Wow! Villa Calla far exceeded my expectations! The location was perfect to fly in or out of Liberia. The villa is beautifully decorated and the views are breathtaking!! We loved the whole resort from the pool overloking the ocean to the on-site resteraunt Picante. Everything was fabulous and right next door to your villa!! There is so much to do in the area as well. We rode horses on the beach, did sip lines through the forest and did a hot mud bath from naturally hot springs! The ower of this property was so helpful and welcoming and was a wealth of information of things to see and do as well as great places to eat. We had a great driver that I would highly recommend who spoke very good english and pretty much became our travel companion!! We could not have had a more pleasant, exciting experience in Costa Rica! I can't wait to go back. Happy traveler from Arkansas!!

For a first timer to Costa Rica, we ended up selecting what I consider the BEST location for a safe jumping off point to numerous local attractions. Bahia Pez Vela is close to Liberia Airport (about 45 min), and offered what was effectively a 'private' black sand beach (since there were few other vacationers around. It provides the comforts of a resort without the overpriced resort crush. Examples, a local oufitter delivered sea kayaks right to the resort beach; we used the reception staff to book an adventure tour at a local volcano; the massage therapists are available on the beach regularly; the Picante Restaurant staff were ultra-accommodating and helped me practice my Spanish; the kids played in the pool and on the beach with friends they met on site; the security into and on the resort was exceptional; we used Bahia Pez Vela as a starting point to beach-hop and restaurant hop in Playas de Coco, Conchal, Grande, etc - the list goes on. I've never returned to vacation in the same place twice, but I am strongly considering going back to BPV with friends or family !!

3 bedroom, 2 and a half bath Villa on-the-beach at Pez Vela for long term or short term rental. Two available, one with a pool, one without. See attached photos. Email: [-]

I stayed with my family at Bahia Pez Vela from March 24 - March 31, 2007. We were in Villa Tucan (#6). It had 3 bedrooms and 2 and a half baths, a well-appointed kitchen and a dining/living room area. The Master bedroom has it's own bathroom, and the other 2 bedrooms share a bathroom. I learned that these condos are all privately owned and the resort rents them out for people, when the units are avaliable. (You can also rent directly from the owner (this is cheaper) which is what my family did). This means that the units, while similar in construction, number of rooms, and layout are identical, how a unit is decorated and kept up can very greatly. It is the owners responsibility to decorate and furnish the unit. Our condo, while very nice and comfortable, was not as nicely appointed as some others (I peeked in the windows of some of the empty units!)

There is one infinity pool on the property which is very nice. It has three levels, with a shallow level for kids. The beach is a black sand beach, so it's not the kind of beach you sit out on on your towel, but the water is warm and lovely, and the early morning snorkeling is great. Afternoon snorkeling is not great, because by that time the visibility is so poor. They have people giving massages on the beach for a very low price which were very good. I had 2 while I was there. They are an hour long and vary from $35/hour to $50/hour depending on how many people you have as they give package deals.

There is 1 restuarant on the premises called Picante's. It is an open-air restaurant by the pool. The servers Danny and Alan are very helpful, friendly and funny!. The food is good, and very reasonable priced. There are also several wonderful places to eat in Playa Del Coco, which are also fairly inexpensive. I recommend Sol y Luna, and Louisiana Bar and grille. The town of CoCo is about a 10 minute drive from Bahia (about a 4 dollar cab ride), but it is much better to rent a car like we did. The town is full of shopping, restuarants and places to do water sports etc. If you want to go to nice white sand beach try Playa Hermosa about a 20 minute drive from Bahia. I also recommend eating at Ginger in Playa Hermosa. It is a great Tapas place with excellent food and a fun ambiance. For a killer sunset experience, head over to Ocotal resort which is right down the road from Bahia on a bluff. You can sit out on the deck at the restaurant, have a few drinks and see the most beautiful sunsets. We did not stay for dinner because we thought it was overpriced, and we heard from some other Bahia guests who had eaten there that the food was not that great.
As for staff, I saw a previous review state they were rude and talked about the people in Spanish behind their backs. I did not find this to be the case at all. They were friendly, eager to help and find solutions to any problems we had.
As for excursions, I only did 1 half day trip called KOKODRILLO. It was so much fun with a river trip, horsebackriding and ziplining, followed by a wonderful lunch. It is not far from Bahia and well worth it. My husband went scuba diving quite a bit and recommends Summer-Salt Diving in the town of Coco. Ask for Patrick.
The only negative experience I had in CR was getting stung by a Portugese Man of War...that really hurt!!! Overall a beautiful country with friendly people. I hope to go back someday.