--- title: The Splendours of Monteverde | Olga Saenz (4) description: "Monteverde’s Hospitality and Tourism Industry is growing fast, and Karen and Valeria Fallas Monge, the Hotel’s owners, have been there from the very beginning. 25 + years of experience and a reputation for excellence has made them leaders in the field.\n\nKaren was not born in Monteverde. However, her father came to the region just a year after she was born. He worked on a dairy farm. And later on, her mother began working as a cleaning maid for the different scientific organizations that first came to research the incredible diversity and unique environment of Monteverde. Hence, she grew up surrounded by wild nature, yes, but more importantly, she developed in an atmosphere of highly educated people from all over the world that came to enjoy or study the breathtaking cloud forests of the region. (4)" image: https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/Social%20Ocotea%20Boutique%20Hotel.png --- [![mail1](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/mail1.png?width=23&height=21&name=mail1.png)](mailto:reservations@ocoteahotel.com)  [![facebook1](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/facebook1.png?width=19&height=25&name=facebook1.png)](https://www.facebook.com/Ocotea-Boutique-Hotel-101966258958284)  [![insta1](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/insta1.png?width=25&height=25&name=insta1.png)](https://instagram.com/ocoteaboutiquehotel/)  [![phone1](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/phone1.png?width=191&height=25&name=phone1.png)](tel:506%2040022599) [![LOGO OBH-01-1-2-1-1](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/Institutional/LOGO%20OBH-01-1-2-1-1.png "LOGO OBH-01-1-2-1-1")](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/) - [HOME](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/) - [ABOUT](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/about) - [ROOMS](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/rooms) - [Ocotea](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/rooms#Ocotea) - [Sotobosque](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/rooms#Sotobosque) - [Dosel](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/rooms#Dosel) - [EXPERIENCES](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/experiences) - [In-House Services](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/experiences#IN-HOUSESERVICES) - [Ocotea Tours](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/experiences#OCOTEATOURS) - [Ocotea Transfers](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/experiences#OCOTEATRANSFERS) - [CONTACT](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/contact) - [BLOG](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/) - [BOOK NOW](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/book-now) Open main menu Close main menu ![Title](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Title.png?width=1043&name=Title.png "Title") ![Hello, welcome](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/Hello%2c%20welcome.png "Hello, welcome") - [All (67)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/all) - [Inside Monteverde (37)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/inside-monteverde) - [Nature (36)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/nature) - [All about Ocotea (34)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/all-about-ocotea) - [Experiences and Excursions (27)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/experiences-and-excursions) - [Visit Costa Rica (18)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/visit-costa-rica) - [Wine & Dine (16)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/wine-dine) - [Ocotea Boutique Hotel (12)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/ocotea-boutique-hotel) - [Culture & Lifestyle (11)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/culture-lifestyle) - [Packing, checklists & maps (6)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/packing-checklists-maps) - [Food & Beverage (5)](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/food-beverage) Posts by: ## Olga Saenz ![Mono Congo](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/MonoCongo.jpg) [Nature,](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/nature) [All](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/all) ### [The Fantastic Wildlife of Monteverde | Monteverde Cloud FOrest Animals](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/the-fantastic-wildlife-of-monteverde) One of the things that everyone who comes to Costa Rica loves is that wildlife is usually visible.  [Read More](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/the-fantastic-wildlife-of-monteverde) ![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/QdHYYSy6itl4new43FtN9R-9G_4azC3XbxK-rVPF73Br6Trdfo6ltTpORf4pkgt1DDARKzQmhVs5AlH1PFRHTOGllhfgINZWVGYSF2GlmymNuQtHaAYprDpZKqsOryPAksbfAaEC) [Inside Monteverde,](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/inside-monteverde) [All](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/all) ### [December Events in Monteverde](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/december-events-in-monteverde) What We’re Looking Forward to in December in Monteverde. [It is December](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/a-year-in-monteverde-what-to-expect-from-each-month)! In Monteverde, the sound of the wind hums in the forest. At times, it sounds like a stormy ocean. Every now and then a soft drizzle will cover the leaves in shining sunny droplets.  [Read More](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/december-events-in-monteverde) ![](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/Sustainability/Ruta%20Electrica%20para%20Blog.jpeg) [Inside Monteverde,](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/inside-monteverde) [All](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/all) ### [Conservation and Community in Monteverde](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/conservation-and-community-in-monteverde) *“Sustainability in Monteverde is a state of mind, a way of relating with the environment embedded in the code of the people who have lived here since they were babies. It perfectly matches Costa Rica's aim to be a carbon-free country and the generalized national idea that all industries must be sustainable.”* [Read More](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/conservation-and-community-in-monteverde) ![](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/The%20History%20of%20Monteverde/8-2.png) [Inside Monteverde,](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/inside-monteverde) [All](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/all) ### [A Happy Thanksgiving from Monteverde](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/a-happy-thanksgiving-from-monteverde) The wind is blowing; in the afternoons, the forest looks more beautiful than ever, shining in its splendor while the drizzle makes everything shine. In its windy season,  Monteverde announces a time for gratitude and the start of a season dedicated to family and community.  [Read More](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/a-happy-thanksgiving-from-monteverde) ![](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/The%20History%20of%20Monteverde/WhatsApp%20Image%202021-11-16%20at%2011-45-08%20AM-2.jpeg) [Inside Monteverde,](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/inside-monteverde) [All](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/all) ### [A History of Monteverde, Part 2](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/a-history-of-monteverde-part-2-conservation-tourism-and-the-future-of-monteverde) Conservation, Tourism, and The Future of Monteverde. Last week on our blog [A History of Monteverde Part 1](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/the-history-of-monteverde) we discussed the founding of Monteverde, drawing from Costa Rica’s incredible natural origins, to the origins of the nation, and finally to the founding of this small settlement grounded in the values of peace, education, and conservation. [Read More](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/a-history-of-monteverde-part-2-conservation-tourism-and-the-future-of-monteverde) ![](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/Conservation-1.jpeg) [Inside Monteverde,](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/inside-monteverde) [All](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/all) ### [A History of Monteverde, Part 1](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/the-history-of-monteverde) The Founding of Monteverde. I live in paradise. It is truly [heavenly in more ways than I can count](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/whats-the-allure-of-monteverde). Monteverde is not only breathtakingly beautiful and strategically adapted for people to see it in all its splendor, but it is also a [sustainable and supportive society.](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/conservation-and-community-in-monteverde) Here I feel incredibly safe. The community sense is powerful, and although I thoroughly enjoy my solitude, I am never truly alone.   [Read More](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/the-history-of-monteverde) ![](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/Birds%20of%20Monteverde/quetzal-1.png) [Nature,](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/nature) [All](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/all) ### [Birdwatching in Monteverde](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/birdwatching-in-monteverde) Every single morning a tap on the window wakes me up. Tap, tap, tap... Tap, tap, tap.  A Social Flycatcher (*Myiozetetes similis*) discovered that there are (probably) dozens of tiny mosquitoes around the windows of my bedroom.  [Read More](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/birdwatching-in-monteverde) ![](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/Canva%20images/46-1.png) [Inside Monteverde,](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/inside-monteverde) [All](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/all) ### [What's the Allure of Monteverde?](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/whats-the-allure-of-monteverde) *As a naturalist tour guide in Costa Rica and as the nomad I am, I've lived in several different places in and out of my country. There is nothing like Monteverde. It is as simple as that. At least not for me. * [Read More](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/whats-the-allure-of-monteverde) ![Karen And Valeria](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/hubfs/Institutional/Karen%20y%20Valeria%20Social%20Media-1.png) [All about Ocotea,](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/all-about-ocotea) [All](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/tag/all) ### [Deep Roots and Big Wings | The Story of Karen and Valeria Fallas](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/deep-roots-and-big-wings) Karen Fallas is "petite," with big intelligent eyes and a strength that you can witness if you are lucky enough to have a long conversation with this prodigious woman and her daughter Valeria. I myself was lucky to met her more than a decade ago. I worked as a travel agent, and she worked for a hotel that we used for our passengers. Little did I know then the treasure behind this amiable girl. [Read More](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/deep-roots-and-big-wings) [1](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/author/olga-saenz) [2](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/author/olga-saenz/page/2) [3](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/author/olga-saenz/page/3) [4](https://blog.ocoteahotel.com/author/olga-saenz/page/4) ## Subscribe LOCATION 250 North from Banco de Costa Rica, Sapo Dorado Neighborhood, Cerro Plano, Monteverde. RECEPTION Daily from 6AM to 10PM +506 40022599 © 2026 Ocotea Boutique Hotel | All Rights Reserved [Visit Monteverde with Ocotea Group](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/) [Privacy & Cookies](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/privacy)| [Terms & Conditions](https://www.ocoteahotel.com/about)