Tabacon Hot Springs, La Fortuna de San Carlos

The springs are nice, and the food was good. Once you pay the entrance fee, you can go pretty much where you want within the springs, which was nice. That being said, there were a couple of annoying things about the experience. First, parking is really chaotic. They have folks trying to direct traffic, but I ended up driving past the place and making a u-turn because I couldn't figure out where to go. Second, I felt like I got ripped off at the lunch. The lunch is included, but someone came by and asked if we would like anything else to drink, so we asked for two diet cokes. At the end of our lunch, the server dropped off a bill for $10: $5 per each bottle of diet coke. I guess shame on me for not asking if it was included and how much extra it would be, but it really felt like they were taking advantage of people who were too ignorant to ask. Just for comparison, I stopped at a little place on the way to La Fortuna and got two meals and two bottles of water for about the same price. I get that those are nit-picky things, but it's also a very pricey place. I probably wouldn't go back if I was ever in this part of Costa Rica again.

Magical place. Nicely manicured gardens. A wonderful river of hot springs with areas to explore and soak. Food at restaurant is the best in the area. The other local hot springs don't come close.