Oceanfront Nirvana am Playa Negra

Celebrating my 40th birthday at Villa Caramar was simply perfect. We rented the house for a week and when it was time to go, it felt like we had just arrived. The house was spacious and comfortable - the AC throughout the house worked perfectly. The WIFI didn't work flawlessly, but Gina worked diligently to restore WIFI service as quickly as possible. While the inside of the house was great, the outside infinity pool and ocean front views were a hit. We spent every day in the pool! The sunsets were priceless. The ocean waves were beautiful and the sound at night was so relaxing. The beach is more rocky than some may prefer, but with the infinity pool steps away, no one wanted to lay on the beach anyway. We had a chef come to the house (PasCam) to prepare our first and last nights' dinners. Pascal and Camille were fantastic and so professional. Highly recommend! One afternoon, Catherine, a massage therapist came to the house and each of us had private massages. It was such a relaxing way to spend the afternoon. Lola's Restaurant was one of our hot spots - we would have liked to have tried more local joints, but mid-October is not yet 'in season' so many were closed. I recommend stocking up on food/drink at the Auto Mercado in Tamarindo to avoid hunting down places to eat. We ziplined and went horseback riding with Pura Adventure coordinated through TPV. Gina, the home caretaker, was so fun. Maria, the house keeper, was terrific. Booking the house was easy; finding the house was a bit challenging, but once you get the hang of the area, it's easy peasy. Rent a 4x4 - - you will need it, at least in October. Enjoy Costa Rica at Villa Caramar - you won't regret it.

We just returned from a weeklong stay at Villa Caramar. We shared the house with 3 families and had 6 adults and 5 kids total. We had more than enough space for everyone without ever feeling like we were on top of each other. The pool was wonderful for the kids to pop in at any time of day. Plenty of strolls along the beach and up to Hotel Playa Negra for drinks. The surf can be tough (we had a good scare with the older boys, who are very strong swimmers) but if you watch the tides, there is definitely surfing within walking distance.

We loved watching lightening through the floor to ceiling windows at night, watching the hermit crab migration to the beach each evening, looking for monkeys and iguanas and just relaxing. Gina was wonderful and helped us with any questions we had! Maria was great as well and it's so nice having housekeeping while on vacation in such a beautiful place. We rented a car and I'm very glad we did. We made a few trips to Lola's in Avellanas and enjoyed AMAZING breakfast burritos at Surf Cafe in Junquillal. We navigated the dirt road networks just fine.

The house itself was well appointed, clean, the air conditioning worked great, and we weren't missing anything we needed. This was our first trip to Costa Rica and we definitely experienced pura vida. Playa Negra is a wonderful community and we enjoyed lots of take out pizza from La Vida Buena and an amazing dinner at Cafe Playa Negra. We had a reservation at Villa Deveena our last night but were enjoying the pool at sunset so we canceled (something to save for next time!).

Thanks for such a seamless trip Jon! We look forward to visiting again!

We just returned from an 11 day visit to Villa Carramar. It was our third trip to Costa Rica (first trip to Playa Negra) and we shared the house with our dear friends totaling 10 people. Full disclosure - we came here for a surf vacation but during our stay, the largest swell of the year made it too dangerous for us to surf several of the days we were here. It would have been epic if we were more skilled but as it was, we had to drive to nearby Avellanas (15 min away) to get smaller waves. There was plenty of room at the house for everyone and we really enjoyed the open character. The pool was also great...kids loved it! We also enjoyed seeing the monkeys in the mango trees and all the forage around the house - very cool.

Big picture takeaway from my perspective - 4x4 vehicle is a requirement (we nearly got stuck and nearly hit a fence on the drive to the property) during this time of year when the rains are frequent, the beach is very rocky and not exactly user friendly for kids, and getting supplies was an ordeal causing a lot of time in transit. Also, during our stay, the house underwent some required maintenance (roof replacement) that was quite noisy at times.

Gina was great! She helped us contract a cook for our stay and I highly recommend anyone going to ask for Alexandra (she goes by Shenita). She cooked some really great meals! But like I said, you have to be prepared to make a few runs to the grocery store during your stay (45 min away) as Playa Negra is lacking on supplies. If you want to eat out, Hotel Deeveena is an excellent place (it is $$$$, so be prepared) as well as Jalapeños. If you want to rent surf equipment, I can't say enough good things about Javier at Pargos Surf Adventures (http://pargosadventures.com), he's great! Overall, I'd recommend this location for people with excellent surfing skills that don't mind walking a bit and/or driving to the break. I will also say that the owner, Jon, was a pleasure to work with.

I stayed at Jon's house for a long weekend recently. I had an amazing time. Every morning I woke up to the waves crashing outside of the window. My favorite moment every morning was to sit by the beautiful pool and have my coffee in complete relaxation. Gina, the caretaker, was very helpful and set up daily adventures for us such stand up paddle boarding and massages.

The house is clean, beautiful, wonderfully air conditioned, well appointed with art, DVDs, cable, and lots of books.

I also really enjoyed using the remote controlled floor to ceiling shades and TV lift in the bedroom.

Ive stayed at five start places all over the world and I have to say this was luxurious and so relaxing.

Our vacation began the moment we entered the grand living room with ocean views through floor to ceiling glass with an amazing double infinity pool all on the same level. Most importantly, everything worked! WiFi enabled music and Internet and phone so everyone could chill out while being connected to the outside world when desirable. Beautiful grounds for a little walk by day and incredible stargazing from the pool at night. Our favorite times were in the dining room and outdoor grill area adjacent to pool enjoying great food in comfort. It was a quick ride into town for a day trip. We are looking forward to our trip back next year!