Paradise Found!

Guest: Lauren (North Carolina, USA)
Date of Stay: 07/30/11 Review Submitted: 08/12/11

My husband and I recently rented this house in August 2011 for 5 nights and had an amazing time! We booked the trip at the last minute and didn't really know what to expect, but the house exceeded our expectations by far. To begin with, Dan (the owner) is wonderful and goes above and beyond to make you feel welcome! He has tons of knowledge of the area and is super helpful on coming up with things to do, suggestions for restaurants, etc. As for the house - it is gorgeous and is VERY nice (way better than the pictures suggest). It's in the perfect location and has all that you could ever need (super soft towels and sheets, all the cooking gadgets that you could ever ask for, towels for the pool, beach chairs, and the list goes on and on) . The back yard itself is reason enough to rent this house. It is AMAZING! The pool is something like out of a swanky resort and has a swim up bar and a built in jacuzzi. The rancho (outdoor kitchen/BBQ area) is very nice too. A great outdoor area to entertain or just hang out at in the afternoons. Overall, Playa Guiones is a great vacation spot and I would HIGHLY recommend you rent this house. It will exceed your expectations!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, adventure seekers, families with teenagers.

Casa del Ray

Guest: Penny (Columbia, MD 21044)
Date of Stay: 12/22/10 Review Submitted: 01/24/11

We stayed at Casa del Ray over the December holidays. The house is lovely, the pool and outdoor area is beautiful and we enjoyed watching the iguana family who live in the rocks next to the house. The kitchen has plenty of equipment, but was not especially clean when we arrived, including a dishwasher full of dirty dishes and no dish washing detergent. Plus we had to wash every dish, cup, glass and silverware before using it to remove greasy fingerprints. There were enough dishes for 6, but not for 8 or especially 12 people -- plenty of plates and glasses, only 5 or 6 mugs, 5 cereal bowls, silverware for 6, etc. Although there were only 6 of us we rented the apartment on the main floor so our son and new daughter-in-law could have privacy. By the third night they were joined by scorpions and decided that sleeping in the bunk beds in the main house was preferable. They never used the apartment again. The owner told us that the house would be cleaned on a Monday (midway for our stay of 10 days). It was not done. When I spoke to him a couple of days later he told me that since someone in our group spoke Spanish we should have arranged it with the caretaker (his wife is the house cleaner). On our arrival he had told me it would be cleaned that Monday. We did damage something and reported it to the owner immediately. He and I discussed what we should pay for it. According to a local source he was insisting on double their estimate and refused to let us get it fixed. Still he did not return the amount he promised in the email. I would not recommend staying here.

Owner response: I would like to take the time to respond to this negative review of Casa Del Ray. As it is my constant effort to make sure all my guest enjoy their stay while visiting Nosara occasionally there are those people who no matter at what lengths you go to to insure their satisfaction they find fault in something. In this case a vintage surfboard displayed in the rafters of the poolside rancho was removed by the children of the renters. It was strapped to the top of their rental car and off to the beach they went. Unfortunately the board which should have never been taken down fell off the car and was damaged beyond repair. Not only was this a gift that held sentimental value it was obviously used without my knowledge or permission. As is common practice for any lost,stolen or damage property the money for repair or replacement is taken from the security deposit. It was at this point and this point only 5 days into their stay that any of these problems if they existed at all were brought to my attention. They also were never brought up to my on sight property manager. As in other reviews on my website you can see that without exception people have enjoyed their stay at Casa Del Ray and have offered up many flattering comments of the property the house and staff. When people come in for a stay and complain of the NOISY Howler Monkeys waking them early or the wind blowing to strong then it becomes difficult to please everyone. Some folks just may not be cut out for vacations in a Tropical Paradise that is Casa Del Ray. I look forward to any and all comments from all my visitors and look forward to many more years of offering my HOME to future guest. Thank You, Dan

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Wonderful stay at Casa Del Ray!

Guest: Lmequine (Quitman, Texas)
Date of Stay: 12/05/10 Review Submitted: 12/13/10

My husband and I just returned from a one week vacation at Casa Del Ray (December 5-12, 2010). The house is very beautiful with fine attention to details, decorating, etc. Tande (the care taker) was there most everyday and he kept the pool spotless along with taking care of anything else that needed attention. The grounds were just beautiful. The photos are certainly an accurate representation of the property but cannot do justice to the sound of the waves, howler monkeys, birds, etc. Everything was crisp and clean and the ocean breeze and smell of flowers was so relaxing. We saw plenty of wildlife and one morning we woke up to find a troop of about 15 howler monkeys with babies right in front of the house! This house is in a great location with very little to no traffic in a very nice section of Guiones. Dan was extremely helpful in arranging to have us picked up and taken back to the airport, answering questions, making recommendations of where to eat, rent quads, etc. The house had two things that we used all week...the english-spanish dictionary and the cards that listed the wildlife for the area. It was VERY thoughtful for those things to be included as well as the books on Costa Rica, DVD movies, etc. This could not have been a better experience for us. I will say though that you need to be able to handle climbing stairs and walking up inclines not only for this house but for most everything in Guiones. We definitely got in shape with walking to and from the town of Guiones, climbing stairs, and walking the beaches in the area. We recommend getting a quad from Monkey Quad rentals, eating at Harbor Reef, La Dolce Vita and the Gilded Iguana. We loved just getting on the quad and driving around to see the country and the other beautiful properties in the area. We enjoyed visiting Playa Pelada and Playa Rosara, seeing the overlook area at Lagarta Lodge, seeing Rio Nosara and the communities of Nosara and Garza. The only thing that we would change would be to learn some basic Spanish, Luis and Tande were very nice but really do not speak any English and we would have loved to converse with them about the area. We got along fine without speaking the language but we will learn some Spanish before returning (and we are looking forward to returning). We highly recommend Casa del Ray if you want to enjoy a beautiful home in an even more beautiful country!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, adventure seekers, families with teenagers.

Guest: Bill44 (Texas)
Date of Stay: 07/18/09 Review Submitted: 07/18/09

Wonderful home, with ocean views from the second, third and fourth levels. Stunning fourth level obvservation deck is great for watching the sun rise and set. Ocean view from the third level master is magical, and you can hear the ocean roar all night long if you decide to sleep with the huge sliding glass door open like we did many times. The caretaker is there most every day to help with any issues you may have is is truely a great guy, but practice up on your Spanish because he knows only a little English. The pool and rancho with outdoor kitchen is where we spent most of the hot part of the day. Loved the swim up bar and party area under the rancho, and we spent hours there during a huge rainstorm one day.

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Guest: Ian Gallager (Sacramento, CA)
Date of Stay: 07/02/09 Review Submitted: 07/02/09

Beautiful house, fantastic week, great pool, easy walk to the beach, all 12 of us had an amazing time!!

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