Koora Monteverde a Cloud Forest Hotel by Sandglass

The breakfast was good. Resteraunt was overpriced for the food quality.

La vista espectacular.

Las habitaciones, la piscina.

The hotel is great and staff are all super nice an helpful. The views from the restaurant and balconies are top notch and is great for birdwatching. The plunge pool was great to come back to after a day of exploring. Food was fantastic. The wine and cheese board on arrival for our honeymoon was an unbelievable touch, thank you so much for that! Bed was so comfy and shower was fantastic.

My main annoyance was breakfast on our last day. Every morning for breakfast you get a french press coffee, which is nice. However, on our last day, my wife asked for a cappuccino. To which there was an extra cost, this blew my mind anyway in a 5* hotel that I had to pay extra for a cappuccino. Anyway, I asked for a black coffee, thinking it would be the normal french press. I received a bill at the end for $11 and I'd been charged for my black coffee/americano. I contested it and was told if it was from the coffee machine, that it is charged. So i essentially paid $5 for less of the same coffee that I would have originally received for free.... how does that makes sense? I was shocked that they wouldn't remove it from the bill. Some other stuff: - Our plunge pool kept emptying a quarter, it happened like 2/3 times in our stay and I had to inform the staff - The temperature was also way too hot most of the time, but I did tell staff and someone came and made it cooler for us - I don't really understand the privacy policy of the place, the front of the entire bungalow is pretty much 80% glass. I was getting changed to get into the plunge pool and a member of staff walked around the corner and said hello. My wife was also getting changed but thankfully behind me. Now I'm sure it was more traumatising for the staff than me, but I'd assume the front of our bungalow would be private given how open it is, even the bathroom has an entire glass wall, if i'd been on the throne I'd have been helpless.

The staff is friendly, professional, and very well trained. Everyone we interacted with spoke excellent English. We also received an upgrade to a larger room because the hotel wasn’t totally full – this turned out to be very nice (we really appreciated it and thanked the hotel for this) because we ended up staying more time in the room than we’d expect due to weather conditions... and I think we planned for more days than necessary for Monteverde. We also had dinner at the hotel one evening. The food was good—certainly above the average quality we found in Monteverde. It is expensive (more on that below), but the execution and service were better than what you get in town.

The biggest issue isn't Koora itself—it's the perception of value. To be fair, this is a much broader Monteverde problem. To put things in context: we as a family travel frequently, from Aspen, Courchevel and Lech to adventure destinations like Torres del Paine. We spend more on those trips, yet the perceived value is dramatically higher. The issue isn't the absolute cost—this was actually one of our cheaper vacations. It's paying US$11 for a mediocre glass of hospitality quality wine, US$9 for a local beer, US$6 for an espresso, or US$30 for a simple chicken-and-rice meal. These aren't luxury restaurants; they're often very basic roadside places. Activities are similar: the zip-line parks are fun, but many cost about the same as a Disney ticket (note: Disney is not our vibe, but we've been and perception of value is way higher). Ironically, after seeing the prices elsewhere, Koora itself no longer felt expensive. In relative terms, it offers better value than many restaurants and activities in Monteverde. Our biggest disappointment at the hotel was breakfast. For a property of this caliber, limiting guests to a single menu item—and charging extra for virtually everything else, even cappuccinos (coffee and milks are the same ingredients!)—feels unnecessarily stingy. My wife ordered a fried egg, was still hungry, but decided against ordering another because it would have cost almost US$20 for two eggs. It left us with the impression that the hotel was trying to maximize every extra dollar rather than provide a premium experience. So cheap... A sauna or proper spa would also be a welcome addition given the hotel's positioning. The heated pool was pleasant, but relatively small for the number of rooms. Overall, Koora is one of the better hotels in Monteverde. But just come prepared: Monteverde is one of the most "expensive" (for the value) places I've ever been.