Tamarindo

"We stayed in two different units in this building in late January. For three nights we stayed in a ground floor level apartment, for the second half we moved up to a second floor unit. Both apartments have similar two bedroom layouts. Ground floor had a large patio and the second floor had a large balcony. There were plenty of linens, towels, beach towels, fully equiped kitchens, washer/dryer, ceiling fans, comfortable furnishing and air conditioning. They did provide a roll away cot. The building rep Bob Wilson met us when we checked in and gave us useful tips about the condo, the beach cub and the general area. There was a concierge in the lobby during business hours. There was someone stationed at the gate 24 hours a day. We felt completely safe and secure. The street in front is not paved, it is a tar covered rocky road. It is quite busy for such a remote and quiet area. Not heavy traffic, just a light constant stream of cars, buses and motorcycles. The buidling backs onto a nature preserve. We did see monkeys right outside our balcony. There were plenty of birds as well. Howler monkeys early in the morning. One negative of this locations was there were a couple of nights when our bedroom was overcome by a terrible skunk odor. It passed, but it did wake me in the middle of the night. The sliding doors to the balconies and patios don't quite seal so you have to be prepared for visiting bugs (waterbugs and mosquitos) and even small iguanas (or lizards?) scurrying though the apartment. Te groud floor unit was a little worse for the wear. The freezer leaked water from the water dispenser so every time you opened the freezer door water spilled on the kitchen floor. This was annoying. All of the burners on the stovetop did not fire up. The second floor unit had great A/C except for the second bedroom, it was very warm and coldn't be cooled down. The housekeeping staff was excellent. The building is very well maintained. Every morning they sweep the outdoor pathways as well as the inside lobby and staircase. They were painting the lobby when we were there. The elevator was not in service but that was no big deal as we were on the ground level and the second floor."