Baldi Hot Springs Review: La Fortuna Hot Springs Guide
Last updated on June 24th, 2021 at 04:39 pm GMT-6 (Costa Rica time)
Written by Nikki Solano
Nikki is the CEO of Pura Vida! eh? Inc. (Costa Rica Discounts), and the author of the guidebooks Moon Costa Rica (2019, 2021, 2023, and 2025 editions) and Moon Best of Costa Rica (2022 edition) from Moon Travel Guides. Together with her Costa Rican husband, Ricky, she operates the Costa Rica Travel Blog, created the online community DIY Costa Rica, built the Costa Rica Destination Tool, oversees the brand-new (summer 2023) Costa Rica Travel Shop, and designed the Costa Rica Trip Planning 101 E-Course. Also, Nikki wrote the Costa Rica cover feature for Wanderlust Magazine's sustainability-focused Travel Green List issue, showcased Costa Rica destinations and experiences on Rick Steves' Monday Night Travel show and podcast/radio show, and served as the Costa Rica Destination Editor for Essentialist, a luxury travel brand. Want to show your appreciation for her free article below? Thank Nikki here. ❤️️
Do you want to know our pick for the BEST HOT SPRINGS in Costa Rica? It is featured on DIY Costa Rica!
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We’ve experienced all 12 hot springs in La Fortuna Costa Rica!
Continue reading below to read about our visits to Costa Rica’s Baldi Hot Springs.
Best feature(s) that influenced our rating (see below for our full review): Large space/quantity of pools; fun/social vibe that’s great for groups; decent variety of restaurant/bar options
This article offers our review of the Baldi Hot Springs. Don’t miss all of the hot springs reviews we include in our La Fortuna Hot Springs Guide:
*****
Get the Costa Rica info you need by browsing our article's TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- An overview of the Baldi Hot Springs in La Fortuna Costa Rica
- Learn what to expect from Costa Rica’s La Fortuna Hot Springs according to which hot springs attraction you plan to visit
- Baldi Hot Springs photo gallery
- Baldi Hot Springs location
- Baldi Hot Springs hours
- Baldi Hot Springs price range
- Baldi Hot Springs reservations
- Baldi Hot Springs size and design
- Baldi Hot Springs popularity
- Baldi Hot Springs pools and rivers
- Additional on-site features and amenities offered by the Baldi Hot Springs
- Baldi Hot Springs atmosphere
- Dining at the Baldi Hot Springs
- Staying overnight at the Baldi Hot Springs
- Towels and lockers at the Baldi Hot Springs
- Parking at the Baldi Hot Springs
- Baldi Hot Springs 4×4 requirement
- Alternative names for the Baldi Hot Springs
An overview of the Baldi Hot Springs in La Fortuna Costa Rica
The Baldi Hot Springs are one of the most visited hot springs properties in La Fortuna. As one of the first hot springs attractions that was built in town, they’re well known to locals and return travelers. They’re also easy to spot along the main road that skirts around the Arenal Volcano (Road 142) thanks to the property’s large, showy, roofed entrance. Beyond the entrance, there’s plenty that draws visitors in, including 25 thermal-water pools, a sauna/steam room, a jacuzzi, restaurants, bars, and an interactive kids’ play zone. This is one of the largest and most developed hot springs attractions in Costa Rica, not to mention the one with the most animated vibe.
Part of the appeal of the Baldi Hot Springs is that it’s a place where you can kick back and relax in therapeutic thermal water while conversing with friends or loved ones. If you’re looking for small, quiet, natural-feeling pools you can hole up in for a few hours, Baldi may not be the place for you. This being said, though the Baldi Hot Springs is loved in part for its lively ambiance that caters to social groups, it still provides several calm and intimate-feeling areas that offer pockets of privacy and encourage peaceful relaxation. As you might expect, since the Baldi Hot Springs delivers a multitude of experiences, it attracts all kinds of travelers.
Who should (and who shouldn’t) visit the Baldi Hot Springs
Consider choosing the Baldi Hot Springs if you’re traveling as part of a group, such as a family group, a friend group, a school group, or a sports team. Not only does the property offer plenty of space to spread out in, it also appeases social groups with a few lively pool/bar areas and giant waterslides. The interactive kids’ play zone (called “Baldi Kids”) is great for families with young children.
Due to the property’s size (see the “size and design” section below for details), the Baldi Hot Springs are also recommended to travelers who plan to visit Costa Rica during the busiest times of year, including the Christmas/New Year holidays and Semana Santa (Easter), when several people (locals and foreigners alike) opt to visit hot springs. The sheer number and size of pools at the Baldi Hot Springs helps the place feel less busy than it is.
If you wish to stay at a La Fortuna hotel that has hot springs on-site, you can choose the Baldi Hot Springs Hotel and Spa, the resident hotel of the Baldi Hot Springs. It’s important to note, however, that the Baldi Hot Springs Hotel and Spa’s on-site hot springs and cold-water pools are accessible to the public via the purchase of a hot springs pass; they are not reserved for hotel guests. If you’d prefer to stay at a La Fortuna hotel that limits hot springs access to hotel guests only, it would be best to choose a different hotel.
Learn what to expect from Costa Rica’s La Fortuna Hot Springs according to which hot springs attraction you plan to visit
Want to know what kind of thermal water experience you’ll have before you decide which hot springs in La Fortuna is the best to visit? We’ve got you covered. Not only have we personally experienced 12 different hot springs attractions in Costa Rica’s La Fortuna area alone, we’ve written a review of each La Fortuna hot springs property to help you decide for yourself which is most deserving of your time and money. Below is our review of the Baldi Hot Springs attraction which documents the following:
- Location: Where you’ll find the hot springs property, complete with the hot springs’ physical address and a map
- Hours: When you can visit the hot springs property during the day and throughout the week
- Price range: A range of prices you can expect to pay for a hot springs pass with or without a meal included (prices are subject to change without notice)
- Reservations: A confirmation of whether advance reservations are required to acquire a hot springs pass
- Size and design: Whether you can expect to enjoy and explore a small, medium, or large hot springs property
- Popularity: Whether you can expect to be joined by crowds at the hot springs
- Pools and rivers: What you can expect to find at the hot springs in terms of thermal-water pools and rivers
- Additional on-site features: What else you can expect to find at the hot springs in addition to thermal-water pools/rivers
- Atmosphere: What type of ambiance you can expect to find at the hot springs
- Dining: Whether you can expect to eat and/or drink on-site at the hot springs
- Accommodations: Whether the hot springs property offers a hotel on-site
- Towels and lockers: Whether you can expect to receive and/or pay for towels and lockers at the hot springs
- Parking: Whether you can expect to find parking at the hot springs
- 4×4 vehicle required: Whether a 4×4 vehicle is required to reach the hot springs
- Alternative hot springs names: Other names for the hot springs property that locals, GPS navigational systems, and maps may cite
Our La Fortuna Hot Springs rating system
We also rate Costa Rica’s La Fortuna hot springs according to a 1-10 scale (1 being the worst and 10 being the best). If you’re short on time, visit each hot springs review page on our blog (we’ve written one review for each hot springs property in La Fortuna; see the top of this article for links to each review) and look for the scale to quickly identify how we rate the hot springs.
The scales look like this:
and this:
To learn which rating we gave the Baldi Hot Springs, please see the rating provided at the top of this article.
Baldi Hot Springs photo gallery
We took the below photos during our most recent visit to the Baldi Hot Springs. Click on any photo below to view a larger version.
Baldi Hot Springs location
The official address of the Baldi Hot Springs is 5 km oeste del Parque Central (5 km west of the Central Park), La Fortuna, 21007, Costa Rica.
It takes approximately 10 minutes to drive to the Baldi Hot Springs from downtown La Fortuna. If arriving from the south/east (via downtown La Fortuna), the Baldi Hot Springs will be on your left (across the street from the Kalambu Hot Springs). Look for the large entrance signed for the Baldi Hot Springs.
Baldi Hot Springs map
Baldi Hot Springs hours
Though the Baldi Hot Springs hours are subject to change at anytime, the most recent operating hours we’ve recorded are 9:00am to 10:00pm Monday through Sunday.
Baldi Hot Springs price range
Though entrance fees to the Baldi Hot Springs are subject to change at anytime, the most recent prices we’ve recorded are $36 per adult and $18 per child age 6-10 (children ages 0-5 are free) for a hot springs pass without a meal included. It’s possible to add lunch or dinner to your hot springs pass for an extra cost.
Are the Baldi Hot Springs expensive?
On the spectrum of hot spring attractions you can visit in La Fortuna, the Baldi Hot Springs sit between middle-of-the-road options and high-end options in terms of overall quality. For this reason, the costs associated with the attraction’s hot springs passes fall between average costs and high costs.
Baldi Hot Springs reservations
Advance reservations are not required for Baldi Hot Springs passes however they are recommended, especially during busy periods (mid-December to April and mid-June to mid-August). Hot springs passes can be purchased directly from the Baldi Hot Springs.
Baldi Hot Springs size and design
The Baldi Hot Springs boasts one of the largest hot springs properties in the Arenal area. Adding to the attraction’s grand feel is the amount of construction you’ll find around the place. Almost everything you’ll see here is big; there’s a big front entrance, large restaurants, and large pools adorned with giant, man-made, concrete rock formations. You’ll feel small walking around the place, which is plentifully bestrewn with tall trees and grasses that tower over everything.
The Baldi Hot Springs isn’t the best hot springs property to visit if your mobility is impaired. Though several pools are located close to one another, since the attraction has so many, you’ll find it’s a 10-minute walk between the front entrance and the back of the property. Most hot springs that are scattered around the property are connected by flat paths created from concrete and stone. Some are graded for easy entry, but many others require short climbs up or down steps to enter/exit the pools.
The Baldi Hot Springs are linear in design. Beyond the property’s reception is an a la carte restaurant (the Virgita Restaurant), a souvenir shop, a cafe, and change rooms. The first hot spring pools encountered are the Baldi Hot Springs’ most spirited; social bathers flock to them to soak in pools while music plays and drinks (for purchase) are served at poolside bars (the Chichera Bar and the Tropical Bar). Further down the property, as the pool areas grow quieter, you’ll come across the 60-person Giant Jacuzzi, a large pool named the Roman Baths, and another bar (the Roca Di Baldi Bar). Also in the area is a sauna/steam room and Baldi Kids, an interactive kids’ play zone that has child-friendly waterslides and a fun splash bucket.
Two of the largest constructions on-site are the property’s helicopter pad, which is used primarily by the owners of the Baldi Hot Springs (they have a residence on-site), and the large pool you’ll end up in if you dare to give one of the Baldi Hot Springs’ 3 popular, adult-geared waterslides a go. Riders beware, the waterslides here (called “sliders”) are large and fast. The Lava Flow Slider and Storm Water Slider are relatively straight. In contrast, the Snake Water Slider is curvy.
If relaxation, not thrills, is more your thing, don’t miss the Baldi Hot Springs’ on-site spa (the Acqua Spa) that sits beside the waterslides. Tucked behind the slides is Baldi’s buffet restaurant (the Pyramid Restaurant), which serves lunch and dinner to visitors who opted to include a meal with their Baldi Hot Springs day pass. At the back of the property (marked by a waterfall) are a few additional hot springs and an exclusive-feeling bar that serves premium liquor.
Baldi Hot Springs popularity
The Baldi Hot Springs are one of the most popular hot springs attractions in La Fortuna. Though the popularity of most La Fortuna hot springs properties fluctuates throughout the year (mid-December to April and mid-June to mid-August are typically the busiest periods), the Baldi Hot Springs receives visitors on the regular year-round. This is in part because the on-site hotel delivers a steady stream of bathers in the form of hotel guests. Fortunately, since the hotel is relatively small, there’s always plenty of space for non-hotel guests (i.e., day pass visitors) to enjoy the hot springs too.
Baldi Hot Springs pools and rivers
The cold-water pools and hot springs at Baldi are made up of 25 pools that range in temperature between 20 and 40 degrees Celsius.
The Baldi Hot Springs offers a variety of pool types. Some of the larger pools are framed with flat concrete patios that resemble traditional swimming pool patios. Smaller pools are edged by lush flora and feel like they’re set in the middle of the forest, though they’re not. Most of the property’s hot springs are beautified by large brown, grey, or black rock displays that were handcrafted from concrete. Waterfalls pour over many into pools that have natural-feeling stone floors. The presence of bamboo throughout the property (mainly in restaurant and bar areas) gives the attraction a tropical feel.
Are the Baldi Hot Springs natural?
The Baldi Hot Springs are natural in the sense that the property’s mineral-rich thermal water comes from the area and is heated in part by the Arenal Volcano. The thermal-water is contained on-site in man-made pools.
Additional on-site features and amenities offered by the Baldi Hot Springs
Extra features and amenities you’ll find on-site at the Baldi Hot Springs
- A view of the Arenal Volcano
- An interactive kids’ play zone (entrance included in the cost of the hot springs pass)
- A spa (spa services not included in the cost of the hot springs pass)
- A hotel (overnight stays not included in the cost of the hot springs pass)
- Restaurants and bars (food/drinks not included in the cost of the hot springs pass, except in cases when a hot springs pass including a meal is purchased)
Pool-area features and amenities you’ll find at the Baldi Hot Springs
- Small waterfalls
- Waterslides
- A jacuzzi
- Poolside tables and chairs
- Wet bars with in-pool stools
- In-pool chairs
- In-pool steps and railings
- Informative signs that indicate the temperature and maximum depth of each pool
Baldi Hot Springs atmosphere
The well-known Baldi Hot Springs draws all kinds of travelers including independent backpackers, couples, and travel groups (e.g., family groups, friend groups, school groups, and sports teams). As a result, the hot springs are often bustling. Though social travelers enjoy the property’s lively vibe, if you’re looking for romance or solitude, you may not find it at the Baldi Hot Springs unless you plan to visit during the least busy times of year (May to mid-June and mid-August to mid-December).
Dining at the Baldi Hot Springs
The Baldi Hot Springs Hotel and Spa has two on-site restaurants: the Pyramid Restaurant, which is typically a buffet restaurant, and the Virgita Restaurant, which is typically an a la carte restaurant. It also offers several on-site bars. Day pass holders who visit the Baldi Hot Springs are welcome to purchase food and drinks at the hotel’s on-site establishments. Lunch and dinner (if purchased with the hot springs pass) are served at the Pyramid Restaurant, an informal, open-concept establishment that impresses with a fantastic view of the Arenal Volcano.
Staying overnight at the Baldi Hot Springs
The Baldi Hot Springs are the resident hot springs of the Baldi Hot Springs Hotel and Spa, a 24-room, superior-quality hotel situated in Costa Rica’s Arenal region. Unlike a few other La Fortuna hotels that offer private hot springs on-site, the Baldi Hot Springs Hotel and Spa welcomes non-hotel guests (a.k.a., members of the public) to access their hot springs via the use of a day pass.
Towels and lockers at the Baldi Hot Springs
The Baldi Hot Springs offer both a towel rental service and a locker rental service. The optional towel rental service requires payment of a $10 per towel cash deposit. The optional locker rental service requires payment of a $7 per locker nonrefundable fee.
Parking at the Baldi Hot Springs
Secure parking on the property of the Baldi Hot Springs Hotel and Spa (just to the left of the property’s grand front entrance) is accessible and offered free of charge to Baldi Hot Springs day pass visitors in addition to Baldi Hot Springs Hotel and Spa guests.
Baldi Hot Springs 4×4 requirement
A 4×4 vehicle is not required to reach the Baldi Hot Springs.
Alternative names for the Baldi Hot Springs
The Baldi Hotel Hot Springs
The hot springs at Baldi
QUESTION TO COMMENT ON: Have you been to the Baldi Hot Springs? How would you review the hot springs experience?
Pura vida!
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