The Illest Villa?
February 22, 2006 3:33 PM Subscribe
Villas in Costa Rica...
Some friends (8-10 people) and I plan on renting out a villa in Costa Rica sometime in August of this year. I am in charge of figuring out the details, but I've never done anything like this at all before. Most of the websites I have looked at seem sketchy to me. Any recommendation of sites that have good and trustworthy information? Any personal recommendations or tips on this whole villa-renting thing? Does one have people that cook for you at these things? I am basically clueless as I've only ever stayed in hostels when traveling.
Some friends (8-10 people) and I plan on renting out a villa in Costa Rica sometime in August of this year. I am in charge of figuring out the details, but I've never done anything like this at all before. Most of the websites I have looked at seem sketchy to me. Any recommendation of sites that have good and trustworthy information? Any personal recommendations or tips on this whole villa-renting thing? Does one have people that cook for you at these things? I am basically clueless as I've only ever stayed in hostels when traveling.
Response by poster: I don't have the slightest clue, so if anyone has info on either coast, feel free.
posted by Falconetti at 5:14 PM on February 22, 2006
posted by Falconetti at 5:14 PM on February 22, 2006
My friends and I stayed at the Iguana Lodge in Costa Rica's Osa Pensinsula a few years ago.
It was fantastic. Right on the beach, all food included (and all the food, especially the breakfasts and dinners, which were cooked in the Lodge's kitchen, was great). Even getting there is fun: you typically take a propeller plane to a nearby airport (actually, a gravel airstrip), then get driven to the lodge along a dirt road through the rainforest.
They have a villa you can rent out, or you can arrange to rent out a whole house if you want something more modest.
posted by driveler at 6:29 PM on February 22, 2006
It was fantastic. Right on the beach, all food included (and all the food, especially the breakfasts and dinners, which were cooked in the Lodge's kitchen, was great). Even getting there is fun: you typically take a propeller plane to a nearby airport (actually, a gravel airstrip), then get driven to the lodge along a dirt road through the rainforest.
They have a villa you can rent out, or you can arrange to rent out a whole house if you want something more modest.
posted by driveler at 6:29 PM on February 22, 2006
Along the lines of StickyCarpet's comment... Costa Rica has at _least_ three distinct areas worth touring. The high-elevation rainforest in the middle, the beach/jungle to the south, and the beaches farther north are all glorious. Plus there's Volcan Arenal, and river rafting....
My point is that you may feel like you've gone to Costa Rica for no apparent reason if you stay in one part of it the whole time. Not everybody vacations the same way, but especially in Costa Rica I think it pays to be mobile. We spent our 10 days there constantly on the move and didn't regret it one bit.
posted by gurple at 6:37 PM on February 22, 2006
My point is that you may feel like you've gone to Costa Rica for no apparent reason if you stay in one part of it the whole time. Not everybody vacations the same way, but especially in Costa Rica I think it pays to be mobile. We spent our 10 days there constantly on the move and didn't regret it one bit.
posted by gurple at 6:37 PM on February 22, 2006
I've come to quite trust TripAdvisor for reviews and ratings in places I've never been to - I've found really nice places in Vermont and in St. Martin. Here's their top Costa Rica villas-type place - looks really nice!
posted by nicwolff at 6:48 PM on February 22, 2006
posted by nicwolff at 6:48 PM on February 22, 2006
I second trip advisor. My husband and I visited the west coast in May on our honeymoon. We really enjoyed it. Everyone was really nice. Trip Advisor really helped when finding a decent place to stay.
posted by TheLibrarian at 7:10 PM on February 22, 2006
posted by TheLibrarian at 7:10 PM on February 22, 2006
I stayed at Hacienda Dorada in June of '02. Excellent. There were thirteen of us, and we all met in San Jose, and then rented a bus w/ driver, who took us to the grocery store where we bought food and alcohol for the week, and then drove us the west coast (near Samara).
The beach was so remote that it was basically our own, and we had our own pool, pissing monkeys in the trees right outside the balconies with view of the ocean, full kitchen, 7 huge bedrooms surrounding a courtyard. There was a little house down the road that the driver stayed during the week, and we could call him anytime we liked to have him ferry us about.
Other items of interest: nice restaurant one hill over, horses, chartered fishing trips... the legend that a former caretaker found kilos of Columbian marching powder washed up on the beach.
Seriously, it was the best vacation I have taken. You can contact them through the website or email me and I will tell you what I remember. A new management company bought the place soon after we stayed there, so things might have changed, but broken out 13 ways, it was all very reasonable.
posted by brheavy at 7:15 AM on February 23, 2006
The beach was so remote that it was basically our own, and we had our own pool, pissing monkeys in the trees right outside the balconies with view of the ocean, full kitchen, 7 huge bedrooms surrounding a courtyard. There was a little house down the road that the driver stayed during the week, and we could call him anytime we liked to have him ferry us about.
Other items of interest: nice restaurant one hill over, horses, chartered fishing trips... the legend that a former caretaker found kilos of Columbian marching powder washed up on the beach.
Seriously, it was the best vacation I have taken. You can contact them through the website or email me and I will tell you what I remember. A new management company bought the place soon after we stayed there, so things might have changed, but broken out 13 ways, it was all very reasonable.
posted by brheavy at 7:15 AM on February 23, 2006
Dominical.
posted by Pollomacho at 7:21 AM on February 23, 2006
posted by Pollomacho at 7:21 AM on February 23, 2006
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posted by StickyCarpet at 5:05 PM on February 22, 2006