2 Story Luxury House spectacular views central to Costa Rica tourist activities

Thank you! We really enjoyed having you stay with us and thanks for coming to our Christmas fundraiser. 36 kids will get their bags filled with toys tomorrow!

We are really sorry that you were surprised by the Costa Rica government 13% tax we are required to collect. VRBO does not include the government taxes in our customer room fees for 2 reasons: 1) If we request that VRBO add 13% tax to the room fee, they simply add calculate the added tax using ALL their fees: service fees, VRBO taxes, other fees. It ends up costing the guest significantly more in taxes! 2) We rent via 5 different global rental services. Unfortunately every service and country is different in the fees they charge and how they are paid. The result is that VRBO is the only one of the 4 that will agree to add the gov't tax for Costa Rica prior to check-in. We tried to communicate via the VRBO site prior to your arrival but were not successful in receiving a response. However, we should have tried harder to make certain you knew about the tax once you arrived. It is in red on the first page of our Guest Guide. We brought it to your attention when you asked to extend your stay by 1 night. We definitely will by more diligent in helping our guests understand the added tax. Thank you for the feedback. Nancy & Andy

Andy and I were taken aback by the angry and unfounded comments from this guest couple who stayed at Hacienda Vivace following 3 previous stays with wonderful reviews from their family relatives. One relative stated “the place was clean, beautiful setting, and wonderful hosts…I can’t wait to come again”. Another relative commented “the views from the upstairs balcony and down stairs were amazing! House was cozy and had what we needed. Andy and Nancy were gracious. We will definitely stay there again when we visit our daughter” (and they did). IT IS CRITICAL FOR US PERSONALLY, OUR REPUTATION AS HOSTS, AND FOR FUTURE GUESTS THAT WE RESPOND TO THE UNFOUNDED MISINFORMATION PROMOTED BY THIS PARTICULAR GUEST COUPLE. When they checked into the Casita, they announced that, even though they had paid for 6 nights and were visiting family, they intended to stay only 2 nights and then move to the more exclusive La Fortuna Baldi Hot Springs Resort, a considerable distance away. EIGHT HOURS LATER, THEY APPEARED AT OUR FRONT DOOR, HANDED US THE KEY AND SAID THEY WERE LEAVING BECAUSE “WE ARE SIMPLY USED TO MORE HIGHER-END ACCOMMODATIONS”. THEY REFUSED TO DISCUSS FURTHER AND SAID, “EVERYTHING IS FINE, WE HAVE FOUND OTHER ACCOMMODATIONS, WE ARE ALL TAKEN CARE OF. GOOD-BYE.” THEY MENTIONED NONE OF THE FOLLOWING ISSUES DURING THE 8 HOURS THEY WERE IN RESIDENCE NOR WHEN THEY LEFT ABRUPTLY. 1. COMMENT: “Bug infested, unkept place. Flying & crawling insects all over the inside.” OWNER RESPONSE: False. The Casita was professionally cleaned the day before the guests arrived. To say that it was “unkept” is bizarre; it was immaculate. Yes, we have bugs in Costa Rica, but certainly not what was described. 2. COMMENT: “No WiFi - owner said it might have blown out nights ago in a storm.” OWNER RESPONSE: False. We informed the guests that the week prior to their arrival, we lost our router due to a lightning strike to our roof. However, we replaced it the next day and our password protected high-speed WiFi/Internet was working fine. 3. COMMENT: Kitchen — no hot water. OWNER RESPONSE: False. The entire house has very hot water with great water pressure and is served by one system. It would be impossible for only the kitchen to lose hot water. 4. COMMENT: “Drain not working in the inside shower /tub. The bugs in there drown & were swirling around - gross.” OWNER RESPONSE: False. The drains were not clogged the day prior to their visit, nor were they clogged the day they depar

Thank you for the wonderful review! Just to clarify for future guests, we do not use air conditioning in the Pacific Highlands, i.e. greater San Ramon. Our temperatures are consistent throughout the year: in the mid-seventies during the day and sixties at night. Many think it is "the ideal" place to live in Costa Rica. December through April is our summer or "dry season," while May through November is our winter or "green season." In the Casita we have a large fan that cools 2 stories as needed.

Thank you Jane and Jeff. It was a pleasure getting to know you. We hope to see you again next year in Magallanes and in a couple of years as residents of CR.

We enjoyed having you and your family stay with us for the month. You were wonderful guests. Happy New Year and we look forward to seeing you again in a few weeks.