Hotel Mango Valley
Seven cottages above Grecia with a heated saltwater pool, garden breakfast and birding trails, about 45 minutes from SJO
About this stay
Hotel Mango Valley is a small hillside property in Carbonal, a farming area of San Roque above Grecia, 300 m before the Pipasa plant. The hotel gives Grecia's centre as about 7 km and 10 minutes away, Poás Volcano as 45 minutes, the Else Kientzler Botanical Garden 20, the Los Chorros waterfalls 30, and both Doka coffee estate and La Paz Waterfall Gardens 50. Juan Santamaría airport is about 45 minutes by car, and a local bus and taxis run down to Grecia.
All seven cottages have a full kitchenette, in four styles: Mariposa, with two twin beds; Colibrí, with a queen; Poás, with a dining room and a private balcony; and Morpho, with a queen bed, a jacuzzi and a balcony, the last two adding a rice cooker and an air fryer. The saltwater pool is heated, open from 6:00 to 21:00 and lit after dark. Self-guided trails cross the grounds, where the hotel counts up to 26 bird species, and massages can be booked in the cottage. The hotel runs on solar power and parking is free.
- In Carbonal, San Roque, about 7 km (10 minutes) above Grecia's centre
- About 45 minutes by car from both SJO airport and Poás Volcano
- Seven cottages in four styles, all with a full kitchenette
- Heated saltwater pool open from 6:00 to 21:00, lit in the evening
- Full breakfast included, served in the garden
- Guest score of 9.0 from 488 reviews
Our take
Cabin 5, one of the two Poás cottages, is the only one with a double futon beside its queen bed, and the saltwater pool is heated and open until 21:00. Carbonal is about 45 minutes from Juan Santamaría airport, so I would use it for the first night after an evening landing, or the last before an early flight. It suits couples, birders and families with a rental car who want quiet and a swim after dark. Every cottage has a full kitchenette, which matters here: the hotel's website lists no dinner service, and Grecia's restaurants are 7 km down the hill. Without a car, a local bus or a taxi covers Grecia, but Poás, Sarchí and the waterfalls need one. Guests score it 9.0 from 488 reviews.
- ✓Poás Volcano is about 45 minutes away, and its tickets are sold only online through SINAC, in timed entry slots with a daily cap and no sales at the gate; they are not refunded when cloud hides the crater, so buy yours before you leave.
- ✓Sarchí is about 15 minutes away: the Joaquín Chaverri oxcart factory, working since 1902, lets visitors watch the painters and try a design themselves, a good outing for a rainy afternoon.
- ✓For a taxi back up from Grecia, give the hotel's own directions: across from the last bus stop, on the right, a red gate, then 200 m downhill.
- ✓In Grecia, stop at the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes in the town centre, a red church assembled from riveted Belgian steel plates in the late nineteenth century.
- ✓Los Chorros waterfalls are about 30 minutes away, and the hotel puts Arenal at two and a half to three hours, which makes Carbonal a workable first stop between the airport and La Fortuna.
Why we love it
- Breakfast in the garden with the coffee fields below
- A heated pool you can still swim in after dark
- Self-guided trails with up to 26 bird species
Why guests love itFor a family, the cottage to ask for is Poás 5, the only one with a double futon beside the queen bed, plus a dining room and a balcony; Mariposa, with two twin beds, works for one parent and one child, and every cottage has a full kitchenette. The heated saltwater pool stays open until 21:00 and is lit in the evening, which helps after a day in the car. Breakfast is included and served in the garden, and the self-guided trails and a bird list of up to 26 species give children something to look for. The best outings are short: the Else Kientzler Botanical Garden is about 20 minutes away, the Sarchí oxcart workshops about 15, La Paz Waterfall Gardens about 50. Teenagers who want a beach or evening life will find little to do. Without a car, a local bus or a taxi covers the 7 km to Grecia, but every other outing needs one.