The Springs Resort Hot Springs: Pools, Passes and Club Río

Mineral-Fed and Chlorinated Pools, Mixed

The Springs does not sit on a natural thermal river the way Tabacón does. Its pools are constructed basins, and the water source is a mix. Some pools are fed directly by pumped mineral-spring water, and the rest are chlorinated but heated. Sources report a temperature range of roughly 83 to 104°F (28 to 40°C) across the system, though this figure comes from third-party blogs and is not confirmed on the resort's own site. The resort does not publish a per-pool temperature breakdown, so treat the range as reported, not official.

That split matters if you care about water purity. If a natural free-flowing river is the whole point of your trip, The Springs will disappoint. The venues with actual running river water are Tabacón, the free river at El Choyín and the river channel at Hot Springs Pura Vida. Everything else in the area, The Springs included, is a constructed pool filled with geothermally heated water drawn from the Arenal volcano system.

Where the Heat Comes From

All the hot springs around La Fortuna share one source. Water is heated underground by the Arenal volcanic system and surfaces through natural springs and rivers, most famously the Tabacón river. Resorts either channel that water directly or pump it into built pools.

The Springs pumps and blends it, which is why the pool temperatures vary and why some pools feel warmer than others. The average air temperature in La Fortuna runs about 75°F (22°C) annually, with daytime highs between 73 and 88°F (23 and 31°C), so the cooler end of the pool range is pleasant for swimming rather than soaking.

Three Zones, 19 Pools

The resort counts 19 pools in total. Twelve sit in the Las Lagunas section and seven in Los Perdidos, with Club Río Springs as the third named zone on the property. One of the pool areas has a swim-up bar.

Los Perdidos is also called Perdido Springs, a system of trails linking seven spring-fed forest pools around a central waterslide. The layout is bigger and more spread out than most competitors, which cuts both ways: more to explore, but more walking between pools.

Club Río, the Day-Pass Zone

Club Río is the Adventure Center on the property, and the Club Río pass is what non-guests buy. Hotel guests get unlimited access to all three zones, while day-pass holders work from the Club Río area. Third-party guides describe the Perdido Springs trail pools and the Monkey Slide, the resort's signature kids' waterslide, as reachable for day-pass holders through the Club Río pass, but confirm the exact included areas at the front desk when you arrive, because the resort's own day-pass page does not itemize the zone access in plain text.

Club Río also has its own river setting, with activities beyond the pools during the day.

Comparing The Springs With the Other Big Venues

The table below lines up The Springs against the other large paid venues in La Fortuna on the figures that matter most: pool count, water type, hours and where the price comes from. Prices come from the booking listings this site compares, and the reported figures for venues no tour sells are labelled as such. The key point for The Springs is that its own day-pass rate is not published on its website, so the only price quoted here is the bookable tour price.

Venue Comparison

Read across each row to see pool count, water type, opening hours and price source side by side. Where a figure is labelled reported, no official published number exists and the figure comes from third-party blogs or booking agents.

Price and Booking

The Springs does not print its day-pass price on its own website. The bookable option is the Hot Springs 2-Day Pass at The Springs Resort & Spa at $124, valid for two days. That works out to $62 per day if you use both days, which softens the headline cost compared with single-day passes at other resorts.

The pass carries a 4.0 rating from a small review count, so read the recent feedback on the Springs Resort day pass page before booking.

What the Pass Includes and Excludes

The two-day pass covers hot springs access plus entry to five restaurants and five bars on the property, arriving any time after 8:00 AM and staying until the 10:00 PM closing on each day. Unlimited in-and-out access is allowed on both days, so you can leave for lunch in town and return. Here is what it leaves out.

Meals and drinks are not included at any of those restaurants and bars, so budget separately for food. Transport is not included, and there is no hotel pickup. The pass is valid on any two days during your stay rather than two consecutive days on every listing, which gives flexibility if you want to split your soaks around other activities.

Children ages 3 to 12 fall under the child age band on the booking.

Reservations and Fine Print

Third-party booking agents indicate the resort requires a deposit with the balance paid 36 hours ahead, though this is not confirmed on the official page. The venue's own day-pass page returned truncated content when fetched, so reservation mechanics cannot be stated with certainty. Booking the tour pass through the site link gives free cancellation up to 24 hours before, which is safer than committing to an unverified deposit arrangement directly.

For a full breakdown of meal options, validity windows and cancellation terms, see the dedicated Springs Resort day pass page.

The Monkey Slide and the Kids' Zone

The Monkey Slide sits in the Perdido Springs section, built into the spring-fed pool trail about a five-minute walk from the Vernal Springs pool cluster, under rainforest tree ferns. It is described by reviewers as the resort's signature feature for children. Beyond the pools, a dedicated kids' zone includes a multi-level game room and a putt-putt mini-golf course, both free to day-pass and hotel guests.

Third-party comparisons routinely name The Springs the more kid-friendly of the two flagship luxury properties in the area, precisely because Tabacón's pools have no play features for children at all.

Who Should Pick a Different Spring

If your group has no children, ask yourself what you actually want. For a natural thermal river with waterfalls in a rainforest setting, the Tabacón Hot Springs Day Pass at $180 is the stronger product, though it is the priciest ticket in the area and allows no refund for cancellation. For couples on a budget, Paradise Hot Springs at $47 caps visitor capacity to keep pools quiet and runs an adults-only rooftop zone on its top pass tier.

For a full family day with waterslides and a buffet, Baldi Hot Springs at $60 has 25 pools, a 60-person jacuzzi and extreme slides, and runs a swim-up sports bar. And for the smallest budget of all, the Hot Springs Pura Vida River and Thermal Pool Access ticket at $29 gets you a real thermal river plus a pool, with free towels, free lockers and free parking.

Eating On Site

The Springs runs five restaurants and five bars on the property, and the two-day pass includes entry to all of them, but not the food. That is the single most common surprise for first-time visitors. Expect resort pricing on every plate and every drink, and plan a meal stop in La Fortuna town during your in-and-out window if you want to control costs.

There is no stated picnic option or outside-food allowance for day-pass holders, so unlike Los Laureles, where you can bring your own food and there is no restaurant at all, eating here always costs extra.

The Hotel Itself

The Springs Resort & Spa is one of the flagship luxury hotels in the Arenal area, and hotel guests get unlimited access to all three pool zones including the Monkey Slide trail, which non-guest day-pass holders reach only through the Club Río pass. It is the only hotel in the area with a dedicated kids' waterslide built into its guest-only spring-fed pool trail. If you are booking several nights and plan to soak more than twice, staying at the hotel can work out cheaper per soak than buying day passes, though room rates are not stated in the sources for this page.

Getting There

The resort sits in the volcano-view zone outside La Fortuna town. A drive time from town is not confirmed in the sources for this venue, so no figure is given here, unlike Baldi, Paradise and Titoku which all report roughly 8 minutes by road and Los Lagos at about 9 minutes. The pass includes no transport and no hotel pickup, so you need your own car or a taxi.

Ask your accommodation for the exact route when booking, since the resort's own site does not state a drive time either. Arenal hides in cloud much of the time, so a volcano view from the pools is possible but never promised.