Reviews of Private Tuscan-Style Farmhouse by Los Angeles Cloud Forest

Reviews

Beautiful, charming and relaxing!

Review Submitted: July 16, 2012 Date of Stay: April 2012
Villa Hada Escondida was our home away from away during this short 2 weeks in Costa Rica. Extremely charming with an amazing view. The villa has everything you need to make your stay comfortable and relaxing. Mrs Lapierre is a sweetheart to deal with, she made sure we had everything in order to have the best stay ever in Costa Rica.

We loved and enjoyed every minutes of our stay at Villa Hada. We practice our Spanish with our good friend Chico!

The Lapierre are taking very good care of the villa, it is causy and very clean. My dad, my sister and I definitely and strongly recommend this villa to anyone looking forward to have a home away from home in San Ramon, Costa Rica.

Thank you again for letting us enjoy a piece of your paradise.

Isabelle M.
Boucherville, Quebec

Our lovely visit to Costa Rica

Review Submitted: June 18, 2012 Date of Stay: June 2012
What a fantastic place to stay. My husband and I loved our visit....and wished we could have stayed longer. The house beautiful and so ready for us. I sat on the terrace for hours...or the hammock and just absorbed the beauty and the birds, the mist and the air. I am telling all my friends to go visit....and that this is the away to do it. We had lovely adventures away from the house, and then just complete days of doing nothing.

I felt my soul come back to my body after a long year of work. What a little paradise! : )

jane w.

Great place to re-energize and re-connect with family

Review Submitted: April 23, 2012 Date of Stay: April 2012
For us, after living a busy life, this is a great place to re-connect with our 2 teenage girls. Hiking, walking, canopy tours, volcano excursion, food, coffee and fruit were great ways to spend the first half of our vacation. Best of all, no television for the teenagers! We were so active it was nice to be able to "come home" to a cozy, well stocked home where you could feel at ease.

Diana made sure the smallest details were taken care of and provided helpful tidbits of information.

Looking forward to a return trip.

Lea
Middletown DE USA

Simply elegant Casa Verde compliment the country

Review Submitted: April 12, 2012 Date of Stay: February 2012
I am absolutely homesick. Tonight, in Knoxville, Tennessee, there is a great breeze and temps about 65. Thats exactly Villa Hada in the evenings! Daytime was breezy, sunny, blue sky and you didnt know the temp was about 80. Weather was of course an influencing factor - but the abode made it more so. We loved the accommodation of two levels, two bathing facilities and common area to gather for meals or planning the next days adventure. Our particular itinerary was obviously day-by-day that probably introduced our kinship with the gardener, Chico, when he joined us for lunch, and to meet some of the neighbors who were home. We also learned very quickly with our driver that within 15 minutes we were in the middle of San Ramon for poking around, lunch, taking pictures of colorful sights or at a catch-your-own-fish farm for supper. There are other positive posts about this accommodation ---but believe me, after your stay of 24 hours, you, too will find it simply elegant to make a return trip.

M. R. H.

Great Place

Review Submitted: April 3, 2012 Date of Stay: April 2011
Diana, thanks so much for rental of your CR home. It is a beautiful area and quite close to many attractions all around. Only problem, we needed a few more months to see and do everything we would have liked. Chico was an absolute darling and enjoyed meeting a few of your neighbors and loved their friendly pooches. Everything was comfortable and your directions were perfect (other than a few colors of buildings have changed!).

We really didn't have the opportunity to use the kitchen much. We would find it more beneficial for a future return, a longer stay and with another couple/friends etc. The laundry came in very handy, as we hiked in the rain and mud and came home filthy! The only drawback, which of course is not under your control, is not having any water on the last day of our visit. Apparently the entire area was out, so we headed to the airport with extra deodorant in tow! We would certainly recommend this rental to those with future plans to travel to the Central Valley of Costa Rica. Much Thanks, Cynthia & Patrick - Olympia WA March 2012

Cynthia & Patrick
Olympia, WA

About the Owners

We're an American couple living in Edinburgh, Scotland. We've been traveling to Costa Rica for over 10 years and love the Central Valley. We've both traveled to more than 45 countries and all 50 states but Villa Hada is our favorite place on earth. I am a figure skating coach and former professional ice show skater and my husband works in the international division of a health care company. Our two small children and small dog, Matilda, love to play in Villa Hada's 'secret garden'.

We love English gardening and have designed Villa Hada Escondida's garden to look like a an English garden complete with hydrangea and rose bushes. We add to our garden on every visit and Chico, our fantastic caretaker keeps it all looking amazing. We are bilingual (Spanish) and bought our home in Los Angeles Sur so our children could grow up immersed in the beautiful Costa Rican culture and perfect their already terrific Spanish.

Why We Chose San Ramon

San Ramon has the perfect climate with temperatures ranging from 65-85F and breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. We love the Central Valley for it's kind people, simple lifestyle, spectacular mountain views, twisty roads that are fun to drive on, and because our children can be immersed in the best of pura vida culture during our time here.

The Unique Benefits of this Villa

When we're at home in Villa Hada we love to visit the weekly farmer's market in San Ramon near the University of Costa Rica where you can buy the most amazing fruits and vegetables for a fraction of the price in North America or Europe. We spend a day or two a week shopping in San Ramon, a delightful little city where you'll find anything you could possibly want all around the central plaza. Our children love the butterfly garden located about 8 miles north on the road to La Fortuna.

We often go horseback riding at the stables located just outside the entrance to Hotel Villablanca where the rates are very reasonable and the trails rides are fantastic. Our house is on the southern edge of the Los Angeles Cloud Forest and the cloud mist that moves through the valley and past our house is indescribably beautiful. The views from our home are outstanding especially from our upstairs balcony where Diana and the children love to practice yoga daily. We hike our own private nature trail at least twice a week to see blue morphos and hummingbirds.

During the rainy season, especially September-November, the waterfall is enormous. It's at least two stories high and loud enough that you can hear it from the balcony. There's is zip lining in the local cloud forest and Las Musa water park just outside San Ramon for more local activities. Our house is a terrific place to come home to after day trips throughout the Central Valley.

We love Poas and all the little vendors along the road selling strawberries and homemade jam. If you're on your way to Arenal, spend your first few or last few days in Costa Rica at Villa Hada relaxing and getting into your vacation mindset! It takes one hour and a half to get to the major rental car places from our house and Villa Hada is a much more tranquil and affordable place to stay than any of the Alajuela accommodations. And the pizza at Mi Rancho restaurant by our house is excellent!

–– Joe & Diana,
Edinburgh, Scotland