Deat Guest,
We have taken a number of days considering our response to your review. Especially considering all the other reviews from previous guests who have stayed at Casa Tranquilo. When reviewing what past guests have rated and commented, it's like you stayed at a completely different place.
Terror? It should be noted that no previous guest had any trouble locating the property. There are only 2 turns to be made, once on Ruta 27 in San Jose, all the way to Casa Tranquilo. Not sure how this was missed this time. And no other guests have had a hard time finding the meet up location with our property manager. As well, no previous guests have been unsuccessful in climbing the hill to get to Casa Tranquilo. It's clearly stated in the description that a 4x4 is required. The casa is in the rain forest. The Costa Rican government is all about protecting the natural environment that is host to sixty (60%) percent of the planet's wildlife. Once off the highway, nicely paved roads are not the recipe for wildlife habitats. And yes, gravel roads can be rugged at times. You drive under the canopy that is the reain forest to arrive at Casa Tranquilo. You're definitely not going to find nicely paved roads in the rain forest, nor shouold you.
15 minutes to the closest beach? When we calculate times, we do not calculate the various wait time that can occur at the single lane Coronado bridge. It takes 15-20 minutes to get to Uvita from Casa Tranquilo. Along the way to Uvita, there's Playa Tortuga, Playa Arco, Playa Ventanas and Playa Pinuelas. That's four beaches before getting to Uvita. To suggest the closet beach is 15 minutes from Casa Tranquilo is quite frankly, inaccurate. Yes, the roads to the beach, being gravel, can be rugged. Again, the reason why a 4x4 is a must in the southern zone. Treacherous? Come on! The golf course is 15 minutes away, zip line 20 minutes, pickleball 10. These are not monumental drives as you have eluded to. We're sure you make these drives or longer, in your everyday life. Casa Tranquilo is not an all inclusive. Never presented that way. It's a private destination with activities not that far away.
Wildlife? There's more than enough wildlife in the rain forest that surrounds Casa Tranquilo. In fact, we work with and offer our properties to the local sanctuaries, for the reintroduction of injured wildlife that have been rehabilitated, back into their natural habitats. We don't incentivize wildlife to hang out on our properties, by inducing them with fruit and other foods. Doing so would create a false habitat, and one that would not be conducive and acceptable by the wildlife sanctuaries. We get squirrel monkeys through our rain forest 3-4 times a year. They are the smallest animal on the wildlife endangered species list in the southern zone of Costa Rica. However, they don't hang around, they are transient. They come and they go. Capuchins (white faced) monkeys can be seen only a short walk while hiking within the gated community. As far as birds are concerned, we have had bird watching guests stay at Casa Tranquilo for 2 weeks. Over that period, they identified seventy-five (75) different varieties of birds. Even that surprised us! You saw only a few. There's much, much more. Unfortunately, we do not control when wildlife, birds and butterflies are going to hang out on the property. It;s as natural an environment as you will find. You may not have seen them, but they;re definitely there. To suggest that you do not believe wildlife is actually on or around the property, and you have been somewhat misled, is incredibly unfortunate,
Finally, we are very sorry to learn that your time at Casa Tranquilo didn't turn out as you had hoped and planned. That said, your dramatic disection of your experience, we feel, is unjust and quite frankly, unfortunate. We work very hard to ensure our guests have an amazing experience during their stay at Casa Tranquilo. In reviewing the other guests' ratings and comments, as mentioned above, it truly seems like you were at a completely different property.
We Wish You a Happy Life