Villas Alturas

Villas are beautiful and comfortable. Restaurant and pool with breathtaking ocean view. Tour the animal sanctuary and see what great dedicated work they do with injured Costa Rican wildlife. Should have a 4 x 4 to climb hill to villas. Don't miss this wonderful place!

First, the staff - very friendly, helpful and accommodating. We arrived after dark, heavy rain and no electricity within the resort. We had dinner reservations for 13 at the time we arrived. After some initial huddling and planning, the chef fired up a candle in the kitchen. At which time, he and his sous crafted our orders flawlessly! In the dark (well, one candle)! Needless to say, we were impressed. The electricity returned during dinner - no other problems with the power supply for remainder of our stay. All throughout our stay, the staff could not have been more gracious to accommodate our needs and desires. They will vary from the menu so don't be afraid to ask. Staff helped with off site dinner reservations and excursions. Met the owner - a most gracious host. Truly a memorable experience...

Just like the title states, you just cannot go wrong booking this property regardless of your age, lifestyle or taste...this place has it all for everyone. My review is long but thorough for those who like to know all the details. Not sure where to begin so I'll start from the very beginning. We arrived at night and had a hard time finding the place, the signs were not very apparent from the road so we passed it several times. We had GPS but even that is hit or miss in CR. Drove up the "hill" which isn't as bad as everyone keeps saying, it's dirt and steep but any car could make it, admittedly at night for the first time we took it real slow. The location is unbeatable, so close to town and shopping but far enough away you won't get the riff raff or "party" noise at your doorstep. We were greeted with cold coconuts at check in which after driving 4 hours was a god send. The entrance was amazing, a small pond with fish and frogs and a little bridge leading into the the lobby entrance which is all open air, then you see the tables for the restaurant, the bar and your eyes then move out to the pool and patio and you realize you are up in the jungle but have a full view of the ocean that looks like a painting. We get to our room which is a quick walk past the pool down a few stairs and we open the door to a HUGE apartment with a HUGE patio. We're in #2 which is a 2 bdr 2 bath. The patio is covered and looks out on the ocean and then you have jungle on one side. There are lights for the stairs that you can turn on and off so you can have your patio as dark as you like, there are outdoor fans and another door light if you like more light too. There are traditional rocking chairs on the patio, a table with more chairs and a hammock, all delightful. You walk into the house and there is a living room, dining room and kitchen, probably 700 sq ft with LOTS of elbow room. The bedrooms are down the hall and both had king beds, great closet and A/C (with remote) and ceiling fans. There is bathroom down that same hall and another in the back bedroom. Both bathroom have walk in showers that could fit 8 people easily. There is built in tile bench on the shower and the water pressure and temperature was fantastic. I also liked the built in soap and shampoo. Beds were comfortable and there were extra pillows for bed princesses like me. There was a safe in each bedroom closet. TV, dvd and cable was in the living room but no tv's in the bedroom, we never even turned it on. The house had plenty of paper towels, toilet paper and the best of all cleaning supplies like windex, grease cleaner, broom, mop, dish soap etc. The kitchen was stocked ok, it had the basics so bring tin foil, zip lock bags, tupperware and your own coffee and spices if you plan to cook. It comes with a stove top, full size fridge and microwave, no oven however. The water if all filtered so you can drink water from the tap. The kitchen on site can also sport you some items if you ask. Breakfast is included and is AMAZING. You can order whatever you want off the menu and it is prepared fast, beautiful and delicious, we tried everything so you can't go wrong. Got an early morning tour, no problem, they'll make your breakfast TO GO!! They have a full bar and restaurant so if you don't want to cook, you don't have to. I think they stop serving at 9pm. They will do your laundry for $12 per bag and it's a large garbage bag so is a good value, all items are cleaned pressed and folded really cute. They have daily housecleaning but if you don't want it you can just put a note on your door that you prefer none that day and when you do you can just ask. The hotel will arrange any tour you want and call and make your arrangements for you, it seemed guests took a lot of advantage to this service. They will even arrange for in house massage or call you a cab for another location. There were 2 nights that they arranged live bands out by the pool although I can't recall the days of the week (they all blended in). One night the band was amazing although it's not usually my thing, but we all loved it. The second night band wasn't as good but the guy was either high or a little drunk or both so he was pretty hilarious and entertaining singing to himself. Pool chairs and tables we immaculate and towels and floaties were provided poolside so no annoying "check in" was required. The animal rescue is up the hill about 100 feet and for $25 you can get a tour and learn about the rescues and how they ended up there. Several released animals still swing by (pardon the pun) so chances are you will see some wildlife at some point. We saw a whole troop of about 20 monkey's swing by one day, our friend got a great video of a sloth one morning and we had a little pichote come by each morning to our villa patio who was so adorable digging up bugs to eat. We also had a nice iguana who lived in the flower beds outside our place and toucans flying over head all day. We had plenty of bugs outside the room but only a baby gecko got inside one day. As I mentioned there is A/C is the bedrooms but none in the larger living/dining/kitchen which made that area of the apartment a little uncomfortable for the hottest time of year. There were blinds in the bedroom but none in the living room which I'm sure if we would had asked for something to cover the windows they would have done, but we didn't. I'll end with the staff. I have traveled quite a bit, and stayed in all manner of accommodations, you name it and I have never encountered the kind of service I received at Villas Alturas. The team here should be recognized and made a model of how it should be everywhere from the kitchen staff, to housekeeping to the front desk and bar service, no one and nothing was left untouched by greatness. A special shout out to night time security guard who is just a doll, If could have stayed up all night chatting with him I would have, such a dear man! Our group of 2 couples concur with my assessment above, this place is just guaranteed to please everyone's tastes and comfort.

Mommy had one night away at Villas Alturas while my Tico husband and children stayed with family. All I wanted was to enjoy authentic Costa Rica with a few American conveniences (hot water, AC, etc.)The view is out of this world. I’ve spent years traveling around Costa Rica and have not seen anything like it. Photo’s don’t do it justice. I toured the sanctuary and got to see some many native Costa Rican animals up close. The work they do there is amazing and the staff, biologists, and care takers are truly passionate about their cause. I enjoyed dinner in the restaurant. Excellent local cuisine as well as familiar food from the states and local craft brews. My room… oh my room… There was a huge comfortable bed with a heavy comforter, beautiful and clean bathroom and shower, a lovely living area with all the conveniences of home, and the view and porch area… unbelievable. Tom the owner, and the rest of the staff we’re true professionals in all that they did. You must stay here if your in the Dominical/Uvita area. You'll be so happy you did!

We enjoyed 3 beautiful nights at Villas Alturas. The pictures of this place truly do not do it justice. Unbeatable for the price. The concierge set up a great massage and surf lessons. I would definitely recommend a 4x4 vehicle if staying here.

If you want a comfortable place to stay with an unbeatable view, this is definitely it! It is near the Dominical area, so a beautiful beach is only a short drive away. The pool area and the rooms have fantastic views of the Pacific and the mountains. We were there over a few moonless nights and the stargazing over the Pacific was incredible! The villas themselves are essentially small, furnished apartments and were very comfortable after long hot days of exploring the jungle or sunning on the nearby beaches. We stayed in #5 and the views of the jungle and the ocean were amazing. The is a restaurant on the property and it was not bad. As a vegetarian, the were accommodating, but it overall nothing overly notable--neither good or especially bad. There is the Alturas Animal Sanctuary on the property so the is a MUST is you are any sort of animal lover. I would most definitely stay here again and have already recommended this property to other friends who will be in the Dominical area. Great place for couples or families!

Villa Alturas did NOT disappoint. Amazing views, incredibly friendly and accommodating staff. Our experience from check in to check out was excellent. The villa was clean and spacious. The office manager Alana helped us plan and schedule several excursion and securing a rental car. Every meal was amazing. Our every need was taken care of the entire stay. Many "thank yous" to everyone at Villa Alturas for helping our family have a wonderful 1st visit to Costa Rica!!

We stayed for 2 days in a seaside apartment near the pool and had a private terrace with spectacular view on the Dominical bay. The surrounding trees were blooming and the Toucans gave us additional excitement. The staff was very king and helpful and arranged our boat-trip to Corcovado.

Looking forward to taking a friend and her mom who is handicapped.Her mom had never experienced a hotel and was very excited about our trip. Arrived to find the room we were given which was only one available was not designed for handicap access. In fact we learned only one room is and is usually booked well in advance. The woman who was at the desk was incredibly rude, insensitive and totally unprofessional in the manner she addressed the situation. In front of my friend's mom she spoke of her being handicapped as our problem and the fact we should have notified her of her condition. Their website which I closely reviewed and the manner in which I made the reservation said nothing about limitations for handicapped people...I suggested that should be clear on the website...Her reply was it is not her problem but rather my responsibility to have called instead of using website. To make matters even more unreal, she insisted we had to pay for the room even though we could not gain access and obviously could not stay. I asked her to reconsider her position and she advised my refusal to pay would result in her calling the authorities . In the end we paid for a room we could not use since I didn't want to have to deal with police Ina foreign country and begin our search for a place to sleep after 4 pm . We were fortunate to find a much more beautiful accommodation with professional compassionate staff at Villa Ballena a short distance away . This one goes down on my book as my biggest horror story in dealing with a business and their personnel... Shameful!!!!!