Location: San Ramon, Alajuela, Costa Rica, Central America (One hour from the SJO Airport)
Accommodations: Villa, 2 Bedrooms + Convertible bed(s), 2 Baths (Sleeps 4-5)
Keywords: Villa, House, Cabin, Casita, Costa Rica, Los Angeles Cloud Forest, San Ramon, Central Valley, WiFi, pet-friendly, non-smoking, kid-friendly, mountain views, eat-in kitchen, gourmet kitchen
Welcome to Villa Hada Escondida, our family's Costa Rican vacation home. Located in tranquil Los Angeles Sur, a few kilometers north of San Ramon, our private and relaxing home is styled after a Tuscan farmhouse with Costa Rican hardwoods and ceramic tile throughout. Villa Hada is surrounded by pastoral mountain views of the stunning Central Valley and sits on on the edge of the Los Angeles Cloud Forest. You'll love watching the morning clouds move through as they briefly enshroud the house in mist in this unique ecosystem. We enjoy an average daily temperature of 82F and a low of 64F, perfect for sleeping! Villa Hada Escondida is situated on a hilltop facing east/west so you can watch the sunrise from the kitchen table's view through the front door and relax over a sunset that's perfectly framed by the upstairs balcony's timber posts in the back of the house. The downstairs terrace's cozy hammocks and rocking chairs are a perfect spot for birding as you sip a cup of Costa Rican coffee made right in our gorgeous kitchen. Villa Hada Escondida is located on nearly two acres of lush rain forest and is surrounded by guava and ratoncillo trees covered in epiphytes and bromeliads. Because of the humid cloud forest climate, our garden has beautiful hydrangea and rose bushes in addition to the tropical plants you'd expect to see in Costa Rica. Our private nature trail leads past golden bamboo to a creek and waterfall where you'll see hummingbirds and blue morpho butterflies.
Our home is just 15 minutes from the center of San Ramon, two minutes from the road to La Fortuna/Arenal, two hours from Arenal, and one hour northwest of San Jose Airport. Located in Alajuela province, Villa Hada Escondida is a perfect choice after a long day of flying and is a great choice for your first or last few days in Costa Rica. It's also a beautiful place to base yourself as you explore the nearby Los Angeles Cloud Forest, San Ramon, Sarchi, Grecia, Zarcero, Poas Volcano or any of the Central Valley's attractions. Staying at Villa Hada will shorten your trip up to La Fortuna/Arenal as it's one hour closer than most Alajuela/airport accommodations. Villa Hada sleeps five and with it's two-story layout is suitable for two couples or one family. Because we want all our guests to fully enjoy the clean fresh air of the mountainous cloud forest climate, Villa Hada is a non-smoking home. We are pet-friendly and welcome guests traveling with well-behaved house-trained dogs and service animals. Our home is located in a guarded and gated community of European and North American expatriates and part-time residents.
Rental House layout
Villa Hada's ceramic-tiled first floor features a gourmet kitchen with a wooden dining table and bench seating, a sitting room area with a convertible futon, and a full-service laundry room. The downstairs bedroom has two beautiful hardwood twin beds, nightstands and an armoire. Enjoy views of the back garden and ridge line road to La Fortuna right from the tiled bathroom shower in the downstairs bathroom. A separate sink area has an elegant glass bowl basin for washing up. Upstairs you'll find an open-beamed ceiling great room with the master bedroom's dramatic wall of ivory cotton voile curtains behind the hardwood-topped hand wrought iron railing on one side and a sitting area on the other. The sheer drapes filter the light and add privacy without blocking the gorgeous views of rolling hills through the balcony's wall of windows. The entire upstairs has beautifully polished hardwood floors, including the outside balcony. Opposite the sitting area is a full bath with a huge shower and glass bowl sink. Plan the next day's adventures or enjoy the view through the balcony windows from the sitting room's wicker settee and chairs. Villa Hada's guest library on the rattan etagere at the end of the balcony hallway offers a collection of Costa Rican guide books, brochures, maps, and butterfly and wildlife identification books including a log of the 45 species of birds that have been seen in the Los Angeles Cloud Forest. Guests are invited to leave any books they've finished reading in Villa Hada's library and to sign our guest book! Yoga enthusiasts will be in heaven practicing yoga on our upstairs balcony. The hardwood floor is just waiting for your yoga mat.
Wondering what the house's name means? Villa Hada Escondida means Country House of the Hidden Faerie. Our two small children love faeries and all things magical and they truly believe that faeries exist, especially in their country house in Costa Rica! For more information please visit our home's website at crhouserental dot com.
Vacation Rental Features
- Amenities
- Washer : Washer is located in the laundry room
- Dryer : Dryer is located in the laundry room. Guests are also invited to use the clothesline suspended between the timber posts on the terrace if they would like to air dry their clothing.
- Linens Provided : Linens for the master bedroom's full size bed and the downstairs bedroom's twin beds are located in the wooden armoires in each bedroom. Towels are in the rattan chest of drawers downstairs. Please not that our previous guests may have relocated linens to another drawer.
- Off Street Parking
- Beds
- Double Bed : The master bedroom has a full size hardwood bed with drawers for storage below.
- Twin/Single Bed (2) : The downstairs bedroom has two twin size hardwood beds with drawers for storage below.
- Convertible Bed : The downstairs sitting room in the open kitchen/sitting room area has a blue futon that opens to a twin size bed.
- Kitchen
- Full Kitchen
- Cooking Utensils Provided
- Refrigerator
- Microwave
- Outdoor Features
- Deck/Patio
- Balcony
- View/Location
- Mountain View : There are broad pastoral views of the Los Angeles Cloud Forest in this stunning part of the western Central Valley highlands from the back terrace and upstairs balcony and from the front Dutch door.
- Communications
- WiFi (Wireless Internet) : We provide our guests with their unique password for the password protected WiFi and ask that they do not share this information with anyone else.
- Other Amenities
- Our kitchen has a coffee maker, toaster, and an assortment of herbs, spices and basic cooking ingredients which we welcome our guests to use. The downstairs bedroom has two cotton hammocks which can be hung from the hooks on the downstairs terrace. There are also two rattan rocking chairs for use on the terrace. The ceramic urn at the base of the stairs is filled with bamboo walking sticks for our guests' use. Our home has a small guest library on the rattan etagere at the end of the upstairs balcony hall opposite the upstairs sitting room. There is also a guestbook and a three ring binder notebook containing house and local information.
- Suitability
- Pet Friendly : We are a pet friendly home and welcome guests traveling with well-behaved house trained dogs and service dogs. We are experienced with the required USDA health certification process to leave the United States with a dog and with the requirements to leave Costa Rica and would be happy to help guests find more information about traveling to Costa Rica with a dog.
- Handicapped Accessible (may have limitations) : Our house has a first floor bedroom and full bath for guests who are unable to climb the stairs to our second floor master bedroom. The entire first floor is ceramic-tiled with wide open spaces and no steps. Guests with limited walking ability can be dropped off right at the front door. Our side and back gardens have recently been completely graded and the area immediately surrounding the house is relatively smooth and level. Please note the back slope of the house is relatively steep.
- Wheelchair Accessible (may have limitations) : Our ceramic-tiled first floor has wide open spaces and no steps. The entryway to the front door is a ceramic tile stoop approximately 3" tall. Guests can pull right up the front door. The front door and all interior doors are wide enough for most wheelchairs and the exit to the terrace are French doors which can accomodate a wheelchair. Our house has a first floor bedroom and full bath for guests who require the use of a wheelchair.
- Kid Friendly : Our house is surrounded by guava trees (our own small children think they're just the perfect height for climbing). The garden area has two wooden swings and is enclosed by hibiscus hedges so children can play safely. There's a terrific nature trail leading to a waterfall right on our two acre property. The gated and guarded neighborhood is populated by full and part-time North American and European residents who are very friendly and love children. There's a butterfly garden and a water park within a half hour's drive from the house for kid friendly fun.
- Smoking Not Allowed
- Activities
- Theme Park (Amusement Park)
- Museums
- Zoo/Wildlife Park
- Restaurants
- Shopping
- Swimming
- Mountain Biking
- Wildlife Viewing
- Health/Beauty Spa
- Horseback Riding
- Hiking
- Other Activities
- Our guests will find zip lining and horseback riding at the nearby Los Angeles Cloud Forest. Bird watching can be done right from our home. There are three great coffee plantation tours all within the Central Valley. Our home is two hours south of Arenal Volcano and one hour and a half from Poas Volcano. The town of Sarchi is less than an hour to the east of Villa Hada Escondida and is the best place in Costa Rica to find handicrafts. Zarcero is a unique town one hour to the northeast of Villa Hada Escondida known for organic produce and the unusual topiary park.
Rate Details (In US Dollars)
Green Season .. $75/night (2 night minimum) .. $450/week .. $1500/month
High Season ... $80/night (2 night minimum) .. $480/week .. $1600/month
We accept PayPal at the time of reservation. Half of your deposit
is due within 5 days of the reservation request.
Please note, we do not accept bookings with fewer than three days' notice.
Note: Until confirmed, rates are subject to change without notice.
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Credit Cards Accepted:
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Owner's Profile
Owner Description
Year Purchased: 2010
We're an American couple living in Edinburgh, Scotland. We've been traveling to Costa Rica for over 10 years and love the Central Valley. We've both traveled to more than 45 countries and all 50 states but Villa Hada is our favorite place on earth! I am a figure skating coach and my husband works in the international division of a health care company. Our two small children and small dog, Matilda, love to play in Villa Hada's "secret garden". We love English gardening and have designed Villa Hada Escondida's garden to look like a an English garden complete with hydrangea and rose bushes. We add to our garden on every visit and have a fantastic caretaker who keeps it all looking amazing. We are bilingual (Spanish) and bought our home in Los Angeles Sur so our children could grow up immersed in the beautiful Costa Rican culture and perfect their already terrific Spanish.
Why the Owner Chose San Ramon
San Ramon has the perfect climate with temperatures ranging from 65-85F and breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. We love the Central Valley for it's kind people, simple lifestyle, spectacular mountain views, twisty roads that are fun to drive on, and because our children can be immersed in the best of pura vida culture during our time here.
The Unique Benefits of this Villa
When we're at home in Villa Hada we love to visit the weekly farmer's market in San Ramon near the University of Costa Rica where you can buy the most amazing fruits and vegetables for a fraction of the price in North America or Europe. We spend a day or two a week shopping in San Ramon, a delightful little city where you'll find anything you could possibly want all around the central plaza. Our children love the butterfly garden located about 8 miles north on the road to La Fortuna. We often go horseback riding at the stables located just outside the entrance to Hotel Villablanca where the rates are very reasonable and the trails rides are fantastic. Our house is on the southern edge of the Los Angeles Cloud Forest and the cloud mist that moves through the valley and past our house is indescribably beautiful. The views from our home are outstanding especially from our upstairs balcony where Diana and the children love to practice yoga daily. We hike our own private nature trail at least twice a week to see blue morphos and hummingbirds. During the rainy season, especially September-November, the waterfall is enormous. It's at least two stories high and loud enough that you can hear it from the balcony. There's is zip lining in the local cloud forest and Las Musa water park just outside San Ramon for more local activities. Our house is a terrific place to come home to after day trips throughout the Central Valley. We love Poas and all the little vendors along the road selling strawberries and homemade jam. If you're on your way to Arenal, spend your first few or last few days in Costa Rica at Villa Hada relaxing and getting into your vacation mindset! It takes one hour and a half to get to the major rental car places from our house and Villa Hada is a much more tranquil and affordable place to stay than any of the Alajuela accommodations. And the pizza at Mi Rancho restaurant by our house is excellent!
Property Photos
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- External view of Villa Hada Escondida from road. - San Ramon, Costa Rica - Rental House - Close to Hiking - Mountain Views
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- Balcony wall of windows runs from 2nd floor sitting room to master bedroom. - San Ramon, Costa Rica - Rental House - Close to Hiking - Mountain Views
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- Master bedroom is walled on one side with ivory sheer cotton voile drapes. - San Ramon, Costa Rica - Rental House - Close to Hiking - Mountain Views
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- View of ceramic tiled eat-in gourmet kitchen from second floor master bedroom.
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- Your own private yoga studio on the balcony of our pet-friendly home.
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- Morning mist from the Los Angeles Cloud Forest seen from the balcony.
Traveler Reviews (8)
Gorgeous home!
Guest: Paula
(Dallas, TX)
Date of Stay: 11/20/11
Review Submitted: 11/28/11
Exceptional home in the mountains - a bit dicey to get to, so bring a four-wheel drive vehicle! Views from this home are amazing, and Chico the caretaker was wonderful. The home was well stocked with kitchen spices/towels/sheets and blankets. Amazing temperatures, and the home owner Diana was extremely helpful throughout the process. This home is close to many wonderful areas in Costa Rica to zipline and view volcanos, and is an easy one hour drive from the airport in San Jose. Neighbors in the area were very friendly! It is a beautiful home, but teenagers may not like the lack of TV and inconsistent internet service. I would highly recommend this home for adults - absolutely stunning views in the morning when the clouds roll into the region. Pura vida!
Recommended for:Girls getaway, adventure seekers, romantic getaway, sightseeing.
Exactly as advertised - met our expectations and needs
Guest: Pancho & Joey
(Alexandria, VA)
Date of Stay: 11/04/11
Review Submitted: 11/15/11
We selected Villa Hada Escondida for its location and unique character. We went to CR to investigate as a potential place to retire. VHE provided a great location to explore the central highlands. We took the owner's suggestion that its proximity to the airport made it perfect to start and end our 10 days in CR. It is just as pictured on their site. It is spacious, clean, and peaceful with great views of the country side. We saw flocks of exotic birds every day. We would not hesitate to recommend VRE especially if you want a place to completely distance yourself from the stress of everyday life. And it’s convenient to the natural attractions that draw many to CR.
Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, sightseeing, families with young children.
Beautiful - great deal!
Guest: Neil P.
Date of Stay: 08/12/11
Review Submitted: 08/18/11
This place a great find - we really enjoyed ourselves. The view was great - the house was beautiful - the drive up was relatively easy (in Costa Rican standards). The instructions on how to get there were great....always a neccesity for finding places in Costa Rica!! We would certainly recommend this place to anyone looking for a rental in that area. Thanks once again for a great time.
Owner response:Thank you Neil! I'm so glad the directions to our home made your trip easy. Driving anywhere in Costa Rica can be overwhelming because of poor signage and unpredictable road conditions. We provide our guests with very detailed driving instructions including lots of landmarks so they can arrive at Villa Hada Escondida tranquil and relaxed.
Recommended for:
Lovely home
Guest: Dori
(Yoakum, Texas)
Date of Stay: 08/02/11
Review Submitted: 08/05/11
We had a lovely time. The home is beautiful and the view is outstanding. We spent many hours on the upstairs deck, drinking coffee, listening to birds and relaxing in the rocking chairs. The home is located close to provisions/restaurants but far out enough to have peace and quiet. I highly recommend staying in this home, especially when arriving or leaving the country as it's close to the airport. Also, Chico is very accomodating and the neighbors were wonderful and welcoming!
Owner response:Thanks Dori! I'm so glad you enjoyed our upstairs balcony. It has great views over the canyon and birdwatchers can spot at least 20 species without ever leaving their rocking chair! We love how convenient our home is to the San Jose airport and local shops and restaurants and yet it's well removed from the traffic of Alajuela. Los Angeles Sur really is a hidden gem! Chico is terrific and makes all our guests feel so welcome and at ease upon arrival.
Recommended for:Girls getaway, adventure seekers, romantic getaway, age 55+, people with disabilities, pet owners, sightseeing, families with young children.
A great starting point for daytime adventures
Guest: Melissa
(Shasta Lake, CA/USA)
Date of Stay: 04/23/11
Review Submitted: 06/02/11
We had a wonderful time at this beautiful house with great views. The kids loved the waterfall hike, the fireflies at night, the WIFI (teenagers) and the privacy. We enjoyed the peacefulness and the upstairs deck to have a glass of wine or to drink our coffee in the morning. We liked the feeling that our kids were safe as they played outside in this gated community of very nice people. The location was very central to the many day trip adventures that we really enjoyed. The neighbors were very friendly and helpful and made us feel very welcome. Chico was very nice and helpful. We had a great time.
Owner response:Thanks Melissa! Our house is very kid-friendly and there are lots of adventures for little ones as well as older kids right in our own garden. Our nature trail is an easy 30 minute hike for the whole family where you can see blue morpho butterflies, hummingbirds, tree ferns, golden timber bamboo, epiphytes and bromeliads without ever leaving our property. We even have bamboo walking sticks in the living room for explorers of all ages. The tranquility and privacy of Villa Hada's terrace and balcony make it feel like you're in a very remote location but there's so much to do within a short distance. The butterfly garden and Las Muses Water Park, less than 10km away, are great morning trips for children and adults. The Tico towns of Zarcero, Grecia and Sarchi are within an hour's drive and the funky beach town of Puntarenas is an hour and 15 minutes away. There's no need to feel out of touch (unless you want to be) at Villa Hada. Our Wifi will keep you connected and allow you continue to research your Costa Rican adventure right from the comfort of one of our terrace's hammocks. So many Costa Rican rental homes can be difficult to find or are in unwelcoming gated communities. Chico our caretaker will be more than happy to show you around the house upon your arrival. Because we like to get to know our guests before their stay and since we speak regularly with Chico, he knows a little bit about our guests before their arrival. We think it's a much nicer reception after a long journey than arriving as an anonymous renter looking to pick up house keys. Our neighbors are very friendly and diverse and really enjoy meeting our guests.
Recommended for:Girls getaway, families with teenagers, romantic getaway, age 55+, pet owners, sightseeing.
Beautiful Views!
Guest: Jen and Kyle
(Seattle)
Date of Stay: 05/01/11
Review Submitted: 05/21/11
My husband and I enjoyed a relaxing stay at this wonderful villa in May 2011. We used it as a base camp for exploring Arenal and Irazu Volcanoes, the Monte Verde Cloud Forest and the local towns and villages around San Jose and San Ramon. The home is beautiful with lots of wood and tile and has a fabulous veranda off the master that we would sit on nightly enjoying the views of the countryside and the wonderful sounds of the jungle. Very peaceful! We also enjoyed the caretaker, Chico and his family as well as the surrounding neighbors. We would recommend this to anyone wanting to experience the Central Valley and surrounding areas. Lori and Jose Seattle, Washington
Owner response:Thanks Lori and Jose! We were so happy to hear you got to know our friend and caretaker, Chico, and that he made you feel right at home at Villa Hada. Our house is in such a great location for exploring the Central Valley and is well away from the traffic and noise of accommodations closer to the airport. We love the San Ramon area because it's so typically Tico and has not been Americanized by an onslaught of tourists like in Costa Rica's more touristy areas. The small towns around Villa Hada Escondida are beautiful examples of the real Costa Rica and are famous for their dairy products. We buy raw milk and all our cheese at Tramo Los Angeles, a little snack stand on the left hand side of the road heading north to La Fortuna. They also sell cajita, typical Costa Rican sweets similar to fudge. We love our upstairs balcony at night too. My children love when we turn on the outside lights and an incredible variety of moths species appears all along the wall of windows. Some are as big as 5" across! From August-November, towards the end of the rainy season, the waterfall at the bottom of the garden is loud enough to be heard from the balcony. You can also hear coyotes and a variety of tree frogs and night insects. The jungles sounds are great for peaceful sleeping.
Recommended for:Adventure seekers, pet owners, sightseeing.
Stayed mid-Feb 2011
Guest: Yanner
(Arlington, VA)
Date of Stay: 02/12/11
Review Submitted: 05/20/11
The house was very clean and open and quiet up in the Cloud Forest and very close to good restaurants, great souvenir shop and La Blanca Villa which is a wonderful resort to walk the grounds. The neighbors are friendly and the caretaker was helpful. Diana, the owner was really helpful as this was our first trip to Costa Rica and we used this place at the start and end of our trip as it's less than an hour from San Jose Airport. I loved the upstairs balcony, the bed was very comfortable (no sagging), lots of natural lighting but still private. The W/D and kitchen was very convenient, we made breakfast every morning and explored the area. San Ramon is close enough as well as the small town of Los Angeles to get supplies. We really enjoyed our romantic stay there.
Owner response:Thank you for your helpful review! I thoroughly enjoyed my emails and conversations with you prior to your stay and we're so glad you enjoyed Villa Hada Escondida. We've traveled all over Costa Rica since 1999 and it's fun helping our guests plan an amazing trip. For first-time visitors to Costa Rica, the sheer number must-see places in the guide books can be overwhelming and we enjoy helping guests narrow down the choices and plot an itinerary using our home as a base or a starting/ending point. Travel time by car is surprisingly long because of the variable road conditions and the country is best seen when visitors focus on one or two regions per trip. Chico is our wonderful friend/caretaker/gardener who lovingly looks after our home between our visits. He makes sure it's as clean and beautiful for our guests as it is for our own stays. We love to have breakfast on the upstairs balcony where we can watch the local dairy farmers move their cows from pasture to pasture on the hills opposite our back garden. Our house is an easy drive to several good restaurants. One of our favorites is Rincon de Poeta on the main road coming into in San Ramon where they have three outdoor tables under palapa umbrellas in a private alley covered with flowering vines. The restaurant at Hotel Villablanca is excellent for a very special meal like a birthday or anniversary. The souvenir shop close to our home has an excellent selection of Costa Rican hardwood souvenirs and if you can't make the trip to Sarchi, this is a good place to shop where the prices are no higher than in Sarchi itself.
Recommended for:Romantic getaway, sightseeing.
Perfect hideaway on the road to La Fortuna
Guest: Jim & Lisa
(Rockwood, Maine)
Date of Stay: 06/07/10
Review Submitted: 07/21/10
My family stayed at the villa in San Ramon for a 3 day stay at the beginning of our holiday. The house is beautiful with relaxing views of the local hills and farms and is less than an hour from the airport. The house is mostly wood, with ceramic tile throughout the first floor. Their is a full kitchen and 2 great bathrooms with views. The house is near a water park in San Ramon and near the Los Angeles Cloud Forest Preserve. We also were able to have dinner at 2 nice restaurants in town at night. I would recommend the house for small families and it it a great destination at the start or end of a trip to relax and be close to the airport.
Owner response:Thanks Jim and Lisa. We're really glad you decided to stay at Villa Hada Escondida. There are so many choices in rental properties but we think our house is pretty special because of its beautiful design using Costa Rican hardwoods, our convenient location and spectacular views. We like Las Muses water park as well. It's a really fun day outing for our children and we like to stop at the Friday Farmer's Market on the way back home. We also like the stables just outside the Los Angeles Cloud Forest. They have hour-long trail rides that pass working dairy farms with stunning scenery for very reasonable rates. Hope you and your children will choose Villa Hada again on your next trip to the Central Valley or on your way up to Arenal.
Recommended for:Adventure seekers, romantic getaway, pet owners, families with young children.
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