Vacation Rentals by Owner

Casa Dolce Vita deserves a 20!

Guest: Cristina and Ronald Jones
Date of Stay: 04/28/12 Review Submitted: 05/14/12

From 1 to 10 Casa Dolce Vita deserves a 20! It is amazing! The view from the house is breathtaking, we travel a lot and this is one of the best houses that I have stayed on… Not just that, the entire vacations in Costa Rica were spectacular, we visited great places, hiked the Manuel Antonio National Park, saw tons of wildlife, it was simply the best!

Recommended for:

Guest: This home has been the highlight of our journey
Date of Stay: 10/10/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

My wife and I rolled into town and rented this amazing villa at the last minute for 3 nights. We are on our honeymoon and this home has been the highlight of our journey around Costa Rica. The beautiful surroundings, the wildlife, Manuel Antonio Beach, the hike through the park have all made our stay here very enjoyable. It made up for our bad experience in Jaco where we were robbed. (Be very careful about leaving bags and valuables in your car!) Needless to say, this was a wonderful escape from the rest of the world! Jonathon, our private chef, prepared wonderful meals for us and we highly recommend him! We were completely relaxed at Dolce Vita, listening to the rain hit the roof, feeling the cool ocean breeze fill the house, watching the fog rolling up the hill, far from the corporate nonsense back home! Thank you to whomever owns this house, we appreciate you sharing it with us.

Recommended for:

Guest: Great friends, great house, great view!
Date of Stay: 10/09/10 Review Submitted: 12/02/10

Great friends, great house, great view, great food, great wine, great party! What a hilarious and memorable week in Manuel Antonio. When we weren't goofing around at the house, we were off exploring everything that Manuel Antonio has to offer! We hired Chef Ernesto for one night and we wished we had arranged for more! It was so delicious! Hopefully we will return one day soon!

Recommended for:

Guest: Oh, to live this life forever.
Date of Stay: 10/09/10 Review Submitted: 12/02/10

Oh, to live this life forever. Lazy mornings, drinking coffee in the morning, reading magazines on the balcony, swimming in the pool - and that's all before lunch! I didn't know much about Costa Rica before I came here, and I'm so glad my friends convinced me to take this trip. I loved every minute of it - except the flight!

Recommended for:

Guest: My heartfelt thanks to everyone at Escape Villas
Date of Stay: 09/30/10 Review Submitted: 12/02/10

My heartfelt thanks to everyone at Escape Villas who helped me make this the surprise wedding proposal of a lifetime! Seriously, without your help, I never would've pulled this off! The house is amazing and me and my fiance loved it. Thank you so much.

Recommended for:

Guest: I'm getting married!!
Date of Stay: 09/30/10 Review Submitted: 12/02/10

I'm getting married!! My boyfriend surprised me with this romantic get-away to Costa Rica and what a wonderful surprise it was when he proposed! This villa is so gorgeous - I couldn't believe we had the entire place to ourselves. He didn't tell me anything about where we were staying (I expected a hotel) so imagine my surprise when we pulled up! Manuel Antonio is such a beautiful town, I am so happy to have been here.

Recommended for:

Guest: What a cool place to visit and experience
Date of Stay: 09/25/10 Review Submitted: 12/02/10

I love Costa Rica! I can only imagine what it would be like to live here all year long. I would spend all my time on the beach, swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, surfing and perfecting my tan! What a cool place to visit and experience.

Recommended for:

Guest: Chef Leo is amazing!
Date of Stay: 09/25/10 Review Submitted: 12/02/10

Time flies at Casa Dolce Vida! Our week in Manuel Antonio went by too fast! We did plenty of adventure tours - ziplining, kayaking through caves, sunset cruise, hiking the rainforest - everything was spectacular. We spent plenty of time at the beach swimming in the ocean - but it was just too hot to lay out in the sun for very long! We were all happy to catch a break from the sun by heading back to the house. Chef Leo is amazing! We loved walking into the house to find lunch prepared for us after our adventurous mornings exploring Manuel Antonio! Thank you for everything!

Recommended for:

Guest: I know where to come back for my next vacation!
Date of Stay: 09/18/10 Review Submitted: 12/02/10

My husband treated us to this fabulous week in Costa Rica and I absolutely loved it! The beaches are beautiful and so is this villa! The views are to die for and the infinity edge pool is wonderful. I wish I could wake up to that magnificent ocean view everyday! Oh well, at least now I know where to come back for my next vacation!

Recommended for:

Guest: Just what the doctor ordered!
Date of Stay: 09/11/10 Review Submitted: 12/02/10

This villa is awesome beyond words! The view, the pool, the sitting room and kitchen area - we were all impressed. This was a seriously chill week in paradise and just what the doctor ordered!

Recommended for:

Guest: The ATV tour was rockin!
Date of Stay: 09/11/10 Review Submitted: 12/02/10

What a great week in Manuel Antonio! Dolce Vita is sch a comfortable and welcoming home that I hardly wanted to leave! Of course, the waves and the nightlife beckoned me and my friends to leave at times! Thank you to Ricky for giving us all the tips on all the best restaurants and bars. The ATV tour was rockin!

Recommended for:

Guest: Casa Dolce Vida is just the thing!
Date of Stay: 09/11/10 Review Submitted: 12/02/10

Casa Dolce Vida is just the thing for a relaxing vacation in Costa Rica! I could sit in the Great Room and enjoy the views all day long! The pool was great and we loved cracking a few beers while watching the monkeys cross the bridges every afternoon. The beach is so nice and the waves were perfect for learning to surf - I wasn't trying to get crushed by major waves on my first trip out! Ricky and Val at the office are great and helped me with everything from car rentals to groceries and pizza delivery! Thank you!

Recommended for:

Guest: Casa Dolce Vida accommodated us perfectly
Date of Stay: 09/04/10 Review Submitted: 12/02/10

Thank you so much to everyone at Escape Villas that helped make this family vacation/reunion so great. Every tour and excursion was great and we have plenty of photos to prove it! Casa Dolce Vida accommodated us perfectly and I think I speak for everyone when I say that we loved this house!

Recommended for:

Guest: Had a blast on a day-long sportsfishing trip
Date of Stay: 09/04/10 Review Submitted: 12/02/10

What a memorable week in Manuel Antonio. My mother treated us all to this wonderful Costa Rican vacation and I couldn't have imagined a better week in paradise! We enjoyed a family catamaran tour with snorkeling, a guided tour through Manuel Antonio Park and shopping in Quepos. My husband and two brothers had a blast on a day-long sportsfishing trip and even brought back dinner!

Recommended for:

Guest: The monkeys are awesome!
Date of Stay: 09/04/10 Review Submitted: 12/02/10

My grandma took us all to Costa Rica for a trip and I loved it! This house is so pretty and cool. The monkeys are awesome! My favorite part was having my very own pool!

Recommended for:

Guest: Gary
Date of Stay: 09/04/10 Review Submitted: 12/02/10

What a splendid vacation we had in Manuel Antonio Costa Rica. It was so nice to have all 10 of us together for a family vacation - it's been years since our last gathering! The master suite and the junior master were simply fabulous! The kids loved splashing around in the pool while pointing out wildlife in the surrounding rain forest. The views are just breathtaking. Many thanks to Ricky, Val and our wonderful maids for such excellent service!

Recommended for:

Guest: Gerrity
Date of Stay: 08/14/10 Review Submitted: 12/02/10

Casa Vista Azul is the BEST!! I've never in my life had a more relaxing vacation then this one. Manuel Antonio is a beautiful Costa Rican town with sincerely friendly locals. From our ocean view living room, Playa Manuel Antonio is just as gorgeous - we loved staring out at the stunning vista of blue ocean and green rainforest. The wildlife at the villa is too cool! We could hardly believe how close the monkeys came to the house! Pura Vida!

Recommended for:

Guest: The Gerrity's
Date of Stay: 08/14/10 Review Submitted: 10/19/10

This home is incredible! The view made it hard to leave the house each day - and we were always glad to return! We were fortunate to see monkeys - and what a huge group of them! We were so delighted to wake to find birds perched in the living room or geckos crawling on the staircase - our daughters made friends with nature looked forward to seeing them daily! The canopy tour was exhilarating but we all agreed that our trip highlight was the day long horseback riding tour! We became regulars at Cafe Milagro where the coffe is great! Thank you all for a wonderful family vacation!

Recommended for:

Guest: Stacy
Date of Stay: 07/10/10 Review Submitted: 10/19/10

What a fun trip and awesome place to stay! As newly married couples, this will probably be our last trip before we start families and it was truly one we will never forget! So many memories have been made this week. From our "scary" canopy tour, mangrove kayaking, to late night board game competitions, we enjoyed evey bit of it. Our favorite food was at Barba Roja for smoked trout and cajun tuna - YUM! We are sad that our time at Dolce Vita is gone and we will definately return again (when our kids get older!) This house is the best out here with outstanding service and wonderful ocean views! We will never forget our time here!

Recommended for:

Guest: The Millers
Date of Stay: 07/09/10 Review Submitted: 10/19/10

Our stay at Dolce Vita has been amazing! We enjoyed several outings, like the canopy tours, kayaking through mangroves and exploring Manuel Antonio National Park. We also ates lots of wonderful meals in Manuel Antonio and Quepos. We even adoped a morning ritual at Casa Dolce Vita of coffee and breakfast in the Great Room overlooking the ocean! How gorgeous! If only our meals at home could have such a view!

Recommended for:

Guest: Pura Vida!
Date of Stay: 06/05/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

Hola! Our trip to Costa Rica was wonderful! If you haven't seen the monkeys yet, they will come around 4:30ish. We liked: the neighborhood dogs, Cafe Milagro, Train Restaurant, Si Como No, Our private chef, the outstanding view from the villa, our canopy tour, the maids and seeing all the sloths and monkeys! Pura Vida!

Recommended for:

Guest: A one of a kind experience!
Date of Stay: 05/29/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

The drive here from San Jose was a bit crazier than expected, but the crocodile bridge was definitely a one of a kind experience! Once we arrived, Manuel Antonio was nothing short of spectacular. The bugs took a little bit of getting used to, but we did acclimate. Some of my personal favorites were horseback riding to a waterfall, swimming, Ronny's restaurant, Cafe Milagro and of course, Dolce Vita. Escape Villas made our trip amazing. We will definitely miss everything about Manuel Antonio!

Recommended for:

Guest: So sad to leave!
Date of Stay: 05/15/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

We had the most wonderful time! Be patient, the monkeys DO show up at the house, usually between 2pm - 5pm. When you hear noise on the roof, they're here - even mommies with babies! The neighbor's dogs are so sweet and love to hang around the property! Added security! The tours were all great, but do the ones recommended by Escape Villas. We took one on our own and had the worst experience! The property guards and the housekeepers are great! Everyone we met was wonderful. Everyone at the office was so helpful and just good people all around. So sad to leave!

Recommended for:

Guest: Thank you for opening your beautiful doors
Date of Stay: 05/08/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

We had a wonderful week! Everyone, all 10 of us, had a terrific time! Thank you for opening your beautiful doors and beautiful views to us! Muchas gracias!

Recommended for:

Guest: Saw lots of monkeys from the villa!
Date of Stay: 05/01/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in this rain forest tree house! Despite the heat and humidity, the vacation was a welcome break from what we heard was a high of 3 degrees Celsius back in Canada! As a family of 6, we made good use of this beautiful house and hated to put the blinds down at night, but found it was the best way to keep the bugs out. The staff at Escape Villas was wonderful and answered all of our questions - no matter how trivial we thought they were! We saw lots of monkeys from the villa in the early mornings and early evenings and got lots of great pictures! We are looking forward to coming back again!

Recommended for:

Guest: Our trip to Manuel Antonio was wonderful!
Date of Stay: 05/01/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

Our trip to Manuel Antonio was wonderful! The house and the view were beautiful - we were worried about coming in rainy season but it was perfect - sunny and hot during the day and nice cool rain at night. There was so much to do here without traveling far at all. We woke up early with the sun and then were exhausted by evening! The mangrove tour was very interesting and I was terrified to do the canopy tour but it was totally worth it! Rafting was the best. Have fun in Costa Rica!

Recommended for:

Guest: A wonderful vacation!
Date of Stay: 04/30/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

A wonderful vacation! All three generations enjoyed it - we especially loved seeing the monkeys morning and night! This week has been so much fun and we will miss the view the most! We will never forget our time in Manuel Antonio and at Casa Dolce Vita!

Recommended for:

Guest: Our time went by too fast!
Date of Stay: 04/24/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

We loved our vacation! Ricky was very helpful and informative. The cleaning lady made beautiful floral arrangements and did a great job at cleaning the villa and doing our laundry. We enjoyed the monkeys very much - they took fruit right from our hands! We enjoyed the fishing trip very much too - we caught 2 sailfish and 1 mahi mahi. The best part was having our private chef cook them up for dinner that night! Can't get any fresher than that! Our time went by too fast!

Recommended for:

Guest: Indescribably fabulous!
Date of Stay: 04/17/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

Indescribably fabulous! The house, the landscape, the view and the ambiance. The locals are so friendly and helpful. The food is good all around! The monkeys are so entertaining but possibly a bit destructive and thieving! We had a WONDERFUL week!

Recommended for:

Guest: Perfect weather, great house
Date of Stay: 04/10/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

Perfect weather, great house and a very surprised husband, dad and grandpa on his 70th birthday! Watch out for monkeys! We hated to leave and you will too!

Recommended for:

Guest: What an amazing place with amazing sun!
Date of Stay: 04/03/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

What an amazing place with amazing sun! Advice: sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen! Even just by laying out by the pool! Dolce Vita is so relaxing that you'll never want to leave, so make sure to leave plenty of time for living the slow-island life! Have as much fin as we did!

Recommended for:

Guest: All week long we were all so relaxed
Date of Stay: 03/27/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

We are 7 friends from San Francisco, Boston and DC and we all loved our stay in paradise! Stephan, our amazing chef, worked hard all week long preparing wonderful meals time and time again! All week long we were all so relaxed and enjoyed just hanging out, listening to music, listening to howler monkeys, reading books and spotting toucans. Thanks for such a great vacation!

Recommended for:

Guest: Priceless!!
Date of Stay: 03/20/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

10 Friends 7 days 1 Casa Dolce Vita Tons of memories Priceless!!

Recommended for:

Guest: We loved the house and the views and the pool!
Date of Stay: 03/13/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

This trip to Manuel Antonio was unlike anything in Canada! We loved the house and the views and the pool! The canopy tour, horseback riding, deep sea fishing excursion and the national park were all highlights of our trip. We had an amazing vacation and are dreading the cold back home!

Recommended for:

Guest: Casa Dolce Vita was gorgeous and so comfortable!
Date of Stay: 03/06/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

We had a very wonderful week. Casa Dolce Vita was gorgeous and so comfortable! Watch out for the monkeys - they like to steal mangoes! We recommend trying Cafe Milagro and exploring the national park. Playa Rey, a beach just past Finca Mona, is quiet and deserted and well worth the trip!

Recommended for:

Guest: The Dollingers
Date of Stay: 03/06/10 Review Submitted: 10/19/10

When first booking our trip to Costa Rica we did not know where to start. We wanted our stay in Costa Rica to be a particularly memorable trip as it was also our honeymoon!! Imagine how excited we were when we arrived at Dolce Vita and everything was just as promised and so much more!! The view is spectacular and the house is amazing. The staff at Escape Villas rocks!! Our first day was spent settling in at the house, swimming, unpacking and enjoying the beautiful surroundings. We had in-house massages that were GREAT! What a way to start a vacation! We hired a chef who cooked lobster, potatoes and veggies for dinner with pneapple flambe for dessert! Absolutely fabulous! The canopy tour the next day was awesome and they even picked us up at the house and brought us back! The rest of our week was just as fun, exhilarating and relaxing as the beginning of our trip. Thank you for sharing your home with us!

Recommended for:

Guest: What an experience!
Date of Stay: 02/27/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

What a great week! Casa Dolce Vita is a great vantage point for taking in the incredible view and seeing jungle wildlife. We were visited by monkeys, toucans, fruit bats and a sloth that stayed at a safe distance! Keep food in the cabinets or else the monkeys will be joining you on vacation! There are many great restaurants in walking distance - we loved Cafe Milagro. We went horseback riding and whitewater rafting through the rain forest - what an experience! The house manager took great care of us and the villa during our stay. Have a wonderful time in Manuel Antonio - we did!

Recommended for:

Guest: What wonderful memories!
Date of Stay: 02/20/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

My family and friends stayed here for an absolutely fabulous week in Manuel Antonio. It was our first trip to Costa Rica and it was paradise. A beautiful country with many friendly people. The views from Dolce Vita are unbelievable - a true ocean vista! What wonderful memories! The only thing missing was a gondola ride at the beach!

Recommended for:

Guest: We loved the villas the most!
Date of Stay: 02/13/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

My family and I had a family reunion here in Manuel Antonio and all 15 of us stayed in these two neighboring villas - Casa Dolce Vita and Casa Samba. The view from both villas was gorgeous! And of course, the visiting monkeys were too cute. We all enjoyed the beach and all the great tours. We all enjoyed the fishing excursion but we all agreed that we loved the villas the most! The staff at Escape Villas is great and the maids were wonderful. It was so nice having 2 pools and the teens loved the game room! We found everything in the villas to be just right!

Recommended for:

Guest: We had a fantastic stay in Manuel Antonio!
Date of Stay: 02/06/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

We had a fantastic stay in Manuel Antonio! Many surprises - not as hot as expected (yeah!), not as many mosquitoes as expected and it got dark a lot earlier than expected! We had a great time white water rafting and loved when the monkeys would visit the house. We plan to visit again in the future!

Recommended for:

Guest: What a magnificent place!
Date of Stay: 01/30/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

All adjectives that come to mind are inadequate! The house, the people and the view are awesome! What a magnificent place. Thank you for sharing it with us!

Recommended for:

Guest: We had a great time!
Date of Stay: 01/23/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

We had a great time! Monkeys, monkeys, monkeys and even a sloth were visible from the family room! We took several tours including a canopy tour, horseback riding tour and snorkeling, all of which my 7 year old granddaughter loved! The view from the house was the most memorable thing about our vacation and we would love to return!

Recommended for:

Guest: Everything was well worth the money!
Date of Stay: 01/16/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

What a fabulous trip! After a crazy drive from San Jose to Manuel Antonio, we were absolutely delighted to arrive here! My husband and I stayed in the top bedroom and loved waking up to the beautiful ocean view every morning. We very much enjoyed hiking Manuel Antonio National Park, the quiet beaches, watching monkeys from the great room, white water rafting and the canopy tour. Everything was well worth the money! Overall, it was a wonderful house with wonderful staff and a beautiful country with lots of wonderful things to experience!

Recommended for:

Guest: Costa Rica is a beautiful country
Date of Stay: 01/09/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

Costa Rica is a beautiful country that needs no further explanation after your experience here. I highly recommend rafting, deep sea fishing and the canopy tour. The pool was great and we all loved lounging around and in it! Wake up early and enjoy the monkeys - if they aren't right next to the house, then look for branches moving and you'll see them!

Recommended for:

Guest: You'll be glad you came!
Date of Stay: 01/02/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

12 of us stayed here for 7 nights at Casa Dolce Vita - the house was awesome! We did the canopy tour and whitewater rafting and had a great time! The pool gets a lot of sunlight before Noon and then we found it was best to hit the beach if we were looking for more sun. We cooked most of our meals at home since the kitchen was so great! The staff at Escape Villas was really helpful. Lester and Ricky came by at least once a day to make sure we had everything we needed. The maids were great and took care of all of our laundry and kept the house spotless! The security guards were so nice and really made us feel safe. We kept all of our valuables in the safe so that we didn't have to worry as much. The local rum is awesome and monkeys are all over the place! You'll be glad you came!

Recommended for:

Guest: Sandy
Date of Stay: 04/21/07 Review Submitted: 07/07/10

Beautiful home in paradise. Loved the monkeys - what a fabulous place with great staff!

Recommended for:

Guest: Ann Marie
Date of Stay: 04/14/07 Review Submitted: 07/07/10

What a relaxing oasis! If only this paradise could last longer! Thanks for all the memories.

Recommended for:

Guest: Ken & Peggy
Date of Stay: 03/17/07 Review Submitted: 07/07/10

Pura Vida! Life provides no destination. Life provides only a journey. Our journey to Manuel Antonio leaves us high on life. To the owners of Casa Dolce Vita, we can only humbly express our thanks. To all who follow us in Casa Dolce Vita we wish much happiness.

Recommended for:

Guest: The Boderhamers
Date of Stay: 03/05/07 Review Submitted: 07/06/10

Wow! Everything was above and beyond our greatest expectations. The home was fantastic - housekeeping did a great job! All of our helpers were outstanding - tour guides, housekeeper and a special "thank you" to Jonathon and Farian, our cooks. They were so entertaining and friendly! They made us all feel so comfortable. Aldolfo was very hospitable and helpful. We love Ticos! We love Costa Rica! Pura Vida! See you in 5 years!

Recommended for:

Guest: Julian & Emily
Date of Stay: 09/05/04 Review Submitted: 07/06/10

Breathtaking.

If you could describe Casa Dolce Vita in one word, breathtaking would be it. Staying here was the most magnificent ending to the most wonderful vacation for my boyfriend Julian and me. After seeing the fireworks of the Arenal Volcano's eruptions and thinking that Los Suenos Resort was paradise - this surpasses all exectations. Despite sustaining bruises, scrapes, bug bites, and extremely sore muscles from doing the canopy tour, horseback riding, waterfall swimming, white-water rafting -a ll for my over-adventurous love of my life (this is coming from a socialite that is usually more interested in shoes) - every bit of it has been a mind-blowing dream. In my opinion, Dolce Vita in Manuel Antonio has been the best of Costa Rica.

The view is exceptional. The monkeys are a treat and the air is so refreshing. But all you really need is a bottle of Chilean wine, some cheese and some Delsar olive oil and rosemary crackers (a must!) and your trip will be extraordinary!

With much thanks and pleasure; muchas gracias!

Recommended for: