One of the most important decisions you have to make as you plan your Costa Rica vacation is where to stay in Tamarindo. There are all kinds of options for every budget and every group size. Some are beachfront, some are hilltop spots with an ocean view, some don’t offer an ocean view but are literally a 2-minute walk to the surf and sand…how do you decide?
The first variable is group size. If you’re traveling alone or with a friend/partner, a small vacation rental condo or a Tamarindo hotel room might be the right choice for you. If you’re planning a group travel occasion or a special event like a wedding or an important birthday celebration, you absolutely want a Tamarindo vacation rental home where all of you can share a common area.
Photo by Tamarindowiki – Tamarindowiki helicopter aerial photo, CC BY-SA 3.0,
The next question is budget. Generally speaking, the more you are willing to pay, the closer to the water you can stay. That principle doesn’t always apply, but it’s a reasonable guide. And of course keep in mind that a Tamarindo vacation rental is always a great deal because the cost is split between all of your group, and having your own kitchen keeps you from having to purchase every meal in a restaurant.
Today, we’re featuring for you our Vacation Rentals of Tamarindo Top 5 Places To Stay. If we listed them according to how wonderful they are, they would all be first–which is impossible. So we’re placing them here, from largest to smallest, according to the maximum number of guests each property can accommodate. Check out these amazing options:
Max Occupancy: 24
Casa Costa Blanca
Casa Costa Blanca is a jewel. It would be worth rounding up a group of 18 or 20 people to come to Costa Rica with you just for the joy of spending your days and nights in this breathtaking beachfront mansion.
The home is located inside the gated community of Hacienda Pinilla, Guanacaste’s premier gated community. Hacienda Pinilla is a popular vacation destination for surfers because of the 3 miles of coast that the property lies along, and golfers also love it for the 5-star 18-hole golf course.
Casa Costa Blanca is set right by the sand. From the terraces and the infinity pool, you can watch the waves crashing onto the lava rock and sand, and take in tropical Pacific sunsets that will blow your mind. The main house is a two-story structure that contains a full kitchen and living/dining area on both levels. This allows you all kinds of creative flexibility for privacy and togetherness within your large group. A spacious outdoor barbeque terrace is designed to seat and serve all the guests of a full house, making the beachfront lawn an especially appropriate spot for beachfront weddings.
Casa Costa Blanca’s beachfront outdoor living area
No wedding? It doesn’t matter. Corporate retreats, yoga retreats, family reunions–all of these group travel occasions merit a vacation rental like Costa Casa Blanca. This home is hands-down our top pick for large groups!
Compass House
Max Occupancy: 16
Compass House
Compass House is our pick for larger mid-sized groups. It’s right here in Tamarindo Beach, set on a hillside overlooking Tamarindo’s rooftops, the Tamarindo Bay, and Punta San Francisco toward Langosta. Compass House is brand new and is the quintessential chic modern minimalist vacation rental property. You will love it. The sharp angles and muted colors of the home itself accentuate the brilliant blues, greens, and the organic shapes of trees and clouds that surround it. From each room of the house, giant glass windows and sliding doors blur the lines between what is inside and what is outside.
We love Compass House for lots of reasons–one of which is the size of its common spaces. Cooking, dining, and lounging areas are all combined in a single open design that adapts well of groups of all kinds. A kitchen spans the back of the living area, which includes an indoor dining option, and opens onto the pool terrace where an outdoor dining table made of a single slab of local wood stretches the length of the space.
Bedroom at Compass House
Compass House isn’t our largest home in Tamarindo, but it’s still an excellent choice for your destination wedding or other special events. Imagine the photos of your sunset ceremony by the pool with brilliant cloud colors illuminating the background on your special day. Sunset cocktails on the terrace are the perfect way to celebrate any occasion.
Max Occupancy: 12
Casa Ventanas
Casa Ventanas is a Tamarindo favorite, and we don’t just mean ours–we mean everyone’s! This is a vacation rental home you’re going to have to book in advance. The location is fantastic and the home is beautiful. You’ll want to a car or a golf cart to get up the hill to the ocean look-out spot where Casa Ventanas is perched, but don’t take that to mean its location is remote. Casa Ventanas is right in Tamarindo but set just above the businesses of the beach and the street.
The home, with a west wall comprised entirely of ocean-facing windows (“ventanas”) overlooks the Tamarindo Bay from Punta San Francisco to the south, to the Las Baulas Estuary and Playa Grande to the north. The panorama from the pool, the dining room, and the bedrooms is breathtaking.
Open common area at Casa Ventanas
Extended families love this home, sets of friends traveling with kids come back year after year, and intimate wedding parties choose this spot all the time. What could be better than waking up in Casa Ventanas looking out over the trees at the water? Get up, have a cup of hot coffee in the shade of the terrace by the pool, and listen to the parrots and monkeys discuss their plans for the day. This home is located within a gated community that provides an extra layer of safety and comfort to your Tamarindo vacation.
Pacific Soul Catamaran
Max Occupancy: 8
Pacific Soul
How imaginative are you? How adventurous? What if your vacation rental wasn’t located on land? What if your vacation rental, for a night or two or three, was a catamaran? Are you in?
The Pacific Soul Catamaran is a pristine 4-bedroom 4-bath catamaran with a captain and crew who are up for whatever you are. Want to go surfing? They’re ready. Off-shore deep sea fishing? Let’s go. A coast-line cruise with (or without?) on-land stops at adventure centers, restaurants, or hidden coves? How about a combo of any/all of the above? Pacific Soul voyages are completely customizable to your group and your interests.
The sailors aboard the Pacific Soul are amazing cooks, and all meals are included. The bar is always open, and sea toys like snorkel gear, a kayak, paddle board and noodles for floating are included for your use. Don’t take an afternoon snorkel cruise, move onto the boat and make it your home!
Bedroom and living area of Pacific Soul
You won’t believe the beauty of the sunset or the moonrise as you will experience them anchored in a secluded bay with just clouds and stars overhead. The crew on the boat has been sailing in and around the area for decades, so you’re in good hands and can completely relax on this floating piece of paradise.
Max occupancy 6
Villa Mansita
For our smallest featured property, we’re taking you back to Hacienda Pinilla. Villa Mansita is an exquisite 2-bedroom condo located in Hacienda Pinilla. This condo is on a property that borders the beach and overlooks the Pacific horizon, but it is not set directly on the water. Not to worry–a quick walk down the brick path and your toes will be in the sand!
This luxury condo offers every amenity of Hacienda Pinilla and it has an extra: its location adjacent to the JW Marriot Resort. Enjoy meals at the restaurants in the resort as availability permits, and freely enjoy the shady beachfront palapas and convenient restrooms.
Tamarindo is only a 15-minute drive from Hacienda Pinilla so don’t let the secluded feel of your Villa Mansita hideaway fool you–in no time at all you can be in Tamarindo walking the streets lined with colorful shops and world cuisine, listening to the amazing array of languages overheard here every day.
Villa Mansita Master Bedroom
These five properties are featured to give you an idea of the variety of homes available for you to choose from in the planning stages of your Costa Rica vacation. Contact Vacation Rentals of Tamarindo today and let us help you pick the one that’s right for you!
