We got back from Redfish on Wednesday and left for Costa Rica the following Tuesday. We had a hotel booked in, Brasilito, a small beach town near one of the schools we were looking into. But one of the places Shane reached out to to inquire about a condo for long-term rental offered to allow us to stay there for free. We were kind of hoping to stay in Brasilito, closer to the locals, but we couldn’t pass up a free place to stay. Needless to say, it was a gorgeous condo inside the gated resort community of Reserva Conchal. All the while we were there, we kept reminding ourselves this is not how we would live. Still Shane threw out an offer to the condo owner to see if they’d bite. They came back with a much higher counter offer. Easy decision. Back on track.
Still, we took advantage of the property’s amenities including the pools, restaurant and use of SUP boards. Seriously a great place for a vacation (here’s a great condo if you’re thinking of visiting). We proceeded to look at houses. The first house we saw, I fell in love with. It was a four bedroom with a small pool and a big yard. The style was very Costa Rican – tile floors, and all the bedrooms opened up to the pool area. It was a ways from the beach but close to school – a tradeoff I was willing to make since we’d be going to school daily and the beach less frequently anyway. Then we connected with a local realtor and saw three more houses. One was a significant climb up a rutted road. No thank you. Another was a condo in Tamarindo (the tourist spot in Guanacaste) that overlooked the parking lot. Also not our thing. And finally we looked at what could have been a promising house but it was filthy and the yard was full of trash. I couldn’t get past it.
Three strikes for that realtor which is unfortunate because he was so incredibly nice. We really wanted to rent something through him but he just didn’t have the properties – and unfortunately that’s how it works in Costa Rica. If you’re interested in his or any other contact info, check out our guide as we list all of the contacts we’d recommend in there.
We looked at one more condo with great ocean views but in a dilapidated complex and two more houses in nearby beach towns. Both were options. One was a great option actually. A 3-bedroom with a big yard, a bunch of fruit trees and a giant pool just a few blocks from the beach and close to school and was priced exactly what our budget was. Seemed like a good sign.
But then we got a response from an inquiry on a penthouse condo back in Reserva Conchol. Again, we reminded ourselves we wanted a Costa Rican experience and a condo in a resort area wasn’t likely to provide it. Still, we went to see what we were going to turn down. Again, for exactly our budget, and the same price as the house, we were offered a furnished, two-story penthouse condo with 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths and gorgeous views of the ocean and golf course we likely won’t be playing. Add to that the gated community (huge perq given the theft rates in non-gated communities), fitness center, tennis courts, pools, several eco trails and the cleanest beach stocked with kayaks and SUP boards all included with the rent and we decided that was going to be the best Costa Rica living experience for us all and we’d adventure on the weekends.
My husband thinks it’s funny, maybe peculiar, but I believe in signs and all signs pointed to Reserva Conchal. And that’s what we chose.