La Paloma Blanca B3

The property was clean and very nicely furnished. The property itself was really nice, well maintained and we really enjoyed the pool and the easy access to the beach,

Breakfast??

No keys in the lock box when we arrived. Took some time to straighten this out.

Mini splits were easy to use and keep the rooms cool. We felt very safe. Local staff were friendly. Super close to the beach. Safe place to park our rental car. Nice pool. Mostly quiet. Nice view of the ocean from the balconies. Apartment was clean and comfortable. Lots of channels on the TV for when the kids wanted to watch something. Kitchen had plenty of glasses, plates, and pots for us to fix basic items to eat.

We asked for additional washcloths and kitchen towels, but never received them. Drier hose was not attached to the exterior wall or the drier so the laundry room got very hot and humid when we ran the drier the first time. We tried stuffing the hose in the wall vent and the drier hole, but it fell out a couple of times. It needs to be clamped on both ends. The dishwasher was broken, and there were parts just sitting inside it, so we had to hand wash dishes (which really wasn't a problem for us. We're used to handwashing on trips, but the owners likely will want to get that fixed for later renters.) There was a water leak through an old outlet cover in the small bedroom when it rained. There were three lightbulbs out in the larger bathroom which made it hard to see in the mirror. Vacasa sent an employee when we reported the water leak, and I showed him the other repair needs that I had previously reported. He said he would come back the next day with lightbulbs, and we did see him on the property the next day, but he did not return to our apartment.

Location and facilities

Check-in is too late and checkout is really early

The view, the large rooms and the cleanliness

The pool was a little warm

Everything. It was sparkling, clean, spacious, with a wonderful balcony, view, and a great vibe. The staff, especially Adele in the office were lovely. We were able to cook our meals and also go out where we wanted to. It was the best being able to go in the pool and then walk right onto the beach and back-and-forth all day long. Of all the places we stayed in our Costa Rica trip, this apartment was by far the family favorite. Also take a surf lesson from Julian, the resident instructor! Pura Vida!

We loved the property and enjoyed the location and the staff on the premises.

The electric was turned off 2 days into our stay. Vacasa arranged for us to stay at another location; HOWEVER, the relocation services and time that it took for all that to happen was seriously unacceptable. On Monday, we came back from an excursion at 4:00 to find we had no electric. After 45 minutes trying to connect with someone to help, we had only an hour left of light before the sun went down. After a few hours of waiting in the dark, with my 2 kids (who were crying and scared) we finally got an email offering options. I was told to reply to the email (after talking with Charmaine) and she said she would be able to help. Again, we waited for 2 MORE hours, in the dark, trying to stay in a wifi spot for contact, with 2 very upset children and a husband who was very frustrated. I finally called to find out that no one bothered to read my email. This was extremely frustrating and scary. We were in a foreign country depending on someone to help us. …in the dark. We were finally given the relocation details so that we could take a cab to our new spot (Diamonte del Sol) and got into that location at almost 10 at night. This experience was extremely upsetting and stressful. We were able to stay at that location for 2 days and then had to check out at 10 in the morning, managing all of our bags and not able to check into our new location until 4:00. This made it so that we had to spend taxi money and miss out on a day of fun so that we could figure out where to stay. During that day, we were finally told that they might be able to take care of the situation (pay the electric bill) and that maybe we could return to La paloma Blanca. This happened at almost 4:30 that afternoon. This was nice to be able to return to our original location, but all of this could have been avoided and fixed in a more efficient way. We spent additional time and money trying to deal with a stressful situation that was not of our doing.

Great, comfortable apartment in attractive beachfront development.

Timed emailed release of information like lockbox code caused a little scramble to get online right at the door trying to get in. Prior release of wifi parameters would have helped.