Poas Volcano Lodge

Poas Volcano Lodge, in the cloud forest at Varablanca

Poas Volcano Lodge is a small mountain lodge in Varablanca, Heredia, on the edge of the cloud forest and next to a working dairy farm, a few km from Poas Volcano National Park and about 45 minutes from the San José airport. There is no lodging inside the park, so this is where we like our clients to sleep the night before the crater, when the morning is usually clearest. It suits couples and families who want character, quiet and a fire in the evening more than a big resort.

Why we choose it

• The closest good bed to the volcano. You are a few km from the park gate, so you can be at the crater early instead of fighting the traffic up from San José.
• Rooms with their own names and character. Each room is named after a bird or a flower and decorated on its own, in stone and wood, which makes it feel like a country house.
• Volcano views from the main house. Three of the Superior rooms have balconies looking toward Poas, worth asking for when you book.

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Rooms and views

The Superior rooms are in the main building and carry bird names: Tanager, Hummingbird, Oriole, Toucanet, Quetzal and Jacamar. Three of them have balconies toward the Poas Volcano, and the others look over the gardens and the cloud forest.

The Standard Garden rooms sit in the gardens off the main house, named after flowers: Passiflora, Orchid, Amaryllis, Heliconia and Ginger. They are cozy and closer to the grounds, a good choice if you like to step straight out into the garden in the morning.

On the property

The lodge is built around its common rooms. The main living room has a large fireplace, there is a library and a games room, and dinner is at the Bromelia Restaurant, so the evenings are spent indoors with other guests when the mist comes in. Outside there are trails through the gardens and the forest edge. The lodge can arrange a massage after a day out, and it runs guided tours and transport, which is handy for the volcano, the waterfalls and the coffee farms of the area.

Location and getting there

Varablanca is high in the mountains between Heredia and Alajuela, a few km from the national park and close to La Paz Waterfall Gardens. It makes a good first or last night of a trip, since you are about 45 minutes from the airport, and one or two nights is enough for most people before heading on to Arenal or Sarapiquí. See more about the Poas Volcano.

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