Casa Leyenda is beautiful, well appointed, 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 1 shower house in guard-gated community. There are 2 fully stocked kitchens – inside and outside – with large propane grill, 2 refrigerators with freezers, microwave, blender, toaster and drip coffee maker. All the amenities of home are provided: towels, dish and laundry soap, toilet paper, blowdryer, flashlights, and a 5 gallon purified water dispenser, although we drank the public water without consequence. Effective air conditioning with ceiling fans was comfortable. A covered car port, washer and dryer, and refreshing pool are attached. Annette is fluent in Spanish so she and John are great resources for pre-trip planning, appropriate clothing, activities, and all things Costa Rica. CENTRALLY LOCATED Located minutes from pristine beaches on the Pacific Ocean, everything we wanted to visit is within an easy drive. Being 20 minutes from Jaco, Casa Leyenda was a perfect home base for all kinds of activities, tours, and day trips, even to Manuel Antonio. We spent an overnight in La Fortuna, leaving our big suitcases at Casa Leyenda. Upon return, we did laundry to reset for the following days. RENTAL CAR You must have one, preferably a 4 x4 SUV. Waze app didn’t work on our iPhones, but Google Maps performed without a glitch. Radio 103.5 plays only American hits. Driving at night is daunting because they don’t have lights on the 2 lane blacktop roads, and the locals ride scooters and bikes, or walk on or alongside the road. FOOD Food is plentiful, especially fresh fish, tropical fruit, and delicious coffee. Auto Mercado is the most American-like grocery about a half an hour away, next to Starbucks, KFC, and Subway. The closest grocery Super Sol (3 minutes) has most food you might want, including Coke, alcohol, eggs, Doritos, snacks, and American brands. For restaurants we recommend: Los Almendros for Mexican food (3 minutes) Trapezon for pizza (3 minutes) 2 Parrots Restaurant in La Marala Hotel overlooking the ocean (5 minutes) Alma Restaurant at Alma del Pacifico Hotel, a beachside restaurant (7 minutes) Amara is a Jaco restaurant by the Tangeri Hotel and Villas Pop’s for ice cream Casa Leyenda is a wonderful vacation home. Don’t miss the opportunity to visit Costa Rica and stay at this beautiful, comfortable home away from home.
Joe and Susan, You guys were incredibly amazing guests! We loved supporting your Costa Rica Legend and really appreciated how well you cared for our home. Thanks so much for your review providing future guests with the details you found most helpful for our future guests to create their own adventure with us. Please come back!! John & Annette
This has been my most spectacular vacation experience and Family Thanksgiving since I can remember and I'm 80 years old! Annette's mother and I were honored to have been the very first guests at Casa Leyenda. As the first guests we were asked to find any flaws or problems with the newly constructed and decorated home. We absolutely failed at finding anything short of perfect!! I consider this amazing little jewel a 5 out of 5-star place to stay as well as the perfect spot to make it a home base for exploring and enjoying so many wonders within the west central coast of Costa Rica. It is only a 30 min +- drive from Jaco, which is the "in" vacation area of the west coast, yet situated in the small quiet and safe gated beach community of Esterillos Oeste. Our sunrise walks on the beach were almost void of people, yet abundant with wildlife and a mermaid that watched over the ocean and Jungle. As for our hosts, Annette's mother and her boyfriend, none could be more welcoming and accommodating. Our trip started with a preplanned and organized itinerary that gave us many options for levels of energy and ability. Our Thanksgiving dinner at the poolside outdoor kitchen was prepared by a real "CHEF" with dishes I've never imagined and so tasteful! - an adventure of true Costa Rican cuisine. Then, on to nearby, yet untouristed waterfalls with jaw dropping gentle hikes and swimming holes. We were also just minutes away from a park we all went to that offered repelling, ziplining, horseback riding and much more within just a 20 min drive of Casa Leyenda. for our Grand Finale excursion Annette arranged a Must do guided tour of Manuel Antonio National Park. My words cannot describe the incredible wildlife and rainforest experiences - A must see!!!! Another very well-planned day highly recommended amongst the best - which was just chilling at the Casa Leyenda pool side, that was Bliss spelled in highlighted words and so needed after 8 days of Beach and Jungle adventures.
Thank you so much for coming Dana and for telling us about the highlights of your Costa Rica experience with us! It was an incredible pleasure to watch your grinning faces come home after each epic excursion and reminded us how we felt the first time we discovered the many nearby adventures available. The private Costa Rican chef experience was a new one for us, however, and we thoroughly enjoyed it as well.... thanks for giving us an excuse to book it! We truly look forward to your next visit!
We feel so privileged to have been the very first guests to experience what is now our most legendary romantic vacation ever, at Casa Leyenda! I may be a bit biased since I'm Annette and John's Mom, but no mom could be more proud of what they have created in this most unimaginable Costa Rican Jungle and beach location. It felt like a first class luxury resort, but in a very quiet out of the way small town home. Every detail 👌 with nothing we could add to from the luxury bedding we slept on to the romantic outdoor poolside kitchen to make it our best ever perfect family Thanksgiving legend. Can we have that professional Chef (name I can't remember) cook our next Costa Rican smorgasbord again next year? Then I'll never forget our first sunrise at the beach the night after our arrival when we rode the quad down to the beach and came upon an active turtle release seeing those tiny baby turtles squirming toward the ocean with who knows what kind of radar for their first time! Sunrise ocean beach walks with coupled mccaws flying overhead and the Jungle right up against the waves is just undiscibable yet I can still feel and smell it all in my head I'm sure for ever. We missed seeing monkeys in the trees this time, but I can remember cows actually walking on the beach with their hoves in the surf the last time I was there. This was not Dallas for sure!!! So, that was just the first 24 hours ...Dana and I are so so greatful for the next 10 day Itinerary you arranged for us too.. Since this was his first time in Costa Rica not having to plan or arrange anything was perfect for both us geriatricians! Dana was actually so proud to be the first 80 year old to go zip lining and horseback ridding at (name of park for which I've forgotten). It is amazing that there are so many untouristed nearby waterfalls and easy hiking areas nearby too. With so many adventures and jungle romance within 20 mins. And then the grad finale at Manuel Antonio National Park where we saw not only wild life like Sloths, Monkey's and even a baby very poisonous snake, but also a very poisonous tree called Mansanita de Muerte" or apple of death that even touching its sap can kill you! Again, I may be biased, but Annette and John have created a mystical escape in Costa Rica and I might have had more kids knowing now how this one has certainly paid off in my old age!!!!
Thanks so much MOM for coming to break in our new vacation home! We really appreciate all the little tips you gave us to make the home truly perfect for the guests who will be enjoying the home after you. I am so proud of you both for keeping up such an energetic pace while making the most of every moment during your time here and setting the standard for how to do a great job of preparing itineraries for our future guests. We will certainly extend your compliments to our private chef! It truly was an unforgettable Costa Rica Style Thanksgiving. We love you!
We’re a married couple from the U.S. with two pre-teen kids and this was our first time in Costa Rica. We stayed at Casa Leyenda Esterillos over Christmas and had an amazing trip!! The hosts offer free, personalized trip planning, and honestly that alone made the vacation. They helped us line up local excursions that were perfect for our kids — zip-lining through the jungle, a wildlife tour where we saw sloths and monkeys (the kids are still talking about this), and a snorkeling/catamaran trip that was a total highlight. Everything was close by and super easy, which mattered a lot since we were new to the country. The house was beautiful and comfortable, but the pool was the real winner. We used it every single day — mornings, afternoons, even quick night swims. It felt private and relaxing, not just something nice to look at. Also worth mentioning: the beds. Seriously. Luxury bedding, fantastic mattresses — we slept better here than we do at home. After long adventure days, that made a huge difference. This stay made us fall in love with Costa Rica, and we’d absolutely stay here again. Already recommending it to friends.
Thanks Lisa for coming to stay with us. It was a pleasure hosting you and we are thrilled you had such a great time and appreciated the extra touches. See you on your next CR visit!