Let me first say that we had an enjoyable stay, that the housekeeper was extremely friendly and very efficient, and that the house IS nice, although a little cramped for 6 adults. I was really very glad I didn't invite two more friends. A lot of rooms were crammed into a 1600 square feet space, so the house is like a half scale version of the old Antigua Colonial Houses we had stayed at before over the years.The confusion is partly my fault, I should have read the description more carefully. But mostly, what fooled me was the juxtaposition of the first two pictures. The first is a tight shot of the corner window and door of the actual house. The second is a wide shot of a beautiful street lined with old Colonial houses, showing on the extreme right a big white house with VERY SIMILAR corner windows and metal bars. The implication to me was that THAT was the house I was renting. It looked like any other big old Colonial house we had stayed at before, and that is what my wife and I expected. Therefore our disappointment with the small scale of the rooms. Also, the block around the corner is an empty lot closed with rusting corrugated iron sheets, and the block directly across the front door is the tall metal gate and wall of the large Santa Rosa compound. Clean, but not very charming. The neighboring houses are very basic and poor, the sidewalk is dirt, and full of motorcycles and old cars. Dont get me wrong, I spoke to the neighbors, they were very nice people, and we did not have any problems at all. That just wasn't quite the neighborhood we expected from that second picture. The rest of the street IS lined with flowering trees for a few blocks, and that made the 10 blocks or so walk to the Parque Central rather enjoyable. I was OK, I am accommodating, but I have to say my wife was very disappointed when she walked in the door, and made it clear to me she wished I had rented the same house as last year. Live and learn!
I feel the juxtaposition of these first two pictures is intentionally deceiving. It DID deceived me, and completely changed my perception of the other pictures, making me envision a much larger house with a big patio and large terrasses on the roof. That second picture should DEFINITELY be removed, and replaced with one showing the actual street. That would be more honest and accurate. I actually have a very good panorama of the whole neighborhood I would gladly include here and share, but VRBO doesn't offer me that possibility...