Name: Hummingbird Nest B&B
Address: El Castillo 50 mts West of Catholic Church, Alajuela, El Castillo, 21007, Costa Rica, El Castillo, El Castillo, El Castillo, 21007, Costa Rica
Rating: 8

Smoking areas

Smoke-free property

Garden

Terrace

Private check-in/check-out

Outdoor furniture

General

Bridal suite

Non-smoking rooms

Family room

Rooms

Laundry

Concierge services

Luggage storage

Services and amenities

Common kitchen

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Transfer services

Transfer

Spanish

English

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Library

Bike rental

Hiking

Fishing

Sun Deck

Recreation

Parking

Spa tub

Pool and beach

Massage

Beauty and wellness

Family/Kid Friendly

Kids

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the hotel

Fortuna Airport

Chacarita Airport

Upala Airport

Hummingbird Nest B&B

El Castillo

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

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king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

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6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

Our group of  experienced travelers dealt with accommodations that are much less than marketed on any of their sites. This is NOT a B&B. It is somewhat clean, but you will also share the open-air (door is broken) and common kitchen with one or two cats. One of the bathrooms has the litter box in the shower stall. Microwave, gas range and hottub are not working. Showers have individual water heaters on the showerheads with exposed wires. Not all of them work. The outdoor shower has a view of the garden area and included hot water. Broken railings on deck. This is not handicap accessible due to stairs and the need to walk on uneven ground or up a steep hill to access it. Enjoy the views, the calm and quiet of a beautiful village and rustic accommodations.

Amazing Views/Rustic Accommodations: Not what is marketed

I really wanted to like the Hummingbird nest, it is obvious that this guesthouse used to have a glorious not so distant past based on previous reviews. It is very cute, has a beautiful garden, well located in el Castillo BUT we had an unpleasant experience for the following reasons:

-There is no hostess on site. When we got there, Ellen, the owner, was in the US and apparently she will not be back before a while (we have been communicating with her via e-mail). The place is now transitioning into a vacation home rental. You could tell the guesthouse has had its high days given the attention to details in the decoration, but now it feels desolate. There is a nice local family that lives downstairs, they checked-us in and they were all trying to be helpful but their decision-making power is limited and they have to check everything with the Ellen. Being on your own may not be a problem unless issues come up, see below.

-	On the 2 days and half we stayed there, the power was cut for extended periods of time EVERY SINGLE day. When there is no electricity, there is obviously no WIFI, but even when there is electricity, the WIFI is not reliable and needs to be reset from time to time. It can only be reset from the living room which is locked. So every time the WIFI goes away, you have to go down the steep ramp to ask the concierge or a member of his family to come up and reset it. The power cuts were due to bad weather meaning constant rain and winds so it’s not really the hotel’s fault, however, for the price of the room, I was surprised the guesthouse did not have a generator similarly to some neighboring hotels. 

-	This is a bed and breakfast but somehow breakfast is not included in the room rate. Breakfast will cost you an extra $10 for 2 people, if offered. There was also a lot of confusion on whether we could have breakfast and other meals prepared for us to begin with (even paid).

-	Check the weather before coming to el Castillo, it can be miserable, especially in December (constant rain and strong winds, very limited view of the volcano) and there is no heating system in the guesthouse. The rooms get very cold at night due to the big windows and there is a constant draft. The blankets were thin and even adding layers didn’t help (a comforter would have been more useful during the cold months). I left with a runny nose and I am still battling a cold three days after getting back home. 

I am giving it an average rating since most of these issues-except for the meals- were strongly correlated with the unfortunate bad weather so we might have been out of luck. However, I was disappointed that the hotel lacked the necessary amenities (heat, generator) to deal with these issues. On a positive note, the concierge and his wife Yeimy tried their best to make our stay comfortable. They arranged a horse tour for us and when we mentioned we were cold at night, they showed us where the extra blankets were. Yeimy also kept the rooms cristal clean. The hotel is conveniently located between a soda (local restaurant) and a mini-market! However, keep in mind that El Castillo is very isolated and spread out and the dirt road leading up to it is very bumpy. There isn’t much to do after dark (and even less to do if the electricity is out).

Disappointed: Frequent power cuts, unreliable WIFI, breakfast not included, no heat

We enjoyed our stay. The owner went out of her way to be helpful with us and other staff was great. Our accommodations were very clean and suitable, another guest had leaks. The grounds are gorgeous and the views spectacular from the upper level. Rooms are on the ground level and while there aren't long-range views, we enjoyed the tropical foliage/flowers, and frequent hummingbirds outside our windows. The road to El Castillo is horrible, absolutely horrible (just be aware you must drive very slowly) and we found signage to be poor to the B&B. Once you get there, there is a steep, switchbacking concrete path to reach the building, and we found it very slick and treacherous, especially with the constant rain. There is an option to get a bit closer by driving through another property and parking (if you can find a spot) in a nearby lot, but seriously only if you're really determined. The walk up, although steep, is beautifully landscaped with a wonderful collection of tropical gingers, heliconias, and other gorgeous lush botannicals, so if you are fit and active, you won't mind a bit. Breakfast was adequate and the dining room was super cozy with a pictuesque view. The hot tub was a wonderful option since it was rainy and chilly the days were were there. We'd definitely return.

Beautiful Setting, Great Hot Tub, Not for Those with Limited Mobility

We would like to mention that Ellen has not sold the B&B as stated in an earlier review and she is still there. 

We arrived to find spotlessly clean bedrooms and bathrooms and plenty of hot water.

The huge panoramic windows in the rooms gave a fantastic view of the garden. One minor niggle is that the curtains didn't completely meet across the width of the window, which wasn't a problem for our group as we all knew each other but if you were not with the other room, it could be awkward.  Ellen was charming and gave us all the information we needed.  

Breakfast was freshly prepared fresh fruit, cereals, yoghurt and breads and both mornings, there was a different cooked option - pancakes one morning and fried plantain & sausage the next. 

We splashed out and ate at Fusion restaurant next door the first night, which does great (and large) pizza for $14. We had leftovers so with the in-room fridge gave us lunch for the following day. We are at the soda at the bottom of the path the following night and had a great meal of casados and fajitas. Typical CR food; Basic and cheap but very tasty. 

The hot tub was amazing and we stayed in until after dark and enjoyed watching the fireflies dance through the sky. 

The river/bridge a stones throw away made a nice spot to sit for an hour and watch the bird life go about their business. 

One other thing to mention is that the walk from the car park to HN is quite steep and long and if you are unfit or unable to cope with luggage and hills, you might want to drive further up the hill to the fusion restaurant and use their parking area to drop off/load bags. 

El Castillo itself is very quiet but it's a great gateway for Arenal and La Fortuna. The road is very hard going on the way there (but clearly not something Hummingbird Nest can control!) but persevere and you'll find a great place to stay.

Great Place To Stay

A far cry from a trendy or chain hotel, this B&B gets high marks for it's tropical setting and amazing volcano views!  If you are looking for an authentic stay in a rainforest paradise you'll find it here!  My favorite thing was sitting on the upstairs porch looking out at the impossible view of arenal volcano.

Hummingbird Nest B&B

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