Beautiful grounds and large kitchen with lots of counter space. We loved the new overlook to the ocean and easy access to walk to the beach. Rooms have AC and nice. Would recommend for large groups.

This is our second visit for our group of 5 couples!! We were totally thrilled once again! The property is in the BEST location! The beach is to die for! The beds are super comfy, and we love the outdoor living!! I will say that the local restaurants have doubled in price since our last visit in 2022....and chatting with others at the airport who visited different areas...this seems to be the general consensus in Costa Rica . Not a deal breaker, but would perhaps consider cooking at the property more frequently! The staff, Simon and Saray are incredibly sweet and accommodating! Using a translation app worked very well! We had Saray prepare a meal for us which was absolutely delicious! Maximo, the host was super quick in his responses and very helpful when we needed anything! We love this place and enjoy returning every couple of years for sure!!

In summary, the house was not perfect, but the quiet sandy beach, staff service and overall quietness of the area made our trip one of the best beach vacations. We were 10 people, kids/adults. Let's start with the bad: 1. What the pictures don`t show is the wear and tear. 2. The house is large and has a lot of outdoor living spaces out into the elements! It’s worn out, over-used, a lot metal is rusted. 3. Kitchen needs some TLC (broken cabinet doors, leaking DW and fridge) 4. Bathrooms: 4 out of the 5 BRs had issues (broken doors, blocked drain). 5. Land is large, lot of unkempt areas and pile of garbage lying around, not inside the house, but around the grounds. Not a showstopper. 6. Rental might be a bit expensive for what you get. 7. And of course, ants and crawling bugs, but it is a tropical forest after all! Now the good: 1. The owner, Maximo, seems very nice, is very responsive and answered all our questions. 2. Access to the beach was just amazing. 100 feet off the main gate. Easy flat access, very private and nobody around when we were on the beach. 3. Beach: Beautiful 5-km white sand beach, with perfect waves for swimming or surfing with at very few people around (40-50 people on the whole 5-km long beach!) 4. The house keepers, Simon and Saray, were absolutely amazing. They live on the grounds in a separate house and are around day and night. They responded to our requests in a timely fashion, fixing what was broken, providing additional towels when needed, even setting up a beach tent for us on the beach, helping to carry some of the chairs to the beach, and even helping pack up the car when we left. They made a huge difference. There were always notifying us if they had to leave for different reasons. You forget about the bad with them! 5. We got one meal prepared by Saray, very tasty! It was enough for 2 suppers and 2 lunches, and some. 6. They kept the common grounds and pool clean in the morning but didn’t go into the bedrooms unless requested by us. 7. There are a few small stores and restaurants less than a few hundred meters away, very affordable. 8. From the house, you can reach Tamarindo in about 15 minutes by foot and a dinghy across the crocodile infested Tamarindo Estuary (for $1-2/person). Dinghies run from about 8AM to 5PM…or drive to Tamarindo, in 30-40 minutes! No bridge across the estuary. 9. Tamarindo is a beautiful town full of grocery stores, restaurants, shops, hotels, and nightlife.

We a large group of 14 stay at the property and we truly enjoyed the stay! The on-site property managers (Simon & his wife) were absolutely fabulous. They did not speak English, so we used our broken Spanish & Google translate to communicate, but they were so helpful and friendly. They cleaned the outside areas every morning, and were helpful with anything we needed. When we checked in, we realized that laundry was not onsite as listed & this was the second half of our 2 week vacation - we had all planned on using the on-site laundry. Simons wife (I wish I remembered her name) offered to do our laundry since we couldn’t, so we gave her a load and she ended up doing it by hand for us! Had I read the reviews and listing a bit more intently I may have realized this - but there is no indoor space to hang out. The only way to get away from bugs is to be in your bedroom. It worked out fine with lots of bug spray & citronella but we all left with a lot of big bites. That comes with Costa Rica, however, a netted area or a place to escape for a little while as a group would have been nice. That being said, we loved all of the games and activities available on site. The beach was beautiful and that private entrance was awesome for us to have, we loved being able to catch sunset nightly. We also liked that we were away from the busyness of Tamarindo. The town is about a 40 minute drive, or about a half mile down the beach you can jump on a water taxi to take you across the river for $2. Overall it was a great stay & we were sad to leave

This is a unique beachfront property, with wonderful potential, but is quite rundown. I messaged the host first in hopes of getting some helpful feedback, but it was not, so I will just give you fair warning. Background: I am an ex PeaceCorps nurse who worked and lived in Costa Rica. My husband is Costa Rican. We are part owners of a lovely hotel across the street and friends with all the other business owners there. We have rented at least a dozen homes at Playa Grande over the years for our friends and family and have only had fantastic experiences. This year we made a late decision to come before Christmas and this was the only property of this size available. Briefly, the place needs TLC. Moldy, and rotting decks and Supporting posts to main room. Broken and decayed light fixtures, ceiling fans dont work, leaking refrigerator, plugged and overflowing dishwasher, no items at all in kitchen( not even soap, trash bags, salt or pepper. Broken cupboard doors. No beach equipment whatsoever, ( Beach chairs, umbrella, sand toys) No information info upon arrival ( WiFi code, info on house, nearby activities, tours, stores). A completely rusted and corroded BBQ which was not safe to use. Finally, there is no Irene, wonderful cook on the premises. Instead a new couple from Nicaragua who had no idea about anything in the house, cooking, cleaning, laundry. I told them that it was not their fault that they had no training and that I would clearly not blame them, but the owner. The positives: The rooms are small, but adequate. Each is independent and opens to the outside only (no connecting) The pool is small but heated . There is an upstairs cabana built with views and sounds of the beach and monkeys. Beachfront. We had a beautiful time at the beach and in the pool with our family and friends. We ate out most nights and truly enjoyed the the area, as always. I have photos of all these issues if anyone wants to see them

We enjoyed our stay at this wonderful property that had plenty of room for one large family. We especially enjoyed cooking at the outdoor kitchen while the kids played ping pong and swam in the pool. Having the beach just outside the door was an absolute treasure and we loved waking up to the howler monkeys in the trees each morning. Playa grande is a wonderful quiet area with all the amenities to make your stay comfortable. Would definitely recommend to others.

We had a great stay at Casa Serena! There were 16 of us (8 adults and 8 kids - 4 families total) and we fit comfortably within each of the spaces that property has. The rooms were cool and comfortable and the shared spaces were great to have to wait out a rain storm or take a break from the beach. The kids played game after game of pool and pink pong. The kitchen was ample and the grill area was nice to be able to throw on some hotdogs and make some mixed drinks! The pool and grounds were kept clean and tidy by Sergio. He also responded immediately when we had a toilet back up and continued to monitor it for us through out the week. It definitely helps if you speak a little Spanish (hey, we're in their country after all! ) The beach is steps away and it wins the prize for best part of the trip! The beach is yours aside from a few surfers! The shells and sunsets, oh my! There are restaurants within walking distance and we visited them quite frequently. We highly suggest Cafe Mar Azul - they accommodated 16 people quite often and were polite and gracious the entire time. Spent a few evenings on the roof top patio, enjoying the breeze (we went in the rainy season and the temps were lovely in the evening! ) All in all, our stay was wonderful and we'll definitely be coming back !

We absolutely loved everything about this property! Its location, its overall vibe....we could not have been happier with our holiday!!!