yep, it’s outdoors in a open-air hut next to streams of water. It’s the most serene, relaxing, massage experience I’ve ever encountered and I wish I had known sooner how great it really was! After the body wrap, you wash off in a hot springs fed hot tub completely in the open (but private). It’s incredible. My skin was glowing for days after the body wrap.
Room Layout: We booked the Orchid room which has two queen beds, a lounging area with couch, desk, and bathroom amenities. The bathroom is spacious with a big walk in shower that you could even have the window to the room open if you wanted to put on a show. The rooms were air conditioned which helped with the humidity. Outside of each room had umbrella racks which came in handy during the rainstorms. The room style was very clean and updated. The bed linens were super soft and the bed mattresses were very comfortable. I loved that the housekeeping did turn down service for our room each night, putting slippers out and towel art for us to enjoy.
On-Site Amenities: Tabacon Resort & Spa major amenity is the spa and thermal hot springs on the property that you have access to during your stay. Additional amenities are breakfast buffet, welcome cocktail, in-room coffee and tea, nightly turn down service, wi-fi internet access and valet parking. The daily breakfast was really great as there were many options for breakfast each day and you could fill up on food before going on your excursions near Arenal Volcano.
Overall Impression: Tabacon lived up to its reputation for being a really amazing hotel in the rainforest. The hot springs really make your visit extraordinary and relaxing. I would highly recommend staying here for at least 1-2 nights during your visit as it’s really nice to enjoy the hot springs during the day and night for the full experience. Definitely explore the nearby areas as there’s some beautiful spots to visit within driving distance from the hotel.
Orchid Hotel Room with two queen beds 
Relaxing view of the hot springs 
Arriving into Arenal Volcano with a view 
So many spots to sit and relax 
Housekeeping was on point during our stay 
Under the waterfall 
Bring a book and find a spot to curl up 
Morning buffet at the restaurant 
Turndown service each night
Review Disclosure: I booked this hotel using personal funds with no discount or gifts from the hotel.
