Palmetto Guesthouse — Hotel in Culebra

I feel quite bad writing this review, but I also need to be honest for future travelers. I'm going to start with the positives:||The hosts were superb and could not make me feel any more welcome. They enthusiastically went over a map telling me all the best places to go and eat. They were really helpful with any questions I had about the island, and even let me keep the key to my room on the day of check out till my flight at 5pm so I could use the bathroom and store my things. The bed was comfy and the shower powerful with hot water. Air conditioner was noisy, but did the job just fine. The guesthouse is in a good location far enough from the main area to be quiet. A few minutes walk down the road is Carlos Jeep Rental and a supermarket with everything you would need at a decent price. ||However, now the negatives. The guesthouse does not look like what it does in the photos which were taken several years ago by the looks of it. I appreciate that this is a small island with a simple lifestyle, but the property was a little too 'island life' for me. The room was very small with nowhere to store anything. This was fine as I was traveling solo, but two people would really struggle. There are marks all over the ceiling from damp, calcium build up all over the bathroom taps, and old painted and dirty furniture. The sheets however were clean although you could tell they were old. The shared areas were filthy. The cooker had dirt all over it and the sides and all utensils were sticky. I should point out that I am a bit OCD and have a thing for cleanliness, but I would rather spend a fortune eating out every night than cook there. It needed a total deep clean. Also, there are no smoking signs but I think the owners smoke so there's a smell that lingers. The garden also does not look like the photos and needs clearing. ||I have a feeling that the positive reviews are from regulars that have become the owners friends as all other guests knew them personally. One guest had known them for 30 years. I appreciate that this is a 'home style' guesthouse/hostel, but out of all the 5 places I stayed whilst in Puerto Rico, this was one of the most expensive and the worst conditions. ||I suppose it depends what you're looking for. If you want a true feeling of island life and are happy roughing it then this is perfect. If you're a bit of a stickler for cleanliness then I would avoid. I feel like I must finish with the fact that the hosts are what make this place and have never been somewhere more welcoming. Saying that though they would need to do a full deep clean of the place and get it back to what the photos look like for me...

We were just there for 5 days and really enjoyed our stay. The guest house was just as in the photos, everything pretty and quite simple (like the rest of the island). Aside from the guest rooms there are several nice sitting areas, including in the pretty garden in the back, and two shared kitchens. Coffee is provided in the morning, and usually the owner whips up some delicious baked goodies. (Thanks, Kate, for that!)||||Every room comes with beach towels, and there are beach chairs and coolers at the guests’ disposal. We flew to Culebra in one of those tiny puddle jumpers and got to the guest house on foot from the “airport” in a couple of minutes. We rented a golf cart right next door - highly recommended to get to all the wonderful beaches and snorkeling places, and to the restaurants. Kate can provide all kinds of advice on what to do on the island, where things are, where to eat or shop. ||||We were sorry to leave and hope...

Scoperto per caso su Internet e supportata dalle recenzioni di altri viaggiatori ho prenotato il soggiorno in questa guestouse dove mi sono sentita a casa!||Dopo varie mail intercorse con Terrie (proprietaria), utilissime per organizzare la mia vacanza a Culebra, ho prenotato con largo anticipo 4 delle 6 camere della Guesthouse. ||Prima di lasciare il molo di PuertoValliardo ho inviato un sms a Terrie per avvisarla che eravamo in arrivo.Terrie ci ha aspettato in banchina con la sua auto ed una di quelle prenotate da Jerry's Hire....incredibile senza ancora aver firmato il contratto di noleggio! L'isola è piccola e si conoscono tutti -cosi ci dirà Terrie- basta dire che si dorme da lei....Fatto rapidamente il check -in e lasciati i bagagli, abbiamo raggiungiunto il noleggio per ritirare l 'altra vettura e regolarizzare il tutto . L'isola è relativamente piccola, tanto da richiedere l'uso di un auto per esplorarla! Terrie, inoltre, ci aveva messo in contatto con un tassista che ci aveva prelevato ($ 10 a testa) all'aeroporto di San Juan per accompagnarci al molo di Puerto Valliardo. Proprio un tesoro! Sempre disponibile per darci consigli e farci da guida turistica, indicandoci quali spiagge visitare e dove poter avvistare le tartarughe: con quante abbiamo nuotato grazie a lei!||La stessa ci ha prenotato dei ristoranti ed una barca per una escursione di un giorno a Culebrita. Una vera mamma per i suoi ospiti! ||Per quanto riguarda la guesthouse è composta da 2 cucine di libero uso degli ospiti, un salottino con a disposizione un computer con internet gratuito - libri (in inglese) - una mappa dell'isola - un atlante ornitologico ed uno sui pesci. Sul retro un piccolo giardino con tanto di banani , all'ingresso una cannella dove poter sciacquare via la sabbia prima di rientrare in camera e su di un lato esterno del salottino una specie di pozza d'acqua dove al tramonto invisibili rane cantano (ma tranquilli dalle camere non si sentono!) . Le camere un po' piccole e spartane ma tutte con bagno (l'asciugacapelli è disponibile su richiesta) e piccolo frigorifero, pale a soffitto e aria condizionata. Insomma tutto all'insegna della natura ! Consigliabile a chi non pretende il lusso dei grandi hotel (per altro qui inesistenti!) e vuole immergersi nella vita tranquilla dell'isola! Un grazie di cuore a Terrie che ha contribuito a rendere perfetta la ns permanenza a Culebra! Non perdetevi la gita a Culebrita col suo faro , piccola perla disabitata che potrebbe esser solo vostra...