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In Costa Rica, there is a highly popular expression called “pura vida” which permeates the soul of the country. “Pura Vida” literally means “pure life” and more broadly depicts the country’s focus on preserving the quality of life, the beauty of the habitat, and the peacefulness of their lifestyles.
VILLA ESTRELLA was built to capture the essence of “Pura Vida”. The mission of VILLA ESTRELLA is to provide our guests with a Costa Rican experience they will thoroughly enjoy and never forget.
VILLA ESTRELLA opened in 2007. Below is a series of comments from our most recent guests that give testimony to the outstanding experience that awaits you at VILLA ESTRELLA - COSTA RICA.
We are very proud that VILLA ESTRELLA-COSTA RICA, in just one year of operation, has been RECOMMENDED by many of the top travel specialists in the industry, including Andrew Harper, Inc who is recognized worldwide as the ultimate authority on luxury travel. We proudly portray the symbol of recommendations of these various travel specialists on our website.
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“How divine our stay at VILLA ESTRELLA was. We just loved your staff—wish they could have all come home with us. JD is a master with the blender; including the flaming coffee drinks on the last night. The excursions were wonderful. We all fell in love with our tour guides. Would insist on having them again next time. Our 2 year old loved ML and asked if  she could go on the airplane with us before we left. We will certainly be return visitors, although I have raved and bragged so much to all of my friends that I am afraid we’ll never get another spot on the calendar. After our trip to the Four Seasons, I have to say that fancy resort has nothing on VILLA ESTRELLA. It was pure perfection. What a wonderful villa you all have!” |
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“I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed your Villa. I felt like a celebrity the whole time. The Villa is perfect and amazing. I was so happy just hanging out there. The staff was unbelievable—so nice and helpful. The trips we took were really fun—especially the canopy tour. The massages, pedicures, and facials were wonderful and the food was perfect. I have already told many of my friends about our trip. We truly made memories that will last forever." |
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‘VILLA ESTRELLA is one in a million and everyone was in awe of it. You have made this a premier vacation spot. We really could not have been more satisfied. The entire staff was so wonderful. Thanks again for everything!’ |
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‘Our trip to the Villa was incredible. We had a GREAT time. It was one of those vacations you don’t want to return home from. The staff was excellent and provided everything we possibly could need or want. All our excursions were perfect! The food was delicious! We loved Costa Rica and your beautiful Villa!’ |
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‘We had an absolutely wonderful time at your villa. The kids are still talking about it, sharing their hundreds of pictures, and planning a return! The staff was what made it so wonderful. We had a chance to meet the families of several of the staff, which was very special. The food was fabulous and we always felt that we could ask for anything. The excurs ions were great. We did the canopy tour with everyone, including my 80 year old parents. We also toured the rain forest with the younger kids. Everyone enjoyed hanging out at the villa and around the pool also! I can’t think of a thing I would change about the Villa itself. It was very clean all the time, despite the many people going in and out. The meals were perfect as far as timing, quantities, etc. He totally satisfied one of our finicky eaters. Having the staff there to add local flavor was wonderful. We had a chance to work on our Spanish a bit, and they were very patient with us! I wish I had some constructive criticism for you, but we really had a wonderful time and no complaints. Thank you for sharing your wonderful home and this great country with us. PURA VIDA!’ |
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'The staff was awesome. Cannot say enough about them. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in large part due to them. We loved Costa Rica and do plan on coming back some day. Your Villa is absolutely gorgeous and the pictures do not do it justice. Loved the pool and views. We will definitely recommend your villa to friends.' |
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‘We just wanted to thank you so much for making our stay so wonderful. The Villa was fabulous. The food was better. And the smiling faces and personalities of the all the staff were the best! We can’t wait to come back’ |
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‘I cannot thank you all enough for the wonderful time we spent with you and your staff at the Villa. The food was wonderful, the drinks great, but your staff made the stay so memorable. We are so looking forward to visiting again!’ |
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“Thank you so much for a wonderful week in Costa Rica. Your Villa is incredibly beautiful and so well decorated yet we all felt right at home.  I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed our stay. Everything was better than we ever imagined from the comfy bedrooms, the incredible pool and most importantly the staff. They all took such good care of us and are such warm and giving people, they really made everything perfect.“ |
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I just wanted to express our feelings from our first visit to Costa Rica and our stay at VILLA ESTRELLA. Your Villa is the most AMAZING place we have ever stayed. We stayed at other “five star” places and VILLA ESTRELLA absolutely blows them away. From the moment we pulled up to the villa, we were taken aback by the beauty of the location, the views, and the house. We were immediately greeted by the staff with warm welcomes and “PURA VIDA”. The house inside is absolutely breathtaking as well. It is truly an experience to be waited on hand and foot as we were at the Villa. I have a hard time not helping in some way, and offered again and agin,but the staff would not even let me put a spoon  in the sink. We never wanted for anything. When we came back from our day of adventuring, the staff would greet us with a smile and cold margaritas! We have never felt so “home” away from home. Thank you again for sharing your Villa with us and we look forward to taking friends and family from the states to meet our new friends and family at VILLA ESTRELLA, Playa Ocotal, Costa Rica. |
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“I wanted I wanted to take a moment to thank you from the bottom of our hears for allowing us to experience VILLA ESTRELLA and Costa Rica. While Costa Rica is a beautiful country, staying at your Villa made everything seem almost surreal. To have the opportunity to share this with my girls was truly a blessing and something we will not soon forget. Your home is fantastic, the country is beautiful and the staff is irreplaceable. We think you have a winning combination and wish you all the success. Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts.” |
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What can I say! It was our best family vacation ever. This was our first experience vacationing in an “all-inclusive” Villa…..hotels no more! The staff was outstanding….we felt like kings and  queens being waited upon every minute of the day. The food and libations were awesome. The adventure days were so much fun for all…particularly the tree top canopy zip lining and tubing day. Playa Avalennes was such a beautiful beach! Loved Lola’s tropical drinks! We fell in love with Costa Rica. We will be back! Thank you and Pura Vida! |
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Thank you for a lovely week. Everything was perfect. Your staff is outstanding, be sure to do whatever you need to do to keep them. They make the visit to Costa Rica incredible. Thanks again, you did a magnificent job with the villa. |
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“We had a great time in your beautiful home in Costa Rica! We loved the villa, and the staff was outstanding. Our kids loved hanging out with them. We had a truly wonderful vacation. Thanks so very much!” |
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“ Villa was Great! Staff was GREAT!!! Food and service were GREAT! Costa Rica was GREAT!!! We had a VERY GOOD time. All was superb. We appreciate your help and look forward to returning to the Villa. Thanks again.” |
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The Villa and the service exceeded all expectations! We were a family of 3 sisters, brother in laws, mother and two boys ages 5 and 3. The food, the service, the planning of ZIP line tours, beach activities, ATV rides, hiking to waterfalls and deep sea fishing were excellent. We had a wonderful, wonderful time. Our compliments to the staff. |
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We are settled back at home after our fantastic week at VILLA ESTRELLA with the family to celebrate our 60th birthday. Everyone had such a wonderful time-we were 14 adults and 2 little girls.
Your manager and staff are beyond compare. They saw to every detail to make our stay most comfortable and enjoyable. They were always there to  greet us with a drink and towel in hand. Always smiling, always caring, and making us feel completely at home. And what a home! We never tired of the magnificent view and loved eating our meals outdoors on the patio or under the pavilion. Costa Rica is blessed the sweetest fruits.
Our group took several fun excursions: one afternoon by boat to explore the bay, another to Rincon de la Viejo to experience the canopy by zip lines, and 2 days visiting the beaches at Avellanas with lunch at Lola's, and Tamarindo-including a surfing lesson.
Back at the house, some of us enjoyed walking the loop every morning before breakfast. It was fun to meet the neighbors. We enjoyed a salsa lesson as well as the cocktail making class (no shortage of margaritas) and massages on the deck. The younger set enjoyed the pool table, plasma TV, and everyone unfortunately kept up their emails. (hard to disconnect completely)
For those who want to explore the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica and then relax at a 5 star villa, this is the place! Thank you for the experience. |
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 We all had a wonderful week. The villa exceeded our high expectations, and the staff was superb..--so personable and capable. We fell in love with “xxxxxx” and
”yyyyy” with whom we had the most contact. “Wwwww” and “zzzzzz” are also so delightful and hardworking! They both have wonderful positive attitudes. The house and view are both spectacular and we had a happy, restful week. We look forward to going again. |
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Hola! Words cannot express how very impressed and pleased we were with our stay at VILLA ESTRELLA. Everything was to our liking, and I can’t remember when I’ve experienced such care-free days. You have an amazing staff assembled at VILLA ESTRELLA, and it felt like they were one step ahead of us at all times. Whatever you are doing…keep on doing it!
I was very impressed with their knowledge of Costa Rica and their willingness to share that with us. We will always remember “xxxx” and “xxxx” stopping the van, jumping out and picking some cashews so that we could sample the unique taste of the cashew fruit. We enjoyed sugar cane and were introduced to beautiful wildlife and plants and trees. When they accompanied us on our zip line/waterfall/mud bath excursion, they added to the enjoyment of the day. "
xxxx”…complete with his salt rimmer for traveling margaritas will be forever ingrained in our memories. And “xxxxx” jumping into the mud bath and waterfall…showing us Canadians how it was really done!
“xxxx” cheerful smile and ability to provide just the right amount of information for us to make decisions was priceless! “xxxx” and “xxxx” kept us organized and provided us with wonderful ideas from which to select our excursions. I believe “xxxxx” also helped in organizing boats for our mini fishing/beach ½ day trip. Everyone was so instrumental in ensuring that we had the best-possible, worry-free time imaginable!
Again, your staff are truly the best. Everything was “perfecto!”
The glorious views, accommodations and furnishings of VILLA ESTRELLA are breath-taking. The online pictures do not do the Villa justice. I am still at a loss for words to describe just how truly beautiful VILLA ESTRELLA is.
We enjoyed all of the traditional Costa Rican meals prepared by “xxxx” and “xxxx”. Although, there was far too much food!!!!! We certainly appreciate “xxxx” checking up on the children throughout the day to ensure that all of their needs were met too. They all felt immediately  comfortable with him, and felt confident asking him for snacks and drinks throughout the day. Both of my girls asked if he could come back to Canada with us!
Thank you once again for all your assistance prior to our vacation. Booking something like this online can be somewhat daunting, and quite often your expectations are not always met. However in this case I felt very confident after speaking with you, and want you to know that not only were our expectations met…they were exceeded in every way. We can’t wait to get back to VILLA ESTRELLA and experience pura vida once again. |
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We’re just about to leave on a business trip upon our return but wanted to send you a very quick message that sums up our trip: We had a GREAT time at VILLA ESTRELLA and in Costa Rica! Thank you!” |
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Comments from a travel agent who recently visited Villa Estrella:
“I went to visit VILLA ESTRELLA when I was up there a few weeks ago and I was very impressed. Your manager was so great and the villa/service was fantastic. I have visited over 40 private villas in Costa Rica and have yet to see one with your level of luxury and customer service.” |
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 “We had a wonderful time at VILLA ESTRELLA during our week there. The Villa exceeded all our expectations, especially the abundant room for kids playing pool, etc. and still room for us adults downstairs. The staff was fantastic and helped us all whenever we needed it. We had a good time fishing and great fun snorkeling on the beaches. During our stay there most of us kept pretty busy and the van worked well for us. Even though we went to different places, there was time to get us all taken care of. The 9 grandkids spent a lot of time in the pool and enjoyed every minute of it. Grandma enjoyed “xxxxx” bringing cocktails, coffee, or soft drinks around whenever they were desired. My sons and I enjoyed his special drinks a lot also. Overall, VILLA ESTRELLA was incredibly nice and Costa Rica was a great place to vacation in, especially with your great staff looking after us.“ |
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"VILLA ESTRELLA far exceeded our expectations. The staff is attentive without being intrusive. “XXXX” is extremely courteous, warm and provided excellent service. “YYYY”, the driver, was always smiling and willing to drive us anywhere. Everyone, including “ZZZZ”, made our trip a truly memorable and unique experience.
The cooks did an excellent job incorporating our dietary restrictions. “AAA” said she had prior vegan/vegetarian cooking experience. I don't recall a better vegetarian meal. Simply stated, we were all well fed and gained a few pounds.
Of course the house is magnificent. The infinity pool and balcony views are outstanding.  Your suggestions on excursions were right on. My husband and I have traveled throughout the U.S., Mexico and Europe and have never had such a relaxing experience. We will definitely be back next summer. In summary, for once, neither I nor my sisters have anything negative to say about our stay...not one thing. It was awesome.” |
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"We had a great time. The villa was beautiful, the staff was tremendous, and the food fabulous! “XXXXX” is a real find. Both the adults and kids loved XXXX. Aside from being great at the job, XXXX is just a warm and wonderful person. We have even instituted a new service rating (a 1-100 scale) with XXXX and VILLA ESTRELLA being the 100. Thank you!" |
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"The week was fantastico!! The week in Costa Rica goes down as the BEST vacation that we have ever taken as a family. The VILLA ESTRELLA is so comfortable and the staff rocks! We loved them all. Thanks so much for allowing us to share your home. Pura vida." |
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"On behalf of our group, I just wanted to say THANKS for having us at your villa. The staff was incredible and took great care of us. The food and activities were also amazing. Everyone had a great time, and left with outstanding memories of Costa Rica."
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! PURA VIDA! |
