| Comment |
Hi Paul and Pamela:
Jon and I are home
and very happy to
have gotten to know Costa Rica a
little. We
never rest much when
we're on vacation so we tried to do
asmuch as possible. We left our
commments and tips in
your guest
book soyou can check that out when you get
down there in a few days.
Your house is wonderful. We were
very comfortable. We lacked nothing.
Jon had not seen the
pictures of your
place and was blown away with the
setting
and the house. He kept
saying, "This is a resort, a
private
resort." Of the six days at your house
we really only
"chilled" (swam,
beach walks, read - what most
people do on
vacation) at the house
acouple of days as we wanted to see
as much as possible. We drove
downto Manuel Antonio one
day, leaving at
6:45 AM, getting home nearly at
dark. We
explored the coast coming
back. Locally, we went up to
Pura
Vida Gardens, Parque National
Carara, The Areal Tramway,
checked
outVilla Caseta and Los Suenos and
Sea Kayaked
out of Hotel Club del
Mar.
We also drove up to the Arenal
Volcano, spending one night in
Tabacon.
We made it a loop
trip, driving up
through Palmares and then driving
back
around the Lake and through
Canas and to the InterAmerican
Hwy.
(it isn't the Italian Autosrada). The
Volcano was
awsome, rumbling and
smoking, saw rocks avalanching
down the
montain. If we had more
time in
Costa Rica, we would have
stay
another night. The drive was
arduous,
but we got a
fuller view and feel of the
county seeing the
non-tourist
towns (clean and well kept
compared to Jaco). We
were glad to
be back
to Playa Hermosa.
Teri was great.
We got to know
Isreal, the night watchman. Very
sweet
guy
who is really attached to the land.
Your new BBQ is
great.
We had a great time and look
forward to returning.
Take care and Happy New Year.
Mariani
|
| |
Mariani Salmon
(msalmon@coastair.com) |
|
Homeowner Response:
Thank you Jon and Mariani.
I know how high your standards
are, so I am very pleased to know how much you liked it! I am now
confident to reccomend Albacore to anyone. We strive to make it the
best it can possibly be. | |
Christmas at Albacore
My family
and I have been living in Costa Rica for nearly 10 years.
I was
so excited to have all four of my kids visiting that I decided to
make arrangements to have a few days off from work and made plans to
take the family to the beach.
I found Albacore on the Internet.
It seemed perfect- right on the beach, fully equipped and with a
private swimming pool, I couldn’t think of another thing we could
possibly need.
Arriving at the house around 12:45AM, we obtained
the keys from the guard and were surprised, and very pleased, to
find how big and beautiful the house was. The photos on the Internet
had not nearly done it justice!
Teri, the property manager, had
thoughtfully left freshly baked bread from the panaderia, eggs,
milk, coffee and fresh fruit so that we would be prepared for
breakfast in the morning. She knew we would be arriving late and had
thought to save us an early morning, hunger filled, trip to the
supermarket.
The house had everything we could possibly need!
The kitchen was fully equipped with everything from a coffee maker
to wine glasses and a corkscrew. Cutting boards, pots and pans,
casual plastic dinner-ware for out by the pool and beautiful
stoneware for the dining room- really, it seems that Paul and Pamela
have thought of everything. There was a stereo in the living room,
which we moved to the patio for our stay, a television equipped with
a VCR and even a high-speed Internet connection!
One day was
spent relaxing around the pool, surfing and generally hanging out
and having fun.
The boys surfed a lot and we all napped, read,
listened to music, swam, took long walks, ate and ate and ate some
more. On Wednesday morning we decided to take the big blow up pool
dinosaur (we brought this along for the pool- it didn't come with
the house). Riding the dinosaur may have been the
highlight of our trip. Ha ha.. just kidding. Actually, the highlight
of our trip was our bonfire on the beach the last night there..
We gathered up drift-wood (which is abundant in Playa Hermosa)
and dug a hole in the sand with the shovel we found in the storage
shed. We placed the wood in the hole, laid out a blanket, broke out
the guitar and spent the evening of the Winter Solstice (which was
December 21st this year) singing songs around the campfire in front
of the ocean under the stars- it was heavenly.
What a great
trip! We plan to make it a family tradition now that two of our
family are away in the States and in another 2 years Jade and Dustin
will also head for the US to do their graduate studies. We hope to
stay at Albacore again someday- it was absolutely perfect.
Thanks for the memories!
Lynette, Alejandra, Derek,
Dustin, Jade and Chase
-and-
Tobias and Edgar- who visited us
during our stay..
|
| |
Lynette Garet
(lyngaret@ggc.co.cr) |
|
Homeowner Response:
So
nice to have Lynette's comment. She has lived in Costa Rica and
pretty much seen everything and loves Albacore. We are very happy
knowing guests are at Albacore because we know they will be having
as great a time as we do when we're there!!!
| |
Hi Paul,
Our trip was great and
your home was everything I had expected and more. Your home is
perfectly located and the tips you gave us were very helpful.
We
are pretty adventurous in our own way, but we certainly would
have missed some very local spots. Our favorite restaurant was the
Jungle Surf-by far they had the best food-(we ate there 3 times)The
backyard was fun and Claritas was also one we really enjoyed. Hotel
Tangeri restaurant was not on the list, but we ate there for
breakfast and for lunch.(chicken with jalapeno cream sauce was very
good) Their breakfast was less expensive and better (I thought) than
the Sunrise. The pool is very nice and well designed-having traveled
to Mexico several times, I was very impressed with the workmanship
of the Costa Ricans. You might mention in your tips to bring
binoculars. There was quite a show of different birds the last
morning we were there behind your house.
Also wanted to mention
that the Tico's (Costa Ricans) that work for you were great. The
boys and Israel had a great time. They work and keep the place
looking great and are very personable. Teri (your hospitality
person) was a lot of help and very
nice as well. You have a great
setup for guests.
Costa Rica is a beautiful country and a
week is not long enough especially with 2 days of travel. There is
so much to do and see. We have done a lot of traveling, and Costa
Rica is definitely a country to return to. Oh, one more thing to add
to your tips. When you arrive at the airport, you can pay the
departure tax upon arrival and not have to pay and stand in line
when you leave-this saves a lot of time when leaving.
Thank
you for everything and I wish you and your family a very nice
holiday.
Sincerely,
Lezlie
|
| |
Lezlie Turrichi
(lturicchi@yahoo.com) | |
We had a great time in Hermosa.
We
love the house, and the location
is ideal. We were surprised at
the
amount of wildlife behind the
house, including birds,
iguanas and
a large group of monkeys. As for
the surfing, we
couldn't have had it
better - waking up to an awesome
surf
break all to ourselves.
The house is just far enough from
Jaco - close enough to go to the
restaurants and bars, but
far enough
for peace and quiet.
We had everything we
needed. You
have done an excellent job in
setting up the
place!
All in all, it was an amazing trip - We
are
already trying to figure
out when we can return.
|
| |
David Estis, Glendale, CA | |
I would like to HIGHLY recommend staying
at the Albacore House on Hermosa Beach. I was there for 2 weeks with
my daughters in July 2005 and had a marvelous time. The house is
VERY lovely and the owners were friendly and helpful. The local
management team were responsive and accommodating....and spoke
English!
There is a fantastic view of the ocean from the
upper deck...my favorite place to sit in the morning and watch the
waves and surfers. Also caught some amazing sunsets and lightning
storms up there. The beautiful black sand beach was always empty and
felt like a private beach. The pool was being built during our stay
(which made for affordable rates)...but I can't wait to come back
and stay here when it is done... I know it will add beauty and fun
to the house.
Just down the road is Playa Hermosa, which has
several delicious restaurants and we got to watch a world class
surfing competition there. And Jaco is only a short drive, which has
plenty of restaurants, shops, and night life. Then there are the FUN
stuff to do...Canopy tours on zip lines, ATV riding, garden and park
touring, Boating, Surfing, etc., etc., all close by in the
area.
The house is loaded with all the kitchen amenities
needed to cook some fabulous meals. The fruit and seafood are
awesome here in Costa Rica....and CHEAP! And the local people were
extremely friendly and courteous. With all the fun activities and
beautiful sights, good food, warm ocean, private beaches, amazing
wild life...Costa Rica has become a favorite vacation place for our
family. We miss it and hope to return to Albacore House SOON! This
place feels like Home!
Susan Donivan
|
| |
Susan Donivan, Sebastopol, CA
(susan_donivan-walsh@agilent.com)
(707)
823-8688 | |
Guest Comment
Entered By Homeowner:
The beach Albacore is on is a
great surfing beach. Just
2 miles north is the Jaco beach which
has smaller
waves, so whatever your level there is a beach for
you.
The restaurants in Jaco are very good and numerous.
Don't forget some of the best restaurants are right up the beach at
Hermosa.
Take advantage of the fresh fish salesmen that comes on
a regular basis. Excellent and cheap. Do not forget Manuel
Ortega National Park. It's one of Costa Rica's best. We love
Pura Vida Gardens too!
We often camp out on the elevated deck
which has
360% views. The pool is gorgeous. Many renters says
our pictures do not do Albacore justice, but what can we do? You
have to be there to really appreciate it! |
| |
Paul Edwards
Los Angeles, CA
| |