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    300 degree Views of Braulio Carrillo Cloud Forest and Birdwatching

    Pará, Costa Rica
    • House1400 sq. ft.
    • Bedrooms2
    • Sleeps5
    • Bathrooms2
    • Half Baths0
    • Minimum Stay10 - 14 nights

    2 BR 2BA-half acre of flowers and lawns close to San Jose museums and shoppin

    ALSO SEE OUR 3 BR LISTING with pool table VRBO 573635

    **Check out our new cable TV and internet services below, and the long list of birds seen from this house **

    Here is the complete, unedited review from Dec 2014 guest Dan of Ontario, Canada:

    "This was one of the most beautiful homes I have stayed in ... The pictures do not do it justice it is much better in person ... The kitchen was our favourite! New appliances and everything you need was provided... Currently staying at a very expensive apartment in Tamarindo and does not provide anything, a coffee maker or frying pans or even hot water! I miss this home in Heredia!

    Some other positives are the manager picked me up at the airport, took me for groceries, got to the house it was very clean, the internet was fast, I recommend bringing apple tv ;) it does have satellite TV, beautiful view, the grocery store was relatively close by ... the weather was never too hot or too cold it was always perfect. Anyway I recommend this house hope to stay again someday soon!" (end of Dan's review, and yes, he and his wife became repeat customers)

    Owner Steve's property description: As Dan stated, the fully bi-lingual on-site manager Eduardo (graduate of the University of Kansas) will pick you up at my expense at the airport or your car rental office so you will not have a problem finding the place, and he will take you grocery shopping at a nice nearby supermarket on the way to the house. If needed we will arrange a taxi back to the airport at your expense. If you are ok driving an older car with stick shift, we can provide one at low cost. If you are staying less than 30 days we are required by Costa Rican law to charge you the 13% hotel tax.

    This newer (2010) 2 BR 2 Bath is in a park-like country setting, yet close to the city. It is an architect designed passive solar penthouse with high end materials and artistic details. Spring weather year round (high 70's/23-26 C, never too hot). 3 roofed balconies catch sun and birds all day. Electric gate with remote, part time handyman-gardener, retired couple Eduardo and Agnes next door are the on-site managers who speak Spanish, English and French. Renewably grown teak in all ceilings, doors, cabinets and woodwork, imported Spanish tile, ceramic and stained glass artwork by local artists, all glass separate sunroom with stationary exercise bike, fully furnished and equipped with US appliances including new dishwasher, new teak queen bed frames with Guatemalan bedspreads, Claro cable TV with English BBC news, ABC Miami, some U.S sports in English, kids channels, music channels, etc) TWO Wifi internet systems exclusive to this house (not shared with any other house )to drive ALL your wireless devices simultaneously and run clear Skype video calls landline and 49 inch LED Smart TV hooked to wifi (your Netflix or similar will run), four desks (three with amazing views), kitchen island seats 6, fully screened but well above the mosquito altitude zone, all rooms have ceiling fans, but the natural cross ventilation from local breeze allows easy temperature adjustment. 30 minutes to the downtown National Theater and the museums, 25 minutes to the Universidad Nacional (UNA) in Heredia. Under 2 1/2 hours by car to either Atlantic or Pacific beaches. 20 minutes to the new (2013) Lincoln Mall with first run movies and top restaurants. 12 minutes to the Kahli/Brumas del Zurqui coffee shop with the coffee judged best in the world in 2012. 12 minutes to the Toucan Rescue Ranch exotic animal park. 14 minutes to the award winning Bougainvillea hotel gardens and restaurant, 15 minutes to the Bromelias del Rio restaurant and bakery, 18 minutes to the Sibu organic chocolate factory and tour, 20 minutes to the new Riverside Pizzeria and Gastropub, 25 minutes to the Britt coffee tour farm and packing plant. 55 minutes to the Jungle Tram or Zoo Ave bird sanctuary, just over one hour to the Sarchi woodworking town or the Lankester gardens. No Pets, No smoking.

    We call this the Birdwatching House. Here is the verbatim bird report by Marilyn and Bill of Michigan from their 8-day stay in early December, 2017:

    "The first list contains those birds we saw either from the windows or balconies of the house:

    Clay-colored Robin

    Blue-gray Tanager

    Rufous-collared Sparrow

    Ringed Kingfisher

    White-tailed Hawk

    Black Phoebe

    Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

    Brown Jay

    Great Kiskadee

    Summer Tanager (male and female)

    Social Flycatcher

    Tropical Kingbird

    Baltimore Oriole (make and female)

    Blue-and-white Swallow

    Montezuma Oropendola

    Western Kingbird

    Yellow-faced Grassquit

    Grayish Saltator

    Crimson-fronted Parakeet

    Snowy Egret

    Black Vulture

    Lesser Goldfinch

    Masked Tityra (male and female)

    Philadelphia Vireo

    Inca Dove

    Hoffman’s Woodpecker

    And we also saw in the area, or near the house, but not from the windows:

    Blue-crowned Motmot

    Great-tailed Grackle

    White-winged Dove"

    Since the above report a subsequent guest, Drew of Canada reported seeing 40 kinds of birds from the house or in the vicinity.

    Owner

    Steven Huffstutlar

    Member Since 2014
    Response rate:
    100%
    Response time:
    within a few hours
    Speaks:
    English, Spanish
    Calendar last updated:
    May 26, 2018
    About Steven Huffstutlar

    I am 71, retired from overseas consulting work in agriculture and road projects. I grew up in California (BA from UC Berkeley 1968). I have managed my own rentals for 30+ years. I have lived in Costa Rica for 20 of the past 32 years, having come here in 1984 to manage an agricultural project for the US Embassy. I spend part of the year in California with the grandchildren. I have gone through all the residency requirements for Costa Rica and can offer general and residency advice about visiting and living in Costa Rica (I will e-mail you my personal Central Valley tourist guide on request). Since retiring in 2007 I built this passive solar teak-lined house surrounded by mountains, forest, and vast skies, with inside temperatures in the high 70's-F/23-26-C year round. No need for air conditioning or heat, inside temperatures are adjusted by opening and closing screened windows for cooling by mild natural breezes.

    Steven Huffstutlar purchased this House in 2010

    Why Steven Huffstutlar chose Tures

    I lived at the beach in Costa Rica (Manuel Antonio) and after a couple of years found the hot weather was uncomfortable and getting gradually worse. Then I moved to 900 meters altitude in San Antonio de Belen (Cariari) and found temperatures there were also uncomfortable. This house location at about 1150 meters altitude (3700 ft) has great weather and is close to San Jose area attractions, and is much less crowded, hot and congested than the other side of the valley such as Santana and Rohrmoser-Escazu. I left California's urban congestion to find an idyllic place like this. Located at the end of a quiet country lane between two rivers, the surrounding properties on three sides are undeveloped farms or private gardens. We are visited by flocks of noisy green parrots during parts of the year, along with occasional Montezuma's oropendulas, mot mots and orioles (see the full birds sighted list in the property description). This is the resident nesting territory of the Great Kiskadee, yellow flycatchers, brown and white jays, yiguirros (Clay Colored Robins, the Costa Rican national bird) and powder blue tanagers. Buzzards and hawks patrolling our two nearby rivers treat us to flying ballets all day long. To the north a 3-mile/5-km stretch of the mountains of the Braulio Carrillo Park is visible with its constantly changing crown of passing clouds coming and going. To the east we see the Irazu volcano and to the south the mountains behind San Jose. To the west we see sunsets from the second bedroom balcony. We have impressive rainbows often on all sides.

    What makes this House unique

    This house has amazing views from high panoramic windows and 3 roofed balconies. Please note there are 20 steps up to the house. The property's grounds below have lawns and a riot of colorful flowers year round. The house has 16 skylights, some in every room and the hot water is solar heated with electric backup for rainy days. The roomy master bedroom has its own colorfully tiled bathroom with skylight, Delta shower and granite-topped solid teak commode. The second bedroom has its own colorfully tiled bathroom with tub and Delta shower, skylight and granite topped solid teak commode. Each bedroom has a ceiling fan (seven ceiling fans total) and its own private, roofed balcony. The queen beds have teak frames, high count US cotton sheets and colorful handmade Guatemalan bedspreads. The all glass sunroom catches early morning sun and has a Tunturi stationary exercise bike. Full set of new US appliances, including a new dishwasher, all cooking and kitchen utensils, espresso maker, coffee grinder, rice cooker, convection oven, and 49 inch smart TV and DVD player. We have Claro cable TV and two kinds of wi-fi internet working simultaneously to run all your devices. Wifi reaches every room. New curtains in bedrooms, 4 desks, three with great views. Covered parking for two cars. Has 20 steps up to front door. Sleeps 4 plus couch.

    $70avg/night
    14 Reviews
    Wonderful 4.9/5
    Enter dates for accurate pricing
    For booking assistance, call 888-640-7927

    Property # 576198

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