A true paradise in Playa Hermosa Guanacaste

The place had amazing views. The staff was very nice. The number of bedrooms/ bathrooms was very misleading. I would not recommend that an adult sleep on a pull out couch.

Good

Sam and his wife and that staff that care for the home are delightful and made us feel very welcomed. (Marvin and Sonia just did a great job of quietly working around the home). They went out of their way to accommodate our needs. They had beautiful flowers for us, Christmas decorations and other wonderfully welcoming touches to the house. The home itself is quite beautiful and the view from the upper deck over the bay is beautiful-its about a 5-minute drive to the beach. There are 2 grills and Marvin moved them so they were both on the same level. It's important to realize that while the VRBO homepage indicates that the home will sleep 18 with 7 rooms, the building itself has 4 separate units--1 is a separate apartment which sleeps a couple. 2 are on the bottom of 3 floors and I think sleep 2 each. The owners stayed in one of them while we were there. When I booked, I didn't realize this arrangement and ended up not having enough rooms for our party. When you book, make sure you say how many bedrooms and beds you need. There is a master with a bath on the middle floor; 2 other bedrooms and pull out bed (not comfortable but you can ask for the blow-up mattress and put it under the bed mattress) on that floor that share a bathroom. There is a room on entry level with bunk beds: mattress on bottom bunk not comfortable. The last "sleep space" is a pull out bed on the main floor. Realize that the total sleep space for 18 includes these 2 pull out sofa spaces that are not private. A couple of other issues: while the showers were nice and had hot water, none of the sinks had hot water. There is no dishwasher. The outdoor shower doesn't work (but there is a hose). Kitchen has a lot of dishes and utensils. It would be great to have deep sided bowls and to replace some of the pots and pans whose no-stick surfaces have begun to peel. The last sentence, of course, is common with rentals but with a lot of cooking with large numbers that would be great. For a rental that sleeps up to 18, there isn't a place to gather and sit around and talk easily. There are 2 tables (one inside and one on porch) which seat about 6 each. Having said all this, we had a great time, we made it work. Just be flexible if you rent this property--its in a wonderful place and feels like you're in the trees.

There are no addresses in Costa Rica so directions are sketchy. We came in three rental cars and all got lost. The coordinates were not accurate. Villa Camellia is an inspiringly beautiful home, spacious, well furnished, clean and functional for large groups. It also has a great view on several levels and two sun-warmed pools. What it doesn’t have surprised us because we were in an American state-of-mind. There is no dishwasher, not even pipes for hot water in the kitchen. Showers in the house have instant water heaters but the sink is cold only. Toilets get plugged up easily so we had to teach the kids that, here, we must put toilet paper in the wastebasket. Villa Camilla is near Playa Hermosa and Playa Coco. The driveway is scary steep and curves and goes back down at the other end. You might want four wheel drive and certainly automatic transmission. There are 3 units here: house, condo and studio apartment, rented and priced separately. Be clear on how many bedrooms you want if you do not want to sleep on sleeper sofas. The apartment is down three levels which you get to on outside stairs which have no railing or lights. The condo is on level two. There are separate keys for the house and studio and only one key each. The staff, Sixto and Pastoria are always available. We were especially happy with them and the owner, Sam, when they took care of us and the house when the be ry unusual hurricane was predicted. Fortunately, it missed us.