Good Life Resorts - Waterfall House — Hotel in Tamarindo

We all know that feeling of apprehension when first arriving at a rental… will it really be as great as it looks in the pictures? Will it have all the promised amenities? Well the listing page and photos don’t NEARLY do this the Waterfall house justice… this place is an absolute paradise. No detail was left out, from the furniture that goes all the way to the ground so no mosquitoes can hide under it and sneak attack, to bathrooms in every room, and even the hallway…Even really entertaining LED mood lighting in the recessed ceiling… The owner has thought of EVERYTHING.

From the moment I stepped into the Waterfall house, I was awestruck. Starting at the entrance level, there are 4 bedrooms, each with their own bathroom/shower and sliding door to the pool and deck, which offers amazing vistas of the jungle and horizon. Even the communal door to the pool/deck is glass, which allows light to pour into the hallway. On site washer AND dryer is a total luxury in Costa Rica, a place that stays humid year round… and this place as top of the line versions of each.

Walk upstairs and you are greeted by rich, elegant wood furniture, custom built for this house. It’s not until you have settled in and really take a look around that you notice the little things, like how the two air conditioners are shrouded behind wood louvers, so as to not detract from the ambiance and décor of the room. I’ve been going to CR for many years now, and I’ve never seen such attention to detail. There is a HUGE 4k TV with high-speed internet, which provides entertainment while sitting on the custom built wrap around sectional couches. There’s even a SONOS sound system, which when the app is downloaded, allows anyone to control the music and connect to their own spotify accounts or other media sources.

One of the things about Costa Rica is, as beautiful as it is… it can get quite hot, even so near the coast. With this in mind, the owner built a 7…that’s SEVEN panel sliding glass door, which allows you to open up the livingroom/dining room/kitchen to the house –length balcony (which has its own stools and drink tables… like I said… it has EVERYTHING). In addition to the tranquil indoor/outdoor ambiance this creates, it also allows amazing breezes to help keep guests cool, along with the 3 quiet ceiling fans. This floor of the house is eye level with the canopy of the lush jungle, and if youre lucky, you can watch troops of howler monkeys travel through the tree-tops. The view is unparalleled.

In the dining room/kitchen area, once you pass the very dramatic functional piece of art that is the Guanacaste wood table with seating for 8, youll find a beautiful stone island, with additional seating for 2 more. I don’t know about you, but when I prepare meals (or tropical fruit drinks.. its vacation after all), I really appreciate a kitchen that has plenty of counter space, and in combination with the wrap-around counters, the island affords so much space the whole family can not only help with the prep, but can be social as well. The kitchen is appointed with professional cookware from calaphon, as well as every appliance you’d expect to find in modern kitchen. The cabinets are made from the same rich wood as the furniture, maintaining continuity throughout the house. There’s even a piped gas grill right outside of the kitchen… trust me when I say this is a HUGE amenity in costa rica.. I’ve never actually seen one in any other rental house.

Another dramatic feature of the house is the floating stairs to the master suite floor. To say this room had it all would barely cover it. The master bath greets you at the top of the stairs, complete with oversized-ceiling mounted rain shower and a beautiful bay window to enjoy sunset showers. Another house-length private deck has you just above the canopy, with unobstructed vista of the entire jungle AND coast. The view is breathtaking.

All told, its very evident that the owner considered how the space would be used, and created an environment that would see it enjoyed...

FULL TRANSPARENCY: This is a review of our stay (a group of 12 friends) in this property in late August / early September of 2023. Our house was robbed in the middle of the night (1-4am) during our stay, through a locked external security gate, while we were all at home.

During our stay, the external gate was minimally secure. The deadbolt locking mechanism on the outer gate was finicky, misaligned, and easily picked, and the wooden boards on the gate could be removed easily. There is an inner metal gate behind the golf carts, which opens to a gravel path that leads around to the back doors of the house. We were not told this gate could be opened, and there was no apparent way to lock it.

We could only lock the door leading to the pool area from the inside. We locked this door at night to secure the main house, which meant we locked out our friends staying in the rooms below the pool. We did not receive keys to any of the rooms on the lowest floor, which meant these guests could not lock their rooms from the outside when we left the house. Further, the WiFi did not work in the rooms on the lowest level, so the guests staying there had to use cell/data service to communicate with the rest of us.

The steel front door was so difficult to lock and unlock that our key broke off in the door when trying to open it. The key to the safe on the top floor was also broken (no top handle/grip to the key). Lastly regarding security, it did not appear to our group that the security cameras were turned on during the first half of our stay (when the robbery occurred).

The photos of the house advertised on the website and rental platforms do not match the reality of the property’s current condition. At the time of our stay (8/29/23 – 9/4/23), the Waterfall House was under active construction (expanding on top floor). During our stay, the house experienced several structural and mechanical issues, including one of the steps to the lowest floor falling through, hard-to-close sliding glass doors on the back of the main floor, and a broken dishwasher.

We felt obligated to inform the owner of the property about the robbery when it occurred, and upon doing so, received a curt email response stating that the lock was likely picked; and that if we used the deadbolt, we wouldn’t have any more issues. We had used the deadbolt, but since it was broken, it did not work.

We have included photos of the house to showcase a better representation of the house during our stay. Ultimately, we had a great trip and really enjoyed exploring Tamarindo. For anyone looking to rent this property, we strongly recommend confirming that these issues have been or will be resolved...

If you’ve landed on this property, BOOK IT! It’ll be worth it, guaranteed. This 4 story villa boasts both adventure and serenity respectively. I visited the WATERFALL HOUSE in Tamarindo for my bday celebration with my person and siblings and it nothing short of spectacular. The rooms were spacious and furniture were nice and clean overlooking a dope infinity pool pouring over into a waterfall just in front of an additional 3 rooms. The spider monkeys and iguanas will even visit on occasion in a nearby tree for a morning show while chilling by the pool soaking in the views. Whether a small group or family of 10+, you won’t be disappointed. From the fire views and outstanding concierge service, this is a top property to visit. Everything was easily handled from airport transfer to booking excursions, massages and private chefs for a delicious breakfast and dinner. Also, conveniently just atop a hill with a view and just a walk or golf cart ride away from the main strip with restaurants, shops, Tamarindo Beach and etc. Also, the golf cart was thrown into our booking! Melvin and Kenner were extremely friendly and helpful throughout our entire stay and the property owner Joshua’s response time was extremely prompt and he made sure everything was all set and ready to go upon arrival. We ended up missing our flight out of NY due to some misunderstanding and Josh offered to allow us to extend our stay another day! If that’s not A+ hosting idk what it is. All good vibes and great times. Highly...