Avis A True Paradise in Playa Hermosa Guanacaste

The place had amazing views. The staff was very nice. The number of bedrooms/ bathrooms was very misleading. I would not recommend that an adult sleep on a pull out couch.

Good

Sam and his wife and that staff that care for the home are delightful and made us feel very welcomed. (Marvin and Sonia just did a great job of quietly working around the home). They went out of their way to accommodate our needs. They had beautiful flowers for us, Christmas decorations and other wonderfully welcoming touches to the house. The home itself is quite beautiful and the view from the upper deck over the bay is beautiful-its about a 5-minute drive to the beach. There are 2 grills and Marvin moved them so they were both on the same level. It's important to realize that while the VRBO homepage indicates that the home will sleep 18 with 7 rooms, the building itself has 4 separate units--1 is a separate apartment which sleeps a couple. 2 are on the bottom of 3 floors and I think sleep 2 each. The owners stayed in one of them while we were there. When I booked, I didn't realize this arrangement and ended up not having enough rooms for our party. When you book, make sure you say how many bedrooms and beds you need. There is a master with a bath on the middle floor; 2 other bedrooms and pull out bed (not comfortable but you can ask for the blow-up mattress and put it under the bed mattress) on that floor that share a bathroom. There is a room on entry level with bunk beds: mattress on bottom bunk not comfortable. The last "sleep space" is a pull out bed on the main floor. Realize that the total sleep space for 18 includes these 2 pull out sofa spaces that are not private. A couple of other issues: while the showers were nice and had hot water, none of the sinks had hot water. There is no dishwasher. The outdoor shower doesn't work (but there is a hose). Kitchen has a lot of dishes and utensils. It would be great to have deep sided bowls and to replace some of the pots and pans whose no-stick surfaces have begun to peel. The last sentence, of course, is common with rentals but with a lot of cooking with large numbers that would be great. For a rental that sleeps up to 18, there isn't a place to gather and sit around and talk easily. There are 2 tables (one inside and one on porch) which seat about 6 each. Having said all this, we had a great time, we made it work. Just be flexible if you rent this property--its in a wonderful place and feels like you're in the trees.

We stayed at Villa Camilla and had a fantastic vacation. We had a total of 4 families (8 adults and 9 kids) and rented the main house and the studio. The kids used the pull out couches and the bedrooms (including the studio) accommodated all adult couples perfectly. Sam arranged for transportation from the airport which was appreciated, and when we arrived at the house, Sam and Sixto (on-site groundskeeper/staff) were there to welcome us. They gave us a tour of the house and made sure we understood all the ins and outs of the property. As questions came up during our stay, Sam and Sixto were quick to respond and were very helpful. The view is amazing. The house sits on a steep hill and provides views of the ocean. The driveway is steep but we managed with 2 rental cars, one was even a manual! The walk to the beach is about 10-15 minutes and not a bad walk. All kids did the walk several times without too much complaining. There is a market that is also about a 10-15 minute walk, it is small but had everything we needed. There were several dining options along the beach that accommodated all 17 of us and had good food. The two pools at the house were on the smaller side but none of our kids complained. They were up and in the pool at 6:30am some mornings because they couldn't wait to swim! I have to say, Sixto and his wife Pastora were invaluable. Sixto would check in with us daily and made sure the grounds were safe and clean. Pastora did our dishes and laundered towels along with a few personal items, daily! We didn't ever feel like we needed a dishwasher or washing machine because the staff took care of it. Pastora even made a delicious dinner for us (for a very reasonable extra fee). They also have a very cute little boy that was fun to have around :) Overall, this property was perfect for our needs. Sam, Sixto and Pastora went our of their way to make us feel welcome and safe.

There were 13 of us at some point and Villa Camelia was very accommodating. The home was very nice and filled with warmth and welcome. Sam, the owner, bent over backwards to ensure our vacation was a pleasant experience. His staff, who didn't speak any English, did understand the true meaning of customer service. They were at our beckoned call, no matter the time of day or night. We felt we got our money's worth as we enjoyed the pools, home cooking, closeness of the beach, shopping and restaurants, and all the fun we all had together. We are going through withdrawals right now because our visit to Costa Rica was the most!!!! Sam even referred us to his neighbor, Renee, who was essentially our driver for running around to close venues. He would make multiple trips to safely and quickly get us to our nearby destination and at great rates!!👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽 We had a couple of challenges with water shortages in the subdivision but we lived through it until we figured it all out!! The vacation was a huge success and EVERYBODY had an absolute ball. I do recommend Sam makes it clear in his home description that the house has 3 separate entrances and they are all priced separately. Even with this misunderstanding, he was the most accommodating. He promised our vacation would be great and he delivered! Thank you to Sam and his staff and his neighbor. You guys all Rock!!!!! #highlyrecommended

This property is beautiful but is configured to accommodate families. I rented this property with 5 other adults(not couples). There are only 3 adult bedrooms and one bedroom with bunkbeds. The rest of the beds are sofa sleepers in common areas. There are also only two pools. The one off the living space is a whirlpool with no heat and very small. The actual pool is situated down a steep staircase with no railings and has the apartment overlooking it where the owner stays. Not optimal. The beach is a fair hike away which isnt bad except the hike back is uphill and the last bit to get to the house is ridiculous. Playa Coco is a quick cab ride away and even has a Hard Rick Cafe as well as some bar/danceclubs. To get in and out of the gated community you have to get the attention of the groundskeeper.... This is not an easy task at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning when he is sound asleep. The daily maid service was a nice touch. We did not use it everyday but it was comforting to know it was available.

There are no addresses in Costa Rica so directions are sketchy. We came in three rental cars and all got lost. The coordinates were not accurate. Villa Camellia is an inspiringly beautiful home, spacious, well furnished, clean and functional for large groups. It also has a great view on several levels and two sun-warmed pools. What it doesn’t have surprised us because we were in an American state-of-mind. There is no dishwasher, not even pipes for hot water in the kitchen. Showers in the house have instant water heaters but the sink is cold only. Toilets get plugged up easily so we had to teach the kids that, here, we must put toilet paper in the wastebasket. Villa Camilla is near Playa Hermosa and Playa Coco. The driveway is scary steep and curves and goes back down at the other end. You might want four wheel drive and certainly automatic transmission. There are 3 units here: house, condo and studio apartment, rented and priced separately. Be clear on how many bedrooms you want if you do not want to sleep on sleeper sofas. The apartment is down three levels which you get to on outside stairs which have no railing or lights. The condo is on level two. There are separate keys for the house and studio and only one key each. The staff, Sixto and Pastoria are always available. We were especially happy with them and the owner, Sam, when they took care of us and the house when the be ry unusual hurricane was predicted. Fortunately, it missed us.

My family and I had the pleasure of staying at Casa Camilla in February 2016. We had the idea to do a vacation rental as a family for a couple of years but were nervous about all of the moving pieces of getting all 11 of us together (4 couples and 3 small children). We had never done a vacation rental before and so this piece was a big unknown. We had high expectations and these were exceeded by both the quality of the accommodation as well as the exceptionally accommodating and welcoming owner and staff. We rented the main house as well as the studio apartment and this was plenty of room for our group. The house is just as lovely in person as the pictures appear (maybe even nicer) and was sparkling clean on arrival and throughout the stay. The ocean view from the house is spectacular and we were about a ~10min walk from the beach. We walked to Playa Hermosa most mornings with our children (2 and 4), who were thrilled to see the howler monkey family in the trees on the way every day. We also repeated the journey many evenings to enjoy dinner and a cocktail at one of several beach front walk-up restaurants. This was a fantastic spot to enjoy the sunset. We are a family that doesn't mind walking so this was a pleasure for us to have a bit of walk to the beach. Of note, the hill to the house is a bit steep and my sister, who has a 7 month old, preferred the short drive (there is lots of parking at the beach as well, so this was not a problem). It is also about the same walk to a small grocery store, so it was easy to keep the kitchen stocked. One thing I would like to note as well about the location (especially for those travelling with small children) is that was very nice to be a bit away from the beach and on the base of the hill hill as it does get very hot during the day and most times we had a pleasant breeze on the upper deck. Sam, the owner, is outstanding and makes you feel welcome in his home. True to the other reviews he welcomed us on arrival, ensured every detail was taken care of during the stay and provided excellent recommendations on local attractions. The couple that maintain the house and grounds could not be nicer. The house was cleaned several times during the day, our laundry was done each day and they were so kind to accommodate their upkeep of the house around the napping schedule of our baby and toddlers. Thank you sincerely Sam, for such a wonderful vacation experience. We hope to visit again soon!