We have been to Costa Rica twice before, so are familiar with rural areas and know what to expect. This house is not what we expected at all.
The good: the home owner is very responsive, easy to work with, and willing to help in any way. The house accommodated our entire group of 9. The pool was refreshing. It was a quiet neighborhood on the weekdays. The driver, Marco, was great. Very knowledgeable and friendly. Alex, the caretaker, was nice, but not very attentive. After our stay the homeowner refunded us a portion of the rental due to its condition.
The bad: the house has deteriorated thru the years from what is shown the pictures. It does not match what is shown. Outside pool furniture is not all there. The big circular pool couches are no longer there. The patio furniture is completely different and very worn down. Some furniture is broken. The kitchen supplies downstairs just sit out on the counter, and the knives barely cut butter. The downstairs fridge could barely keep up with the outside temp. We fought condensation the whole time, and had food spoil. Refrigerator leaked water all over the floor, making it very slippery and dangerous. The upstairs kitchen has absolutely nothing in it. No supply’s at all. Making it useless. The refrigerator upstairs was dirty and rusty. Most appliances were. There are no beach towels. The bath towels are stained, and there are no washcloths. Sheets had stains as well. There was no way to lock the house or the guest rooms while we were away. And one guest room door wouldn’t latch correctly. We had to put a table in front of it to keep it closed at night. There was black mold in one guest room shower. The upstairs house had cockroaches in it. Showers were a challenge due to lack of water pressure and wavering temperatures. We lost power a few times, and the generator was broken. No emergency lights of any kind.
The house sits between 2 local camping co-ops. So, it gets loud on the weekends. It is very rural (which I knew) but didn’t expect to drive down so many dirt roads. We drove ourselves, and finding it was a challenge as it didn’t match the entrance pictures I was provided. Bring your groceries. Closest store is 40 minutes away. We had arranged for some basics to be provided, and they weren’t. So, after traveling for 20 hours, we had to go get food and water ourselves. No check in or out instructions were provided.
Until the house is thoroughly cleaned, and updated, I wouldn’t recommend
