Hotel Heroes, "La pequeña Helvecia" | Informal Campsite

March 9th, 2024 by 3weltreisen.de

we passed it yesterday in the afternoon, seems closed, no car, nobody, directly on mainroad, looks like Allgäu Hauses, nice

July 21st, 2023 by silvo0794

arrived at 6:30pm, electric gate is closed, no-one in sight, can't stay, forced to keep going

December 20th, 2022 by desertfalcon

We stopped by here but decided not to stay overnight. Restaurant is closed. If you call ahead they may possibly prepare gulasch for you. The train is closed for maintenance, the restaurant on the hill is closed for repairs. As a result, it is staying on a parking lot (no shade) of a basically closed hotel/restaurant.

March 24th, 2022 by annendhai

This place is so nice. I mean you stay on the parking lot of the hotel but this is ok. You can use the pool, they have toilets but the shower is only outside by the pool. It looks like Switzerland, with cows and typical Chaletstil Houses. The Restaurant serve typical meals for resonable prices. You can take a walk up to the top to see the Vulcano Arenal. Therebis a Restaurant too but it is under reconstruction and reopen hopefully soon. We where charged 15 US$ a night.

March 22nd, 2022 by Everlanders.com

Ended up staying here a bit over a month due to a fractured ankle. Rented a small apartment for 1200usd for the month to allow room to make some improvements to the camper. During our stay, other campers arrived and were charged $15 a night per car. I'd suggest sending her a WhatsApp message to confirm availability and pricing +506 8813 9607

February 22nd, 2022 by Everlanders.com

...Not permanently closed. Lovely place as others already said.

December 27th, 2020 by joannaelampa

This place is permanently closed.

February 26th, 2020 by fred+emmy

Very good place to stay. Clean restrooms and outdoor cold shower. nice swimming pool, WiFi, good restaurant, potable water and very quiet. Everything is for free of course we have eaten a few times in the resto.

November 9th, 2019 by kaladeviaje

Like description said huge parking site, pool, bathrooms, outdoor shower and very fast Wi-Fi, all for free, no questions just enjoy it. You can eat at restaurant or volunteer to say thanks. Quiet and friendly stuff.

Cómo dice la descripción un gran parqueo, piscina, baños ducha al aire libre e Internet muy rápido todo gratis, ninguna pregunta sólo disponible para disfrutarlo. Puedes comer en el restaurante o ser voluntario en alguna labor cómo agradecimiento. Un lugar tranquilo y el personal muy amable.

November 3rd, 2019 by fogalera75

Nice place and amazing owners. He is from Swiss and she is Tica. They love travelers. You can park overnight at the lower parking level. Still for free. You can use bathrooms, shower and pool for free as well. We just used bathrooms. Staff are very friendly and the food at the restaurant is really good. A bit pricey though. Pura Vida!

September 19th, 2019 by turas_mara

We were here 3 nights and highly recommend this perfect place. We were lucky and saw tuscans on the propriety

August 2nd, 2019 by vanpanam.com

Great place- flat, secure/safe parking, good WiFi, nice outdoor area and outdoor bathrooms and free!

June 8th, 2019 by TheMarnieHut

Great spot! Free and you can use the super nice pool, use bathrooms and outdoor shower, fill water tank. Super fast wifi, plenty of room for any size rig. We were there on a weekend and the train was working. We went up to the rotating restaurent and had lunch. Great view, cool unique experience.

May 23rd, 2019 by piperflies

We LOVED this place!! Spent two nights here and ate at the restaurant twice- great Hungarian goulash and the chocolate mousse was amazing! Hiked to the rotating restaurant as the train was not running- fantastic views!! The staff was super friendly and helpful- we got to plug in our house battery next to the reception area, WiFi, pool, bathrooms and the cattle dogs loved our dogs. What a slice of Swiss heaven!!

April 23rd, 2019 by vantastiks

Silena and Franz are our new heroes! So very friendly and welcoming!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

We could stay for free (yes, really!!) and use all amenities (WC, swimming pool, Wifi, cold shower, parking).
We enjoyed their property so much! Not only does it look and feel exactly like Switzerland (we’re Swiss), but there was also so much to discover around. We saw Toucans and Coatis and enjoyed the little hike up along the train trails with a marvellous view!

To show them our gratitude, we ate at the restaurant several times. Don’t miss the excellent “mousse au chocolat” and the incredible “apple pie”.
🌟A MUST FOR ALL OVERLANDERS 🌟

April 21st, 2019 by rocketodiaries

Amazing place. You can park for free and use Wi-Fi and bathrooms. We recommend to buy something at the restaurant, it can be a dessert or coffee (the mousse au chocolat is incredible) the owner is very nice. Highly recommended.

April 18th, 2019 by gaeltristanvoyagent.wordpress.com

Everything is as described.

The place is charming, and they allow you to use their parking, pool, toilets, shower (by the pool), wifi, for FREE! No questions asked!

Make sure to use their restaurant as a thank you!

The surroundings are great too, you can have a walk to the mirador (1h max going and back) or use their train, go to the lake...
A perfect spot to stay for the night!

March 27th, 2019 by yspacov

Great place to stay a couple of days. It's like a Swiss village in the middle of Costa Rica. The owner Silena and her son run the place built by her deceased husband.
They raise milk cows, have a train that takes you to the top of the property where you have a beautiful view from a restaurant. Lots of birds, bathroom, swimming pool and cold shower. The german/swiss food from their restaurant is very good and has an affordable price.
We recommend!

February 2nd, 2019 by Isabel Gariepy

Spent 3 days here, absolutely charming. It is exactly like in Switzerland. FREE stay.

There is a dairy farm with switzerland cows. I offered my help a little to the farm to learn more about the production. The milk is real good and the person there is really happy to receive help.
There is a train tour (homemade train by the family - pretty impressive) that brings you 2 miles up the mountains to a rotative restaurant, the view is really impressive if not to much cloud,10$/pp for the train.
We stayed for free, we ate at the restaurant to thanks them and could use the toilet, the pool, the cold outside shower by the pool... Everybody is so nice. And we met other regular traveler that comes here every year, super good times.
If you want more info about activities around, the girl in front desk really happy to help.

They speak a little english.

Pura vida.

July 24th, 2018 by vismaplanete.com

Dans la propriété des hôtes, vaste parking sur les hauteurs du Lac Arenal, pour toute taille de véhicule.
Les hôtes sont très hospitaliers et généreux, ils accueillent gratuitement les voyageurs du monde entier pour une ou plusieurs nuits. Cela comprend le wifi, l’eau, les douches, les toilettes et l’électricité dans le restaurant pour ceux qui ont besoin de recharger du matériel. Vous pouvez y consommer un petit quelque chose histoire de remercier.

May 27th, 2018 by offroad-travelers.com

Nice place to camp, the people are very friendly, you may use the pool, WiFi, toilets and outdoor shower.
Water tap is at the parking lot.
We stayed two nights and ate two times, delicious!

February 24th, 2018 by bicitours.blogspot.com

Amazing place. Hiking to the second restaurant, 3 km up hill, will give you a nice overview of the volcano and the lake. Doing it by the privately owned narrow gauge railway seems quite an event too. They are riding the train only once a day.

March 25th, 2017 by accidentalmotorcyclist.org

Great place to stay. They let us camp in their carpark no problem at all (between a couple of boats). Have a reasonably priced restaurant and staff very friendly.

December 23rd, 2016 by Christener

Stay here over night for free, bathroom, pool, shower at the pool, everything clean, nice and frendly service. Good and original food in the restaurant. Swiss feeling and wonderful costa rica countryside.

March 24th, 2016 by manuelweber

free, parking lot just next to the hostel, water tap near by, clean toilets, cold shower at the swimming pool, restaurant is a bit more expensive but has great food, also have a look at the restaurant on top of the mountain

March 18th, 2016 by reisephant.blogspot.ca

Parking lot of hotel and restaurant. Wifi, pool. Free if you eat in restaurant.

July 1st, 2012 by henryreisen.ch

Good place to overnight in the car park. Swimming pool can be used. Toilet by the pool. It also has a shower with cold water in the pool. Quiet at night. Trial, we have eaten in the restaurant.

To Nuevo Arenal, about 11 km