Amazing Atenas Villa!

Guest: Eric J. (Jersey City, New Jersey)
Date of Stay: 11/13/11 Review Submitted: 12/30/11

Just looking at photos and reviews online, it can be hard to get a sense of what a place will truly be like. And who doesn’t want to find the best place possible to spend a special time? Bottom line: there’s a reason this villa is consistently rated 5 out of 5 stars. For vacationers looking for a relaxing, private home in a beautiful, uniquely Costa Rican setting, it simply doesn’t get more perfect than this. My husband and I honeymooned here for a week, and we couldn’t have been more thrilled or appreciative of our stay. True to the gorgeous photos, the house, its grounds, and living areas are thoughtfully and luxuriously appointed. Thinking back to our time there, I’m overcome by the memories of deep relaxation, the romance of the setting, and the peacefulness of being truly a world apart from our daily routines. When we did venture out, Dennis was an extraordinary asset. He helped us get a preferential booking at the fabulous Tabacon Hot Springs, and knowing he was just a phone call away was so helpful for we non-Spanish speakers. Dennis also helped us book private pool-side massages at the villa for a very reasonable rate, and also arranged for Haydee to cook a sumptuous meal for us. We also loved finding our way around Atenas and the nearby villages (car rental is highly recommended, though bring your best defensive driving skills!). One of our favorite finds was Kay’s Gringo Postres just down the hill – a local breakfast shop and bakery run by American expats who thrive on welcoming newcomers to Atenas. After talking with them, it’s very easy to be lured into the expat life! Next time we’d go to great lengths to rent a GPS along with a car – they were sold out when we were there, and as a consequence we took a number of unintended detours navigating Costa Rica. (But what amazing scenery! Absolutely breathtaking.) Also, the house is perfect for two couples - I’d bring another adult couple to share the space and enjoy sunsets sipping wine while looking out over the mountains. We will be returning, so book this villa NOW, before we snatch up your vacation week in paradise.

Recommended for:

Beautiful, private home-outside charming Atenas!

Guest: Peter V.
Date of Stay: 11/06/11 Review Submitted: 11/21/11

We had a great week! Thanks again! We loved staying at your beautiful place in Costa Rica. Atenas is the perfect mix of beautiful weather, friendly people, quiet town atmosphere etc. And it's just wonderful that it's not overflowing with tourists. Your house is fantastic and when we show pictures to people back here in the states they are impressed. Dennis, the property manager, was very helpful. He picked up groceries for us in advance (we asked him to pick up a few items), helped us pick a fun adventure to the Hotel Golfo and Adventure Park for a zipline waterfall tour, gave us a jump when our car's battery was dead, etc. He was a great help in many ways.

Recommended for:

Really, Really Cool Place to Stay

Guest: Don Rogers (Boerne, TX)
Date of Stay: 07/03/11 Review Submitted: 07/20/11

My wife, 2 of my kids (ages 17 and 13), and I stayed at this wonderful home in early July 2011. I was totally impressed with the unique layout, private location, and incredible views that the home provided my family and me. We have stayed at numerous VRBO homes over the past many years and this home was without a doubt one of the neatest places we have ever stayed. The property managers, Gerardo and Dennis, in Atenas were awesome......very helpful and friendly. Atenas is a great base location to tour Costa Rica with a super climate, wonderful restaurants, and very friendly people. I would highly recommend Atenas and this home. Last thing, the WI-FI worked perfectly for us.

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, adventure seekers, sightseeing.

Absolutely Wonderful Experience

Guest: Andy, Kathleen & Alysha Innerkip, ON Canada (Innerkip, Ontario Canada)
Date of Stay: 05/12/11 Review Submitted: 06/10/11

We stayed at Pica Flora May 12-20,2011 and as I look at the pictures on my desktop I wish I were there again. Beautiful house and setting for two 60 years olds and their 19 year old grand daughter. We slept at night with the doors open in the master bedroom, it was like camping in a king-size bed but much more comfortable. Hardly any insects and despite the humidity we found that being so high provided welcomed mountain breezes. We were amazed by the size of the toads and the number of hummingbirds that frequented the feeder. The residents of Atenas were delightful peoples and at the Friday farmers market one vendor actually came to find us because we had overpaid! The property manager was extremely helpful and we had no trouble navigating our way around the country with the aid of a GPS which I recommend because they really don't have street addresses as we do in North America. Thnak you so much for sharing your lovely home with us and we look forward to returning in the future.

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, adventure seekers, sightseeing, age 55+, romantic getaway.

Highly reccomended

Guest: Clare (Chicago)
Date of Stay: 03/12/11 Review Submitted: 04/11/11

My husband and I stayed at this idyllic location for our honeymoon. The property and the location did everything to imbue our trip with the sense of specialness that we hoped for on such an iconic trip. We found the property to be just stunning with everything we could have hoped for in the way of amenities and we were reluctant to leave its perfection each day when we went out to explore the environs. The house was perfectly planned for relaxing and eating, we felt instantly at home and were quickly able to enjoy swimming barbecuing and relaxing. We were only interrupted by the various and beautiful birds and the cows passing at the bottom of the garden. We branched out from Atenas exploring other small villages, volcanos, the ocean and of course Manuel Antonio state park. Each trip was fantastic and an entirely new and irreplaceable experience. It was always nice to dive into an activity and encounter other tourists and then return each day to the very pretty town of Atenas that was always abustle with people going about their everyday lives. We shopped for groceries, people watched in the park with ice cream and ate alot of pastries from the delicious bakeries. In truth we didn't explore a lot of the restaurants in Atenas simply because we wanted to try our hand at cooking fresh plantains and mastering our own taco making abilities. But there were loads of restaurants to go to that all looked delicious. There was so much to do and we wish we could have stayed longer. The house was perfectly kept, of course clean and we wanted for nothing in its luxury. The property managers gave us a great lay of the land when we arrived and helped us to book day trips or supply us with local advice when ever we needed it. Neither my husband or I speak spanish bar a few words and phrases. Fortunately the local were both happy to try and help and very adept at charades. and when we got stuck Dennis was just a phone call away to help. I would recommend this place as somewhere private and idyllic for your honeymoon as we did but also somewhere great to come with friends or another couple. The place just begged for great meals amongst friends that lasted for hours watching the sun go down over the hills. My husband and I hope to return with friends and family alike to relive our honeymoon and experience new adventures. Thanks guys for an amazing and memorable trip. C & N

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, adventure seekers, sightseeing, age 55+, girls getaway, romantic getaway.

Pica Flora

Guest: Stephanie (Chicago IL)
Date of Stay: 02/26/11 Review Submitted: 03/07/11

We just returned from our wonderful vacation at Pica Flora, it was so hard to leave!! We spent our days enjoying the views and taking walks into town. We really enjoyed trying the Atenas restaurants and sodas, it allowed us to meet a lot of the locals and try all kinds of delicious food. We don't speak spanish so most of the time we just picked blindly and tried new things, it was so much fun and we loved all of it. We shopped at the grocery store and the central market and cooked at home a few of the evenings. Haydee came and prepared a magnificent dinner for us one night, so good, she was so sweet. We also ordered pizza, which was entertaining to order in spanish but we pulled it off, really delicious... from Ekali's, we're from Chicago and must say the Mixta impressed. Most late afternoons and evening we just enjoyed the house, such nice breezes, beautiful sunsets and amazing star gazing. We used the jacuzzi, so relaxing and romantic. We went to Poaz Volcano and Le Paz waterfalls, beautiful places!! The wine in Costa Rica was pretty good, we went to the Liquor store in Atenas and had some Argentinian and Chilean wines, some were ok and some were really good but nothing terrible. We payed 10-15$ US per bottle, don't buy from the grocery store unless you want Reunite :) The question is not if, but when we return to Pica Flora. Dennis and Gerardo were so accommodating and friendly, always available for questions and to help us with our excursions. When we go back we will speak some spanish, we can't wait!!

Owner response:Thanks for sharing your experience with us Stephanie - We are so glad you had such a wonderful time! We would love to have you back - let us know when you're ready to come back home ! PS - return rentals get a 10% discount :) off listed rates

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, adventure seekers, sightseeing, tourists without a car, age 55+, girls getaway, romantic getaway.

WHAT A DREAM VACATION

Guest: NANCY (NY,NY)
Date of Stay: 01/13/11 Review Submitted: 02/08/11

WHAT A FABULOUS HOUSE. BEAUTIFUL TO LOOK AT, COMFORTABLE TO STAY IN, BEAUTIFUL VIEWS (BOTH SCENERY AND SOMETIMES ANIMALS!!) WE SAW A SLOTH IN THE TREE OUT FRONT AND BIRDS OF ALL SORTS. IT WAS SUCH A PLEASURE TO COME BACK TO THIS HOUSE EACH NIGHT AFTER OUR ADVENTURES AND RELAX BY THE POOL. ... AND THE KITCHEN- NOT THAT WE COOKED A LOT- BUT MAKING FRESH SHAKES EVERY MORNING WAS FABULOUS. AND THE TIMES WE DID COOK THE KITCHEN WAS A PLEASURE. - REALLY WELL APPOINTED AND BEAUTIFUL I AM JUST DAYDREAMING ABOUT WHEN WE CAN GO BACK......

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, sightseeing, age 55+, romantic getaway.

Incredible! Unparalleled!

Guest: Peggy (Victoria, B.C. Canada)
Date of Stay: 12/26/10 Review Submitted: 01/17/11

This furnished rental is without question a premium package experience! The property management team were superlative. Attentive when they needed to be, responding extremely quickly to every inquiry. The grounds staff & lovely house keeper were efficient, pleasant & went about their routines with ultimate respect for privacy . This home is every bit as beautiful as these pictures reflect but we all agreed that pictures couldn't quite do it justice. They don't show that the kitchen is so well equipped that we didn't hesitate to invite guests for dinner, enjoyed freshly ground coffee daily, & developed a real passion for fresh blended fruit smoothies. We were fortunate to stay long enough to take in the daily rhythms of life & it was pretty darn sweet! We walked to Atenas to shop daily for our groceries, enjoyed the visits of the birds, reptiles and neighboring cattle. The weather was just as expressed by National Geographic, perfect. We found exactly what we were looking for in this experience. We didn't want to be in a touristy location. it was easy to get to & we didn't have a need for a car the two weeks we spent here. We did spend our last week in the country traveling. This home is with out question the best equipped furnished rental that I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Just Awesome in every way!

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, adventure seekers, sightseeing, tourists without a car, age 55+, people with disabilities, girls getaway, families with young children, romantic getaway.

Breathtaking Retreat

Guest: Betty (Conyers, GA, USA)
Date of Stay: 09/04/10 Review Submitted: 09/24/10

We arrived late at night and Dennis & Gerardo were wonderful & led us to the villa...and it was breathtaking (even at night). The next morning we woke up to such a magnificent vista, a deep valley and mountainside right before our eyes! We could live with that view for the rest of my life! The birds - all kinds from hawks to wrens to boatbilled flycatchers and hummingbirds - abounded. We just loved the house so much. Our home base was Atenas where we shopped for staples and ventured out into culture. Unfortunately our first day driving we had a fender bender, but the police were helpful and got us thru the process quickly. Even the local who was the other part of the accident was friendly and helpful. We were done with the process in two hours and continued shopping afterwards. We met Shannon, from Pure Life Development (the rental hosts), the next day in Atenas and she was so helpful in setting up activities. She arranged visits to Poas Volcano, LaPaz Waterfall Gardens, Naranjo coffee plantation, Manuel Antonio Nat'l park, and Turu Ba Ri canopy tours. Shannon took care of all those arrangements while we ate cerviche and drank some Imperials! We almost felt guilty...thanks Shannon! After each day's adventures we returned to our private haven of tranquility and expansive comfort to recharge for the next day's fun. This vacation was one of the best we have ever had. We cannot wait to return to Costa Rica. Thank you Dennis for all your help and insight. Thank you Shannon for helping us with our activites (and directions), and to the owners Liz & Judd - thanks so much for sharing you're amazingly beautiful home with us!!

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, adventure seekers, sightseeing, age 55+, girls getaway, romantic getaway.

FAMILY VACATION

Guest: 3'SNOTACROWD (New Jersey)
Date of Stay: 07/17/10 Review Submitted: 07/27/10

Just returned home after spending a week in this gorgeous Bali style home, views are exceptional. As to be expected this time of year, we did have rain every day, however, it was mostly in the late afternoon or early evening when we were winding down from sightseeing all day. It was quite relaxing being lulled to sleep by the sound of the rain on the roof at night and by the 4th night I was actually looking forward to it. As far as tours, I would recommend the Catamarran ride to Tortuga, it took an entire day and it allowed us to spend time on a gorgeous beach with crystal blue water, a delicious lunch was one of the many amenities included in this excursion, Calypso Cruises offers the tour, Shannon can help you book. Restaurant choices were limited in Atenas, did diine at a few of the local spots, food was okay. We drove to Jaco, about 50 minutes away, there are several restaurants to choose from there. You can also visit the Crocodiles on your way while taking the Jungle Crocadile Tour, again Shannon can help you book. We drove to Poas Volcano and Doka Coffee Estate on our own - both worth visiting/touring. One thing I highly recommend if you are renting a car - and you definitely want a car if you're staying here - get the GPS! There are no street names or numbers, so you basically key in the attraction/park/restaurant name you are looking for, with the GPS we had no problem getting around. We were a family of 3, our 17 year old was son with us. While there was a bit of grumbling about not being able to text or watch television for a week, it was actually quite nice just spending family time together. There's so much to do in Costa Rica you can easily keep yourself entertained, wish we had another week! Thanks to Liz, Shannon, Gerardo & Dennis too, you all made planning for this vacation exceptionally easy and fun!

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, sightseeing, age 55+, romantic getaway.