Can't say enough about our visit! With the kids at the grandparents, spouse and I found a superb opportunity to visit Waterfall Villas. We are tremendously grateful to Ms. Fateh for her kind communication with us. We found her warm, responsive and inviting! After a lengthy drive from San Jose, I missed the turn toward Waterfall Villas (my fault, it was raining and I forget to check the WhatsApp location). When we arrived, my wife and I were stunned. The ambiance, candles, and welcome of Ms. Xinia was really beyond words. She had stayed waiting for us, past her work day, so she could be sure that we had a decent meal after a long trip. What a wonderful, beautiful welcome! My wife and I both speak Spanish, so we were so delighted to offer Ms. Xinia our warmest gratitude and our praises of her epic dinner. Xinia replied that it is Ms. Fateh who prepares the menus, to our wonder! Our room (the goddess suite) was lovely. Clean, tidy, with lovely vegan artisanal soaps, shampoos, it was terrific and we were both so thrilled. The true wonder happened next morning when we saw the breathtaking beauty of the series of small waterfalls right next to the cabins. WOW! I cannot stress enough how special and unique the sights and sounds of the waterfall. We cancelled all other plans (and continued to enjoy the Ms. Xinia WONDERFUL curry and later a terrific eggplant, tofu tomato combination) and remained at the water falls for our entire stay. (Note: if you don't live in Costa Rica and would like to see more of the country, Waterfall Villas is ideally placed for touring some of the country's best beaches. Since we live here, we just wanted to be mediate and enjoy each other's company). We hiked up the lovely trail leading to an AMAZING lookout tower, we explored the river up and down the series of waterfalls while I hummed songs from Lord of the RIngs... (really it is that nice!) I can't recommend Waterfall Villas enough. I read some of the recent reviews and I am sorry to others who had different experiences. However, we had a blast! We would return tomorrow if possible.…
I brought my partner here in Sept 2020 (so glad they are open and did live the with covid cleaning, etc) for a night of celebration and relaxation after completing a lengthy project. We rented a room with a jacuzzi and loved it. The room was nice and clean, the staff incredible, the river and waterfall and food just fantastic. The owner was very Responsive with details and communication. I really just LOVE it here!!!! I will be back as I found out that they do these incredible packages with massages and juice cleanses and totally take care of you ❤️ Love, love, love it here!
Upon arriving at Waterfall Villas, my partner and I thought we had died and gone to heaven. The setting is beautiful and the waterfalls were nice to listen to and observe. The rooms are lovely and clean and the layout of the resort is spectacular. It is not a hotel, as you are on your own entirely. there is no reception person and the one staff member goes home at 8pm. If you're going to experience a disaster of any kind - try to to experience it before 8pm! There is a whatsapp number for the owner and you can voice your concerns via that medium, but you're on your own for most of the time. -there are 6 rooms available to rent. Each room adjoins with one other room. Out of the eight nights we were there, we had neighbours for two of those nights - which were absolutely miserable. The sound separation is non-existent and you will hear every word, bathroom activity and music of your neighbour. One night we were awoken by someone vomiting and the other night we had to listen to a couple fornicating. We told the owner and she said no one had complained about the noise before which is impossible. Her response was that we had the opportunity to rent the entire suite at another $2KUS - you are miles away from the beach and town. Unless you have a car, be prepared for a lot of taxi rides. - No internet and poor cell signal. If you are from out of country, get a plan before you arrive. Our friend from UK spent several days just trying to get online at the cafe in Dominical. …
I have never written a bad review. But I wish I had known what I am about to write here. The juice detox at Cascadas Farallas Waterfall Villas was DISAPPOINTING and a COMPLETE WASTE OF MONEY. If you use this hotel, just use it as a base. Don’t bother with the yoga and meal packages - just do your own thing. Here is what happened to us. We purchased a 5-night juice cleanse. This was to include a consultation, a questionnaire, a special morning drink, juices every two hours during the day, morning yoga sessions, various fresh teas and gentle meals at the end to close the detox. We were offered a discount price at $2000 USD. Most of this list never materialised. There was no consultation or questionnaire. The kitchen staff did not know if we had allergies, or preferences. There was no morning drink. It was supposed to be possible to vary the juices, with fruits or different vegetables like beet, but this was also not possible. The juices were inconsistent. Sometimes tasted great, other times warm, grainy, watery. Lukewarm beet-water. Not kidding. It was like trying to drink purple dishwater. We had one yoga session, and then the teacher just didn’t show up anymore. As for the meals, you have no choice about what you eat. There is one decided meal and you get what you get, regardless of what you like or if you have allergies. A number of guests were unhappy about this while we were there. While selling us this package, Fateh - the owner - was very motivated and friendly. When we arrived, however, Fateh barely took 5 minutes for us. She has no receptionist at the hotel and she was rarely at the hotel during our 6 days there. There is no one to greet you, answer questions, or help you out. The tiny staff of cleaner/cooks are wonderful and friendly, but they do not speak English. The website is in English and you are sold the package using English. But unless Fateh is there (which she wasn’t for almost the entire time we were there), you are isolated with no one to help you. The staff are gone as of 8pm and you are alone. We were told there was a night guard, but we did not see one. There is a phone in the kitchen/reception area, but guests are not told it is there or that they can use it. There was no phone in the room. There is almost no information available anywhere. Not about the food, the juice, the area. There is also NO WIFI, which means you cannot look up this information yourself. We purchased a data card, but the connection is very poor across most of the property. To be fair, Fateh did respond to us over WhatsApp, but when the data connection at the hotel failed, we had no way of asking questions. Other guests did not have her number and were left trying to ask the kitchen staff, who did their best but were not always able to understand or help. The land in the retreat area is beautiful. Very. However, there is a road encircling the retreat area. It is so loud that we couldn’t hear most of the yoga class - and the valley sometimes smells of diesel. Weird to detox in a cloud of exhaust. Furthermore, this is a VEGAN wellness retreat. While some people are vegan solely for health reasons, most do it to protect animals and the environment. Fateh has 5 carps in a tiny bath in the dining room. One is a foot long. They have nowhere to swim and just turn round and round in a space that is less than a square meter. Horrible and cruel. Animals are not decoration. This was the final straw: One of us had a spinal injury and needed a doctor. Fateh told us there were no doctors around and told us to book a massage instead, for 150 USD. We managed to find an emergency walk-in clinic by driving around on our own. It was just 15 minutes down the road, they spoke English and provided excellent medical attention. We felt the injury and our isolation were used to sell us something, instead of helping us find a hospital. When we tried to discuss our concerns with Fateh she was quite dismissive. She said we were just testy because we were hungry from the detox. We weren’t - we had been detoxing for a month by then, and had few symptoms at all. She said the juices probably tasted funny to us because we weren’t used to juicing (nonsense - we’ve juiced for years). She said the consultation didn’t happen because they were used to “experienced guests for whom this kind of thing is second nature”. By this point we had to laugh at the patronising BS. It is just plain irresponsible to offer health and wellness programs with no idea about medical history, allergies, or even basic goals. It would have been more honest to simply apologise for the missing services and refund us a portion of our payment. At $400 USD per night, we expected more.…
I stI stayed here for one night as a solo female traveler in December 2019. I have stayed at several other such retreats (healing, off-the-beaten-path locations focused on wellness, clean eating, massage, yoga), and I would not return here. Fateh, the owner, is extremely communicative and attentive via text, and I was able to meet her in person over dinner during my night there, and she was so lovely, delightful, and warm. The waterfalls are MAGNIFICENT - many levels of unique, exquisite falls to wade through and observe, and the grounds of the hotel are stunning. I was in a large room with a private jacuzzi, and the hot tub was heated for my arrival and very clean, which I thought was nice and thoughtful. The rooms are pretty, but felt a little tired. My sheets were very rough and extremely pilly, and everything felt a little damp and dusty. All Costa Rica hotels are a little mildewy after the rainy season and that cant be helped and is to be expected, but there was an extra level of feeling not very fresh here at Waterfall Villas. The food was also not very good, I've eaten fresh healthy local organic vegan food all over Costa Rica retreats and in other countries and resorts, and this was not very tasty, and extremely overpriced ($60 per meal). I can't speak to the affordability of buying a package, but while I was there I met several people that were there for a week or several weeks and seemed happy. I also can't review the yoga classes and wellness treatments on offer. Personally, I would not want to return to stay for more than a night to find out, for the reasons described above, but more specifically because I felt unsupported and unnerved as a single female traveler. There are no phone lines, no cell service, no wifi, and no staff or owners living on property. When I woke up early to catch my car to the airport the next morning, it was before dawn, and all the lights were off - even in the common areas. While I appreciate the eco friendly approach, and the limiting of light pollution, it was jarring to drag all my bags down many flights of stairs and wait for a stranger in the middle of the jungle in the pitch black, knowing that the only member of staff on property was a security guard. Little details like that and more (for instance, at other such retreats, the owner or program director greets you when you arrive or as soon as possible, and I didn't see Fateh for hours and hours) are reasons I would personally not recommend coming here without a friend or partner. Ultimately, the sumptuous waterfalls made it worth my nights stay, but I would not return to stay here. It was the most expensive retreat Ive ever stayed at, and it had the lowest quality food, bedding, and overall experience - unnerving and not a good value for money.…
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