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Tag: Osa Peninsula

We made a terrific choice!

We made a terrific choice!

The Madrigal family from San Jose, Costa Rica, recently spent a week in Las Villas de San Buenas. After their stay they wrote the following review of their stay.

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We decided to go south Costa Rica for our year end vacation. We’re from San Jose and we all decided to skip the road to Guanacaste as this time of the year is hectic.

We rented this house for the final week of December and first days of January and we really had a great time here. First of all the road is in in great condition. Directions to the house are also really easy to follow. We were a group of 7 people, 3 couples and a friend. The house has 3 bedrooms, all with their private bathroom. Hot water of course and even a Jacuzzi in the master suite.Costa Rica home rental
Kitchen is in perfect condition, large refrigerator, dishwasher, stove and microwave. Laundry room with washer and dryer. Living room with Sky TV and all others with a DVD player.

The gardens and pool area are exceptional, the ocean view is amazing and we really spent our days there! With a cool breeze and birds singing everywhere.
The property is located in San Buenaventura town, close to beaches, national parks and waterfalls

Now, we really didn’t find any cons, however I must say that the house is listed for 8 people and the house has only 3 bedrooms with 3 beds (for 6 people comfortably accommodated). The other two must sleep in mattresses in the floor so you have to make some room for them in the bedrooms. Not a big issue for us.
Booking process was excellent and Nick the owner, replied every single email in no time.
If you’re thinking for a vacation in south Costa Rica, this is a great choice, you’ll have a wonderful time here!

My Costa Rica Vacation Video 2014

Costa Rica Vacation Video (June 2014)

The following video compilation is from our most recent trip to Costa Rica (June 2014) when the rest of my family came to Las Villas de San Buenas. My kids absolutely love it here in Costa Rica. The highlights always include daily dips in the swimming pool, running and playing in the Pacific Ocean at Playa Ventanas and going horseback riding on the property.

Come on down and make your own memories here! Contact us today to let us help you plan your Costa Rica trip.

Costa Rica Update from Cliff Hulbert (June pt 1 of 2)

The following is Part 1 of a two part Osa, Costa Rica Update written by Cliff Hulbert. Cliff and his wife Ana own and operate Villa Leonor at the Ballena Beach Club. It is the only location in the Ballena National Park region that has a restaurant walking distance to the beach.

Villa Leonor is only 15 minutes from Las Villas de San Buenas and is a wonderful place to eat and to visit the beach. Ballena Beach Club collage

We hope you enjoy it…..

The High Season came to a close with a clear increase of the awareness, discovery and visitors in the Ballena to Ojochal sector. We still are a fraction of the numbers that frequent long time favorites like Manuel Antonio and Arenal but our steady progress of growth in numbers and awareness has us coming up on the radar of travelers more and more frequently.

The Humpback Whales made an early appearance this season with regular encounters beginning by mid December and continuing through late March.

The Guava seed pod season attracted the White Face Monkeys again to leap from the nearest palm into the tree, cruise through the branches breaking open the pods and dropping the seeds on us after eating the sweet pulp around them.

Also an increase of arrivals by the Scarlet Macaws who would occasionally spend part of the day, one day in a group of eight, another day a pair was viewed flirting around various trees on the grounds.

The final event of the sea-son was the Oranje Trophy group of exocentric vehicles and fun lov-ing Dutch drivers on their 25,000 Km journey from New York City to Rio de Janeiro for the Futbol Mundial. The local Ojochal Team hosted a traditional Futbol en La Playa (Beach Soccer Game) with the Oranje group, the local boys prevailed; the Dutch Team seemed a bit sluggish, which they blamed on the altitude …but invited the victors to their Boca Buffet and drinks.

Now on to the Green Season, in many ways more pleasant than the Dry Season …. Come See Us at The Beach!

Cliff Hulbert Ballena Beach ClubCliff Hulbert & Ana Herrera
Owners
Villa Leonora at the Ballena Beach Club

Message from Management

July 2012

We have had a wonderful first two quarters of 2012 with plenty of finalizing of infrastructure and rough cuts being installed and new construction going on.

During the first week of June we started construction on our second home for a client from the USA. It is ahead of

Home under construction on 110 Las Villas de San Buenas
Our newest home under construction. It is ahead of schedule and should be completed by November 2012.

schedule and should be completed within six months of breaking ground. Our goal is to have it ready for rent for Thanksgiving 2012 – we will keep everyone updated with the status of the house and the potential availability for November.

We have rough cut in our curvy roads on our 40 acre flat area with sweeping mountain views. As you may recall, all of these lots have incredible ocean views and almost all of the lots back up to a park or green space. These parks are for the exclusive use of our owners.

We also have started cutting the first set of trails through our 18 acre jungle which is located at the upper most part of the property at approximately 1,000 feet of elevations. The views are incredible and we will be working with the local municipality and federal environmental agencies to put in a permanent environmental study work station there. During my most recent hike

Poison Dart Frog
Me holding a poison dart frog found in our 18 acre jungle

up to the top of the property we found two green poison dart frogs, a wild orchid growing and saw and heard numerous animals and wildlife.

We are now offering up to $1,000 of fly-and-buy travel credits/refunds for anyone who purchases in Las Villas de San Buenas. In addition, we will include two zipline tickets and complementary use of one of our homes for up to four days and three nights. This offer may be discontinued at anytime so act soon!

Let us know when you are planning your trip and we can help you with all the details.

Pura vida!

Nick Halverson
[email protected]

South Pacific Costa Rica Popular Vacation Destinations This Year

By Matt Levin
Tico Times Staff | [email protected]
http://www.ticotimes.net/daily_paid/dailynewsarchive/2010_07/073010.htm#story5
Costa Rica’s summer break vacation period saw many travelers heading toward the Central Pacific coast or to Monteverde, while fewer vacationers made the trip to Guanacaste, a traditional vacation hotspot for Ticos.

Ballena National Park, Uvita, Osa, Costa Rica
Photo: Nick Halverson. Ballena National Park, Uvita, Osa, Costa Rica

A survey conducted by the National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR) tracked the level of occupancy of hotels in nine different areas of Costa Rica during the last month.

The area with the greatest percentage of occupancy overall was the Central Pacific (65.4 percent), followed closely by Monteverde (64.6 percent) and the Southern Pacific (63.7 percent).

CANATUR said overall occupancy was a middling 56.1 percent.

Guanacaste, specifically its southern part (36.4 percent), saw the least growth. According to CANATUR, South Pacific hoteliers believed that opening the road to Caldera and the Costanera Sur highway from Quepos, attracted travelers to the area.

“We are very pleased because the occupation in the first half of July exceeded our expectations,” said Ulises Ramirez, manager of the Cristal Ballena Hotel in the Southern Pacific region. “Employers believe that hotels in this area benefited the opening of (the new roads), as this saved time for tourists travelling to the region.”

The northern parts of the country took in the most foreign tourists, with 76.9 percent of the total. The highest percentage of domestic tourists (45 percent) visited the Southern Pacific region.

Hotels in other regions attributed growth to mid-year promotions that pitched deals as last-minute options.

“The mid-year holiday season is important for the sector. However, this year was atypical because the promotions that the hotels offered served as last resorts in many cases. Poor weather also scared off tourists to the area,” said Luis Villegas, of the Hotel Montaña de Fuego, located in La Fortuna de San Carlos.

Average Occupancy by region during mid-year vacations:
Mid-Pacific 65.4%
Monteverde 64.6%
South Pacific 63.7%
Central Valley 56%
Northern Plains 56%
Caribbean 54.8%
North Guanacaste 52.9%
Puntarenas and Islands 51,7%
South Guanacaste 36.4%
Total: 56.1%