My Wife and I and another couple spent 2 weeks at Casa Playa Blanca, and it was everything we wanted. The house itself is fine, ocean views from the bedrooms, beds are comfortable, water is hot, nothing that amazing though until you step outside. The huge patio area and large pool are where we spent most of our time. There was almost always some shade to be found, but the pool itself is really in direct sun for most of the day. And then there is the beach! the path to the beach is not far at all, maybe 80ft from the house. Playa Blanca is a gorgeous beach but there are many rocks, so we didn't enjoy swimming there too much but still walked down to enjoy most sunsets. We did not have a 4x4 and we were fine in the dry season although like most of Costa Rica, some of the roads are an adventure. There are lots of good restaurants within about 15mins and a decent supermercado about 7 minutes away. The biggest con for us about Casa Playa Blanca is that you need to have a car to do anything, but totally worth it for us to have a private slice of paradise. Oh, and there is a cat. nice enough but awfully loud when she wants to get fed lol, but she didn't bother us at all.