My husband and I arrived in CR for a two-week vacation sampling several hotels around the vacinity of Quepos/MA. We arrived at SJO but our luggage did not. Not knowing the country or much Spanish, I was a bit rattled to say the least believing our luggage would never reach us. We finally hooked up with our transportation from the airport and arrived at Villa Kristina's just as it was getting dark nearly 3 hours later than planned and without eatting since early in the morning. Kristina warmly greated us at our van and took us to Apartment 2 where we planned on staying for 2 nights all the time reassuring us our luggage would arrive the next day and offering us drinks. As we entered, there was just enough light to see we were entering a tropical paradise and all the bad feelings of lost luggage were erased.
Apartment 2 was immaculately clean and comfortable. The wood floors are gorgeous and Kristina's decorator's touch made it feel special, not like a hotel. The kitchen was stocked with all the supplies/utensils to make any meal preparation easy. The bathroom was spotless and had plenty of shelving so guests can unpack. The bedroom we used had a comfy king-sized bed and overlooked the pool and beautiful landscaping. There was also a dresser, table, and chair for unpacking or easy access to suitcases. There was an air-conditioner in the bedrooms, which we used occasionally since it was very humid. The second bedroom also had the same setup but with a queen bed (I believe). But our favorite place was on the terrace, it was huge and the view absolutely breath-taking. We spent hours taking turns on the hammock watching the troop of monkeys jump from tree to tree every late afternoon after a swim in the spotlessly clean pool.
We always felt very safe while staying with Kristina. She is readily available when we needed her and rarely leaves the grounds. She was unobtrusive and only entered the apartment to take out the trash and give us new towels. She has a couple of darling little dogs that we visited when we were feeling lonesome for our own litle dogs. They were very clean and well-behaved and we enjoyed having access to them. They actually made us feel safer having them around. This was not true of the other places we stayed that also had high ratings on TripAdvisor.
Some suggestions for staying here would be expect to use a taxi on occasion. Although the bus (50 cents) runs somewhat near Kristina's, we used a taxi (Kristina helped us find a English-speaking driver) to go out to dinner since the walk can be a workout in humid conditions. Next time we will rent a car when we arrive. Although there is a washing machine, you will have some difficulty getting clothes dry unless you hang them out early enough in the day to get the sun in the rainy season. There is plenty of hot water in the shower if you need it, but learning how to adjust was different than we were used to in the US however, this was never a problem. Ceiling fans are avialable in the living room/kitchen and on the terrace but you have to use the airconditioner's fan in the bedrooms. I would have loved a fan in the bedroom to save Kristina the cost of using the a/c as a fan, which I suspect uses more energy.
Because Kristina's set the bar so high with our first few nights, we returned for 5 additional nights before leaving CR, forgoing our other reservations elsewhere. We simply couldn't find a place in Manuel Antonio within this price range that made us feel so comfortable and had the same attention to our needs like Kristina had provided us. The apartment, the grounds, and her helpfulness were so appreciated that we plan to return next year. She loves sharing her beautiful apartments with those who enjoy and respect it. Thank goodness for Kristina or we might have left CR feeling much differently.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
