Casa de La Vida Grande with adjacent garage and studio apartment
Location: Playa Grande, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Central America (65km (1hr drive) from Liberia Airport) View Map
Accommodations: House, 3 Bedrooms + Detached Unit, 2 Baths (Sleeps 8-12)
Recently completed in February 2007, this Spanish Mediterranean-style house is located in Palm Beach Estates in Las Baulas Marine National Park in Guanacaste.
The house is a 5-minute walk to Playa Grande beach, the seasonal nesting grounds of the endangered leatherback turtle and an internationally famous surfing beach, and also a less-than-5-minute walk to the mangrove estuary, several restaurants (Bula Bula, Cantarana), a market/bar/internet cafe (Los Malinches), and surfboard rentals and lesson providers. Several additional restaurants, bars and surf shops are available within a 5-minute drive, and Tamarindo is accessible within a short walk via the beach and a water taxi to cross the estuary, or in 25 minutes by car.
The main house has 3 bedrooms (2 upstairs, 1 downstairs), each with a queen-size bed, its own closet with security safe, and private balcony/lookout, plus 2 full bathrooms (one with a double shower and one with a bathtub). The downstairs contains a spacious open living and dining area, full kitchen with oven, microwave, refrigerator/freezer with icemaker, range/breakfast island, and a study/reading room with ADSL broadband internet connection that opens up to the pool and patio area. The upstairs has a sitting room with cable TV and DVD player, plus a full-size futon for additional sleeping space. All rooms have individually controlled air-conditioning and ceiling fans, all floors are wide Brasilian tile, and there are 4 telephones available throughout the house.
The studio apartment, available as a separate rental unit, contains an additional full-size bed and futon, as well as a small kitchen, dining table, full bathroom, and its own telephone line.
The outside features a large wrap-around terrace with a dining area and hammock, semi-shaded lap pool with patio and chairs, lush tropical garden with plentiful flora and full-grown trees, and an outdoor shower for rinsing off after the beach. There are plenty of wildlife viewing opportunities available right from the terrace or patio, with hundreds of birds, howler monkeys, iguanas and butterflies in the neighborhood.
Our property manager is based right in Playa Grande and readily available to assist with all aspects of your vacation, including arranging ground transportation, a private chef if desired, child care, laundry and grocery shopping services, as well as booking the many tours and activities available in the area, such as surfing, SCUBA, snorkeling, sunset sailing, deep sea fishing, horseback riding, estuary boat tours, zipline canopy tours, bike rentals, golf, tennis, turtle watching, yoga, massage and spa treatments.
Vacation Rental Features
- Amenities
- Air Conditioning
- Linens Provided
- Washer
- Dryer
- Garage
- Covered Parking
- Off Street Parking
- Parking for RV/Boat/Trailer
- Beds
- Queen Bed
- Double Bed
- Convertible Bed
- Entertainment
- Cable/Satellite TV
- DVD
- CD Player
- Stereo System
- Private Pool
- Kitchen
- Full Kitchen
- Cooking Utensils Provided
- Refrigerator
- Microwave
- Ice Maker
- Catering Available
- Outdoor Features
- Gas/Electric BBQ Grill
- Deck/Patio
- Balcony
- Lanai
- Communications
- Telephone
- Broadband Internet
- WiFi (Wireless Internet)
- Other Amenities
- Security system and safes for valuables; housekeeping included; friendly, attentive & responsive property manager nearby.
- Suitability
- Pet Friendly
- Handicapped Accessible (may have limitations)
- Wheelchair Accessible (may have limitations)
- Kid Friendly
- Smoking Not Allowed
- Activities
- Zoo/Wildlife Park
- Restaurants
- Rafting
- Kayaking
- Swimming
- Surfing
- Wildlife Viewing
- Fishing
- Other Activities
- Minutes to nesting grounds for the leatherback turtles. Mangrove estuary tour within walking distance. Enjoy our cultivated tropical garden, a haven for birds, monkeys, iguanas and butterflies, right on our property. Secluded pool and patio to enjoy the sun and shade as you wish. Dine inside or outside on the terrace.
Rate Details (In US Dollars)
Main House Rates:
Low Season (May-Oct): $270/night, $1600/week
High Season (Nov-Apr): $300/night, $1800/week
Holiday (New Years, Christmas, Easter): $420/night, $2500/week
Studio Apartment Rates:
Low: $60/night, $360/wk - High: $80/night, $480/wk - Holiday: $100/night, $600/wk
Three night minimum. Rental rate includes all linens and beach towels.
Housekeeping - Arrival, mid-week and departure
Note: Until confirmed, rates are subject to change without notice.
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Credit Cards Accepted:
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Map & Owner's Profile
Year Purchased: 2004
Owner's Map of Playa Grande
My brother and I live in Massachusetts and are co-owners of this property. Our father, a veterinarian, purchased the land in 2004 upon becoming enamored with Costa Rica during his first visit to Playa Grande. Along with a professional architect, and after many months of research and searching for materials throughout Costa Rica, he designed the house using his own background in architecture, which he had studied prior to turning his focus to veterinary medicine.
The house was constructed throughout 2005 and 2006 and was completed in February 2007, with our father spending at least one week per month there to supervise and participate directly in the construction. Sadly, he passed away in May 2008 and did not have much time to enjoy the results of his labor, but the house stands as a testament to the many years of passion, dedication and effort he poured into it.
Our father loved hosting groups of guests at his home for dinners, dancing and relaxing, and made a point to head to the beach every evening for the beautiful Playa Grande sunsets. While we are unable to spend much time there ourselves, we are honored to continue our father's legacy, and hope you will find Casa de La Vida Grande (as he named it) the perfect destination for your Costa Rica vacation.
Property Photos
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- Casa de La Vida Grande with adjacent garage and studio apartment - Costa Rica Vacation House Rental
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- Lap pool, patio with BBQ grill (not shown), and wrap-around terrace - Costa Rica Vacation House Rental
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- Rear view of the house including outdoor shower - Costa Rica Vacation House Rental
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- View of open living/dining area from kitchen with views to terrace/garden
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- Contemporary kitchen with center island and rangetop
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- Open living/sitting area adjacent to dining room
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- Master bedroom. Each spacious bedroom has a closet & private balcony or patio.
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- Upstairs guest bedroom. Downstairs BR (not shown) opens to patio with hammock.
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- Upstairs sitting area with cable TV, DVD, comfy chairs and full-size futon
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- Studio apartment above garage available as a separate rental
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- Studio apartment kitchen
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- "Pura Vida" from Playa Grande!
Traveler Reviews (4)
Great family retreat
Guest: emmaluna
( San Francisco)
Date of Stay: 02/02/11
Review Submitted: 02/15/11
Casa de la Vida Grande was home away from home for all 11 of our family members: my husband & our 9-mos old (in the studio), my sister & her husband & their 4 kids (4-14), and my parents (65 & 78). There was enough room for everyone & the house was clean, comfortable, quiet, well-maintained, and very pretty. Colin & his property manager Alyssa were great, answering all of our questions before & during our visit. The house definitely lived up to our expectations. We all very much enjoyed the pool, especially the kids - it's small, but big enough to do some lap swimming. It's about 4.5' deep at the deep end. 1 caveat - there's no barrier preventing pool access so you have to watch the little ones anytime they're outside. The veranda was where we all spent most of our time - it's a great place to sit in the sun or the shade, to eat, & to lounge. There were mosquitoes in the evening tho we didn't really have a problem inside. The AC was welcome as it was above 90 degrees for most of our visit. The beds were comfortable. Having in-house laundry was great. We did have a few little issues come up (broken toilet seat, ran out of gas in the stove, lost water pressure) but Alyssa addressed them all quickly & I think this might be par for the course in rural Costa Rica. We only had a car for 3 days of our stay & I think it would have been better to have one a bit longer. There are lots of things to do without a car: - Estuary tour is GREAT - Playa Grande is beautiful & totally pristine & undeveloped thanks to its Marine park status. It's pretty rough water for swimming but playing in the surf is doable. - There are a handful of restaurants in the area - some a few minutes' walk & some more like a 45-minute walk either along the road or the beach. - Other beaches are close enough to walk or cab for snorkeling, surfing etc. - Seeing the turtles nest is incredible. - Tamarindo is very close by boat for groceries etc. but it's kind of a hole. - The house itself has quite a variety of bird life. We also saw bats, lizards, & tons of cool insects, & we did see howlers nearby once. But with a car there are lots of good day trips: - Lots of beaches & beach towns to explore (Playa Potrero is very sweet!) - small farmer's market on Fridays en route to Playa Flamingo - Rincon Volcano - Llanos de Cortez Waterfall - Liberia - Zip lines, monkey park, butterfly house, etc. If you do an overnight you can also visit Monteverde or Arenal.
Recommended for:Families with teenagers, romantic getaway, pet owners, tourists without a car, adventure seekers, age 55+, sightseeing, people with disabilities, families with young children.
One of our best vacations ever
Guest: Peter
(La Canada CA, USA)
Date of Stay: 12/18/10
Review Submitted: 01/21/11
This was the first trip to Costa Rica for myself, my wife and our accompanying grad student son. On this trip, we were more interested in simply relaxing and hitting the beach. This property was ideally suited for both of these goals...one of the best beaches (Playa Grande) I've ever seen is within a 5 minute walk out the front door. The location of the house (in Palm Beach Estates) is in a small residential community (with just enough resources for visitors but not touristy). The house itself is attractive and has excellent furnishings and amenities (incl. gas BBQ grill). My wife loves eating outside, so when we ate at the house, we ate every meal on the outside covered patio. The weather (late-Dec) was perfect every day and in our collective opinion, eating breakfast outside with a warm breeze and a mug of brewed Costa Rican coffee can't be beat. Likewise, returning after a day at the beach, sitting on the couch/comfy chairs on the patio or in the pool, with an Imperial (Costa Rican beer) in hand - what's better than that? All of the descriptions of the property were accurate...there is land-line telephone, and connectivity to internet which worked flawlessly. Electric is same as American, water is safe to drink and use, and everyone takes US dollars. In the time period prior to our vacation, I was in periodic email contact with Colin (property owner) who took great care and time to answer all of my questions. His property manager in Costa Rica (an American, Alyssa, "Senorita Casitas") was super-helpful and friendly: she arranged airport pick-up at Liberia airport - 1 hour to house (BTW - airport pick-up is ALSO available for flight into San Jose...4 hours, I'm told); she went grocery shopping for us; she arranged activities (zipline canopy tour). Colin had a cleaning crew in every couple of days for general house cleaning and fresh linens; and gardeners/pool people as well. The busy touristy town of Tamarindo is located across the river and there are water taxis that take you across during daylight (cost us $3 USD per person)...best way to do this is to go to the bar at Bula Bula and ask them to call you a taxi...we had to wait around ten minutes at the little dock there. There are several restaurants within easy walking distance (I mentioned Bula Bula above) and also, a small grocery/general store. We didn't have a car for the week we were there and did fine. In conclusion - we liked it so much we've already booked another stay!
Recommended for:Families with teenagers, romantic getaway, pet owners, age 55+, girls getaway, families with young children.
Exceeded Our Expectations!
Guest: Randy
(Solana Beach, CA)
Date of Stay: 11/27/10
Review Submitted: 12/14/10
Casa le La Vida Grande is all that you can ask for in a vacation home. Less than 7 minute slow walk to the beach, 3 restaurants, and a market. It is everything you see in the pictures. The wraparound porch was especially nice; all our dining was outdoors with accompanying jungle sounds of monkeys, birds, and crashing waves. I typically perform surveillance when staying a new place, to compare for alternative places for future trips. But I did not do that this time – I don’t see how you could possibly upgrade from Casa le La Vida Grande. All our future trips to this location will be at Casa le La Vida Grande.
Recommended for:Families with teenagers, romantic getaway, tourists without a car, adventure seekers, age 55+, girls getaway, people with disabilities, families with young children.
Guest Review
Guest: Mike Snow
(-)
Date of Stay: 07/10/10
Review Submitted: 07/15/10
Casa de La Vida Grande is everything the pictures show brought to life. The grounds are kept immaculate, the pool is exactly the way to relax after the Coast Rican sun comes up, and it is so close to everything. Spend your day at the secluded beaches only steps away from the house, enjoy the variety of cuisine from the eight nearby restaurants, or take a short boat ride into town for anything you might need. Senorita Casitas stocked our house with beer and fruit after our long flight and the trip just took off from there. Everything you need is within reach from Casa de La Vida Grande, and we will certainly be back.
Recommended for:
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Vacation Rentals by Owner Listing #121644
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