The tour guide was a friendly one, but first time undertaking a Smartours group. There was no first day of booking the optional tours, thus we missed out on the waterfall and horse back riding tour optional tour. This was due to lack of planning on the tour guide. Also, there was no one page contacts list in case people in the tour wanted to share contact info., We have always had out Smartour guides provide this service and we have taken 9 or 10 Smartours trips now. The hotel in Tortoguerro was subpar. Nice locations but rooms were dark and dingy and since there were now windows you could hear conversations of your next door neighbors. The hotel in MonteVerde was a lovely place however there was no insulation around the doors on the back deck and so the winds slammed the doors all night so huge lack of any sleep. One suggestion is to have an optional 3-4 days in an all inclusive resort on the Pacific side at the end of the Costa Rica tour and utilize an experienced Smartours guide,