Santa Teresa Surf Vista Villas is a small private hilltop resort featuring four Ocean View Suites, a small Apartment & 3rd Floor Rooftop Penthouse all with panoramic ocean/wave/surfer views. Each is complete with a fully equipped kitchen, large bathroom with hot water, a/c, posturpedic mattresses, ceiling fans, wifi and a huge deck with breathtaking views. Sunsets can't be seen from a better location and mornings are peaceful and serene with daily visits from exotic birds, howler monkeys and other local wildlife.
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
We stayed in the birdcage apartment and it was great! At the top of a mountain so view of mountain and all the way to the ocean.
Customer Service We had an unexpected delay in travel plans and I called to let them know i would likely not make the posted check-in window. Marco let me know it was not a problem and we could check in anytime and he would leave instructions to our room on a white board near the entry. When we arrived, all of the info we needed was right there along with his WhatsApp number. I texted him when we arrived (about an hour after check in window ended) and he came to the apartment and gave us the rundown. We found out during the duration of our stay that Marco lives on-site and is a one man show that takes care of site maintenance, pool cleaning, directing housekeeping, checking guests in and out of rooms (and probably a lot more) He is really helpful and friendly and ended up being a huge help when we realized we should have reserved ATV rentals in advance. I asked if, as a local, he knew of any “off the beaten path”rental companies that might not be as busy and he went out of his way to help us call around to rental companies and we got quads last minute during peak season (it was quite a feat)
Property The property is on the top of a hill allowing for a view of the mountain below all the way to the ocean when it’s clear. The property itself is clean, beautifully landscaped and well maintained. The view from the pool deck and apartment is unmatched. Especially for the price!
Rooms The birdcage apartment is on the 2nd story of a small building with a private bathroom on the 1st story. It has windows on all 4 sides (2 of which are sliding glass doors) with curtains that can be closed for privacy or opened for 360 views/sunlight. It has an outdoor kitchen and a bar counter with barstools overlooking the ocean. It was wonderful to enjoy the fresh air while cooking breakfast and eat outside with a view of the ocean. The outdoor kitchen has a mini fridge, sink, stove, toaster, blender, dish towels, dish soap, cooking oil, pots/pans, knives, spatulas, bowls, plates, multiple types of cups, silverware, etc. EVERYTHING you could need to prepare a meal had been considered. We saved a lot of money by cooking a lot of our own meals.
PSA to future bookers of birdcage The private bathroom with a lock was on the 1st story and the apartment is on the 2nd story so you had to leave the room, go outside and go down the stairs to use it. Not a huge deal, and that’s the trade off you make for windows on all 4 sides. There are other apartments available with bathrooms inside if this would be a problem for you.
Bring the trashcan from the kitchen into your room. We had animals that visited us the first night (monkeys? Raccoons?) that knocked over the trash can and we woke up to trash spread everywhere. This is also the only apartment this applies to as the other ones have inside kitchens.
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Date of stay: January 2025
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Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
fantastic lovely place. perfect location for easy living, fantastic view to the see and a berry friendly host. the area is sourrounded by monkeys and birds. restaurants, supermarkt and cafes are only a view minutes away. The approach is steep but necessary to enjoy such a great view. 95% of the route is on a paved road so it was no problem for us as a family with children.
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Date of stay: August 2024Trip type: Traveled with family
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What a beautiful property with fantastic views of the ocean and jungle below! Our room was spacious, clean and comfortable. Be sure to carry shampoo, conditioner and lotion. We were able to see the most spectacular sunset from our balcony. It definitely helps to have a 4x4 as the road leading to Santa Teresa and up the hill to the hotel can be treacherous. Mora, our concierge, was very helpful.
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Date of stay: December 2022Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:Try to reach before it gets dark (first time until you get your bearings).
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Took half our money and then went unresponsive. We chose the option to pay at the hotel, but they charged our card 50% of the booking up front and even though we cancelled our booking days in advance, they wouldn't refund or respond to us. Do not provide them with your credit card or personal information! Avoid this place.
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Date of stay: November 2024
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Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from andrew weinstein, Owner at Santa Teresa Surf Vista Villas
Responded 4 weeks ago
This is not true at all. Travis reserved with us through Booking.com. According to the Booking.com policy we charged 50% of the reservation at the time of Booking, there is not an option to pay for 100% of the reservation at the hotel. He did not cancel the reservation and did not arrive to the hotel on the reserved date, complete no-show. We of course did not charge the remaining 50% balance. He then messaged us several days after the reserved arrival date demanding that we refund the 50% deposit. I explained to him that there is a cancellation policy and the 50% deposit was not refundable at that time. All we did is follow the cancellation policy. We take pride in offering the best service and accommodations for our guests and it's a shame when we receive a review like this based on complete untruthfulness. Andy Surf Vista Villas
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Relaxed lodge in the middle of the jungle with view to the forest and the ocean. Very spacey rooms. Hammocks, kitchen and barbecue available. Friendly fast checkin and support. Long way up can be reached walking or by car. Pool with a view. Nice terrace and balcony.
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Date of stay: June 2022Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
If you're looking for something simple, this is your place. Do not expect fancy, though. The view is certainly to die for - spectacular sunsets. Beware of the hill coming up, though. It is treacherous and is the only way to get down to the beach. The walk down is not terrible but coming back up can be a hike. Flip flops may not be your best footwear choice. The rooms were a bit lacking in my opinion- a little dingy and the beds were hard as a rock. I am not sure that there is cleaning service on a daily basis but that could be because we only stayed two nights. I understand we are in the jungle but there were quite a few dead buggies littered throughout. Being on the first floor likely has its perks but in the room we had, we were in plain view of the common area and the pool. I think this place is probably great for young folks who do not mind the chill, laid back vibe. If you are looking for something a little more upscale, I would not recommend it.
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Date of stay: July 2017
Rooms
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:try the upper level rooms
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
So often times, when searching for a place to stay on vacation, in particularly when visiting a country or region that you are completely unfamiliar with, photos of hotels or condos can be somewhat misleading, and when you arrive, it looks nothing like the photos you saw on the website (and not in a good way). In the case of the Surf Vista Villas in Santa Teresa, however, this is one of the rare cases where photos don't do this place justice. The Sunset Reef Suite was set up perfectly for what we wanted and the views from our balcony were absolutely unforgettably stunning. Surrounded by lush jungle and beautiful fruit trees, monkeys and iguanas, and all kinds of birds, it feels like you are completely isolated from the world. But with only a 2 minute drive down the hill, or a 10 minute walk, we found ourselves with extremely easy access to the awesome and chill town of Santa Teresa. The grounds of the Villas were well maintained and the pool was fabulous. The entire region of Mal Pais, Santa Teresa, and Playa Hermosa had a variety of surf breaks for everyone from the beginner to advanced and the sunsets were indescribably stunning, both from the beaches and from the balcony of the Sunset Reef Suite in the Surf Vista Villa. Andy and Cota were great hosts who made us feel comfortable and welcome right from the get go. I don't know if we will ever find ourselves in Costa Rica again, but if we do, we know where we'll be staying.
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Date of stay: May 2017Trip type: Traveled with family
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What an absolutely incredible place to stay! We can’t say enough about our experience staying at the Surf Villas in Santa Teresa. First of Cota and Andy were amazing hosts. They gave us so many recommendations on places to eat, things to do, things to rent, it really made our trip that much better. Their suggestion to rent an ATV, go to the tide pool + Manzanillo was incredible and our favourite day of the trip! The room we stayed in was magnificent! Such an incredible view, everything you need from towels, toilet paper and even a full kitchen found on the top floor between the units. Very clean with consistent house cleaning, just incredible. Definitely one of the highlights of this place is the sunsets you see. The house is up on the mountain (about a 5min drive) so I recommend a car or ATV if you stay here. Every night you get the most incredible view of the sunset with the howler monkeys in the background making it that much cooler!! To top it off they also have a pool you can hang out in all day if you don’t feel like going to the beach!
Thank you Cota and Andy for making our stay in Santa Teresa so incredible. It’s definitely one of the top Air BnB we’ve stayed at and hope to come back soon!
Ps. Give Mila and Dexter a belly rub for us :)
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Date of stay: December 2018Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The view is stunning... it’s peaceful and green and Mora who is the careraker now is so sweet and helpful. We stayed three nights and enjoyed those days big time. The kids loved the pool and all the apartments have a stunning sea view (we ended up seeing whales and dolphins!) The kitchen was well equipped and everything was clean. They clean the rooms every second day which is fine I think. As many others write, the hill i steep snd was too long for our kids to climb, so if you’re a family and don’t have a car, you will probably spend som money on taxis (they charge extra to go up the hill...) - BUT - the view, the green garden and the piece is worth it, at least for a while (talking as a family).
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Date of stay: February 2018Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Would we go back again? probably not. Would I recommend it? Maybe, but I'd set expectations a little different than what's represented.
This place is a bit of hard one to review. It's hard to separate "the view" and the hilltop location from the actual lodging. If you take "the view" out of many of the reviews, you'll find many people don't get past that.
I won't cover "the view", because it is awesome. However for us, the basic lodging aspect left something to be desired. Not that it's bad, but it is more like "average" (don't expect Marriott or Hyatt Place, but La Quinta or Holiday Inn comfort is similar). The terms on the website "villa, luxury and resort" conjures up a certain images that were not really fulfilled. A more appropriate name would be "Surf Vista Lodge", "Surf Vista Bunkhouse", or something along those lines. From our perspective a few inexpensive items would have made our stay much more enjoyable. It all felt very minimalist and not very luxurious.
-The beds are average; no soft mattress padding, no comforter, no extra pillows. Just a sheet, a thin bedspread and thin pillows. (Let's say a $100 investment to upgrade a few items) -The towels were in short supply, and the two cup-towels left us short handed for drying dishes (I suspect most folks eat out?). (Let's say $3 investment) -There was no microwave (unlike our other CR apartments), so heating a cup of water, a tortilla, or bowl of refried beans was unnecessarily complicated. (in the states microwaves are about $60 investment)
-Unlike some of the other places we stayed in CR, there was no salt, pepper, cooking oil, or paper towels, so be prepared with those items if you're planning on cooking. (let's say $1 per day, or maybe even $2 per day)
-I didn't figure out the housekeeping plan? She came in one day, but not the next?
-Access to a washing machine would have been a bonus. From reading reviews and the web site, some people had access to one, we were not made aware of how to access one?
-A hot tub or a pool would have been a nice addition.
-From reading reviews and the web site, some folks had access to a grill, we were not aware of one?
-Wifi only worked in 50% of our room, mostly I had to go outside to get a good signal. (Maybe my macbook, ipad, and android tablet are defective?)
- The website mentions a 24 hour front desk service? Our greeting was from a dry-erase board with the key in the door. In our 3 nights we never saw a identifiable staff person.
- A "recommended places" brochure would be a nice addition. Where to eat, where to buy fish, where's the laundromat, where's the bank, where to book excursions, beach clubs, ...those sorts of things.
If we had our preference there would have been a partition for a separate bedroom, one large room with two beds doesn't feel like "luxury". Maybe the design is for bunkhouse surfers or families with small children, in which case it's spot-on? There's no sun-block drapes to block out the 5:30 a.m. sunrise so if you're thinking of sleeping in during your vacation, you'd best rethink your plan. However, if catching the early morning surf is what you are looking for, this is great for you.
Possibly our review may be a little tainted by the fact that we stayed during peak season so we paid $480 for three nights ($420 plus an extra $60 for our daughter (don't know what the extra $60 got us as it didn't provide any extra towels or soap??). If we'd have paid the base $80 per night, we'd probably offer a different review.
Positives -awesome view -good AC -good hot water supply -away from the road dust in town
In all fairness, our average experience could have been our fault. If we'd have simply searched (operative word "searched" because no one approached us. It feels odd to ask other guests "do you work here?") out the right people at the right time our shortages would have all been rectified?
I don't mean to be negative, all in all our stay wasn't bad, it was simply average (but we expected more). Did I mention the incredible view?
(pardon the typographical errors, I'm not much of a thumb typist)
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Date of stay: December 2013
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
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Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from ando420, Manager at Santa Teresa Surf Vista Villas
Responded Feb 11, 2014
Hello and good day from Surf Vista Villas . We appreciate feedback and information from our guests so we can improve upon our accommodations . Our intentions are always to exceed the expectations of our guests and we apologize that your stay was not better than average . The holiday time was very difficult for us as our concierge was sick with a flu , did not leave the apartment for many days , and was unable to attend to our guests in the normal manner . I have never heard of our place described as a "Bunkhouse", and definitely have to disagree with this description . We've have chosen the best pillowtop mattresses you can find in Costa Rica , the bedspreads are somewhat thin because of the warm/tropical temperatures , new pillows are purchased frequently . Each villa is supplied with 4 towels for the hotel and 4 towels for the beach , this is usually sufficient for our guests . Our kitchens are fully equipped with large refrigerators , 4 burner stovetops with ovens , and all necessary utensils and cooking supplies . We do not have microwaves because we're making efforts to be eco friendly while still providing all necessary amenities . Thank you for the suggestion to have salt , pepper , oil , paper towels and the kitchen basics in every villa . We think that's a great idea and have already made such changes . There is a laundry room for our guests to use , we've put a new sign on the door so everyone is now aware of it's location . A swimming pool and/or hot tub would be a nice addition to the property , however there are drought issues on occasion , and we're making every attempt possible to be environmentally friendly , we've therefore decided to keep the property in it's natural state . Thank you once again for bringing to our attention the wifi issues , we've since added another router to the hotel and it seems to have solved the problem . We do offer 24 hour front desk service , however as mentioned previously , our concierge was unexpectedly ill and we could not locate additional assistance because it was the very busy holiday time . Our hotel does offer an ocean view villa with a separate bedroom which could have been requested upon initial inquiry . There are large notebooks in every villa with descriptions of local activities , nearby restaurants , phone #'s , local maps , etc. We also have a gas grill and a charcoal grill for all guests to use . We've decided to purchase a new gas grill so there will now be one on each level . I also disagree with your statement that " The design is for bunkhouse surfers and families with small children " . We host all types , from honeymooner's to families , couples , to groups of friends , etc. , and all have been more than satisfied with our villas . Every hotel in Costa Rica raises their rates during the peak holiday times , this is to be expected during the Christmas/New Years week and Semana Santa (Easter Week) . We value the opinions and suggestions from all of our guests in order to make improvements and changes for our returning and future visitors . Thank You , Andy Santa Teresa Surf Vista Villas
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Hi Woody,
Mosquitos are not too bad in May or June.
Especially on our property, we get constant breezes.
More in Sept-Oct during the heavier rain season.
Andy
SVV
We're a 5 hour drive from the San Jose Airport or the Liberia Airport. San Jose has more options for small flights to our area.
If you plan to rent a car either airport will be the same.
Thank You , Andy
Surf Vista Villas
To be honest our area is quite rugged . There are great beaches and restaurants , not much shopping and lots of dirty , dusty roads . I don't want to tell you no but it sounds like you may be looking for something more like Manuel Antonio or La Fortuna .
Sorry for the delayed response
Thanks , Andy
SVV
We're a 10-15 minute walk from the beach, market and some great restaurants. Many guests stay without transportation, however I do want you to know that our hill is kind of steep. There are ATV rentals available as well if you choose to have transportation for part of your stay.
Thank You , Andy
SVV
There are more places to choose from in the Santa Teresa area.
PRICE RANGE
$86 - $151 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
Costa RicaProvince of PuntarenasSanta Teresa
NUMBER OF ROOMS
6
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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