Archival
10/10 Excellent
Frances P.
28 Mar, 2016
Almost Perfect
Positives:
The setting is beautiful - on a cliff surrounded by ocean and gardens. The views are stunning. From every window or deck, the view is different and always beautiful.
It is completely private yet we always felt safe. There are a couple other houses nearby (yet not visible), and a guard at the entry gate. We felt completely comfortable leaving doors and windows open day and night to catch the ocean breezes.
The house is lovely and spacious, an open plan which is beautifully decorated. There is abundant choice and comfortable furniture for lounging indoors or on outdoor decks and patios.
Augostino, the friendly pool and yard man, does a wonderful job of maintaining the outdoor areas each day. He is paid a modest salary, so a generous tip from guests is well-deserved. Weekly housekeeping is also appreciated.
The charming town of San Juan del Sur is just a 15-minute drive away. There are some interesting shops and restaurants there. Pick up some fresh fish for the bar-b-que at the fish market. There’s a very nice yoga studio, Zen Yoga. Good lattes can be had at Barrio Cafe. There are also some small grocery stores with a variety of products unavailable at the larger supermarket.
There are many beautiful beaches nearby. Check out Maderas to watch the surfers. El Coco is lovely (if you don’t mind a long, dusty drive) and we were the only two people there the day we went.
WiFi in the house was excellent.
Negatives:
This VRBO is close to perfect; however a couple of changes would make it even better.
Considering that this is a luxury rental (with a luxury price tag), the owner seems a touch parsimonious in the following ways:
The washing machine is not to be used by guests; it is in a locked room (and apparently the dryer doesn’t work).
Television and Netflix are disabled. As month-long renters, we would have loved having Netflix.
Air conditioning on the main floor (which gets very hot by late afternoon and evening) is disabled; however, there are ceiling fans which help. I don’t know if the owner disables A/C for all guests. There is a surcharge for electricity use over a certain threshold, and we negotiated with him to waive this surcharge for us; so perhaps he disabled the A/C only for us.
The hammocks (which are pictured on VRBO) are also locked away.
Some basic kitchen items such as a kettle, soup spoons, knife sharpener, teapot would be appreciated.