Casa Mono Loco

Description from the manager

All new kitchen with stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and the most fabulous kitchen view of the Pacific Ocean! New, luxury bathrooms as of October 2012!

As seen on the "Today Show" (Matt Lauer gushed; you will, too!); and in "Conde Nast Traveler" magazine: Casa Mono Loco is located within the Los Sueños Resort & Marina--specifically within the exclusive, gated Los Suenos Resort community of Vista Tres Bahias with its multi-million dollar villas and mansions (no condos in the mix here; only private, detached homes)--yet it offers secluded splendor within the resort. With dramatic, spectacular vis...tas of Bahia Herradura, the resort and the surrounding rain forest and nature preserve, Casa Mono Loco also affords maximum privacy.

The open and clever design of Casa Mono Loco allows one to experience the monkeys, toucans, scarlet macaws, other sights and the sounds of the surrounding lush, tropical rain forest from the comfort of your private Shangri La. The villa was designed by Ronald Zurcher, Costa Rica's most renowned architect. His other celebrated projects include the Four Seasons Papagayo, and the Marriott San Jose. Casa Mono Loco is one of the country's architectural treasures, and you can experience it yourself--a privilege afforded to few

Amenities of the casa include: Sonos music system (access millions of recordings in all genres of music), wifi, satellite TV, VOIP (Vonage) with free telephone calls to the U.S. and Canada, outdoor gas grill, washer and dryer (we even supply your laundry detergent).

Three air-conditioned bedrooms and three bathrooms; every bedroom has a flat panel television. But who wants to watch TV when the stunning view of the rain forest, Bahia Herradura, and the Pacific Ocean captivates ones imagination?! Every bedroom is privileged with this incomparable, magnificent view. The master with king-sized bed is a detached pavilion, providing maximum privacy. The Dome Room bedroom has two full beds and a domed ceiling. The Coral Room bedroom has two double beds. Did we mention that every room has a spectacular ocean view? The living area is an open air rancho (pavilion with thatched roof) with ceiling fans and speakers for the Sonos music system, or plug in your own iPod or iPad or other device. Beyond the fabulous indoor-outdoor living space is the pool with an infinity edge that melds into the blues of Herradura Bay.

Casa Mono Loco is the only house on the very quiet road! If you seek tranquility and to be at one with nature but desire the luxurious comforts of fine linens, fixtures, finishes and aesthetic beauty in both the built and natural environments, then this is the home for you. Yet you'll have access to all the amenities of the Los Suenos Resort, including the two spas, marina, shops, restaurants, championship golf course, room service from the Marriott Hotel, casino and more just two minutes away by car.

To be clear, Casa Mono Loco is located within the resort (don't be misled by those whose villas are merely "near" the resort or are accessed by driving "through" the resort). Casa Mono Loco is INSIDE Los Suenos Resort. Due to the steepness of the Vista Tres Bahias road, a car is recommended.

Villa rental includes daily housekeeping, wifi, VOIP (Vonage) for free calls to/from North America, and full concierge services> Mead Brown guests are privileged with complimentary access to the resort's private beach club.

Los Sueños Resort and Marina is a family friendly resort that offers something for everyone, including the smallest visitors. With its 200-slip international marina and the signature billfish tournament series; spectacular view properties; private beach club with fountains and an extensive free-form pool with swim-up bar plus shower and change facilities; challenging par-72, 18-hole eco-golf course designed by Ted Robinson, Jr.; four-star Marriott Hotel and its six restaurants; 600-hundred acre rain forest preserve; tennis court; gymnasium; the Marina Village, including an art gallery, the cigar shop La Casa del Habano, Blush Salon and Spa, DVD rentals and Internet cafe; The Terrace Lounge, Dolce Vita Coffee and Sweets, El Galeon Restaurant and Martini Bar, Bambu Sushi and Asian Cuisine, Lanterna Ristorante Italiano, The Hook Up Bar and Restaurant, Scotiabank, Jimmy T’s Provisions fine foods and meats, Los Sueños Marine Supply Store, clothing boutique, and National Car Rental, Los Sueños is truly Central America’s premier destination resort and marina community.Read more

Additional Location Information

What Past Guests Are Saying

• Rick R.
  Montclair, NJ

  Incredible property and location

  Left on 06/21/2012 for a stay in February 2012
  
  

  Fantastic house and experience. Incredible setting and view, with great living area and pool set-up. The bedrooms were great, with good beds and air conditioning. The people at Mead Brown were great to deal with in planning the trip and during our stay. The beach within the development is not great, but if beaches are your thing there are better quality beaches within 20 minute drive. The pool at the house, as well as the beach club near the bay were both very good. Great experience...would be happy to go back. Restaurants at marina are not great...was nice to have the house so that we could on some nights eat in (good kitchen, plus barbecue grill made that easy).

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  Would you recommend this vacation rental to a friend? Yes

  Recommended for: Luxury, Families

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• johnee40
  Lavallette, New Jersey

  It became too much to contend with.....

  Left on 06/13/2012 for a stay in June 2012
  
  

  We saw Casa Mono Loco online and thought is was beautiful. The quintessential Costa Rican experience, with a view to die for! The pictures online are pretty accurate. The view is very accurate. The interior is a little tired and worn. The kitchen is poorly arranged with the sink being too far from the prep area and is really in need of a total renovation. There is a new stove in there, but that is not the fix we think it needs. The master bath is ok, but what appears to be a new shower install is, let us say, interesting. The guest bath in the main house looks like there used to be a tub in there, so they took it out and put in a shower only and it is a sloppy job. The tub spout is still there without function and there are unfilled holes, etc.; kind of a shabby, cheap looking job. The other guest bath in the main house is nicer. There are no tubs in any of the baths which is a downside. The bedrooms, of which there are three are very nice, furnished and decorated beautifully, comfortable, and most importantly, air conditioned! None of the other rooms in the house are, including the bathrooms, so when doing your it and make-up, you mutter to yourself, "why bother?".
  We arrived after dark and it was pouring down rain. We had been traveling for about 16 hours and all we wanted to do was get somewhat settled in and go to sleep, which we did. The next morning was sunny and gorgeous and we were able to see the incredible view and we thought we died and went to heaven! Fabulous! We were so happy that any of the small inconveniences did not matter at this point. Geckos everywhere? Who cares? Bugs everywhere? Who cares? Ths house is open air so you can't close it up. It has a real thatched roof and no walls except for the bedrooms and baths. We never experienced that before, but initially, we liked it. We felt like we were outside all the time, and we liked that. The pool was great, although much smaller than it looks in the photos, but that was fine for the three of us. The pool did start to accumulate algae so I called that evening and first thing the next day someone was there to correct that. By the third day we started seeing gecko poop everywhere. It was on the indoor furniture because the geckos live in that thatched roof and there are so many of them. They make a clicking sound and they are in every room. You hear them in your bedroom and your bathroom and just everywhere. Then, we saw a mapeche which is a cousin to the raccoon. We were told his name is Lorenzo. He felt so comfortable with us that he tried coming into the house to watch tv with us! We thought, geckos all over and now mapeches too?? Uh-oh! We we're told that at night they will come in and try to get into the kitchen, so you have to close it up by pulling these metal shutters together and lock it up or they will take all your food and make a mess, so we did that every night. But, that was no easy task. These shutters don't fit well, so you need strength to close them. And there are two kitchen doors that you need to close too and they are a challenge also. You can also see where the animals tried to gnaw their way through the doors to get in to the kitchen. Ok, none of this scared us. Until, the animals approached us in the daylight and at night and could care less that we were sitting there, even after I jumped up and down and screamed "booga-booga! I even threw stones at them at they just looked at me like, "really lady, is that all you got?".
  One night my daughter woke up to go to the bathroom which is outside her bedroom door, and she could see the beady eyes and black nose of a raccoon looking at her through the slats in the louvers, and that's when I called Mead-Brown. I told them the geckos, and gecko poop, and bugs were one thing, but these animals trying to get in the house while we are sitting there, is a bit much. I asked them if they could trap them and relocate them or something because they could attack us. We read up on their behavior online. Michael Brown said he would contact the owners and see what could be done. Meanwhile, my daughter would not go to the bathroom in the middle of the night if her eyeballs were floating, and we were paying how much for this villa????
  The next day we went to Manuel Antonio Nat'l Park. Long day, great time. Came home, sat on the sofa and I felt something wet fall from the ceiling and it fell on my chest. I looked down, and there was gecko poop in my cleavage! Dios mio!!! Then, there was a mapeche right there in our place! I got a broom and scared it off. Then I called Michael Brown. I told him what happened, and mind you I was patient and even kind of joking about it. He was disturbed that I was bothering him. He was confrontational and rather rude. Not the reaction I was hoping for under these circumstances. I actually hung up on him I was so angry with his response. He offered us an alternate, and it was not to our liking. We were told we would have to share a pool with another villa. We paid for privacy and a view and that is what we wanted. He became more obnoxious which is when I requested to speak with Mark Mead. They relocated us that night. We had to pack up everything, including food and load our car, again in the pouring rain, and meet Mark so he could show us where to go. It was a big inconvenience and my husband got very grumpy and took it out on me and my daughter because he was pissed and would never let Mead-Brown know his feelings! God forbid! The whole thing was a stress we did not want to deal with on vacation!
  The villa they moved us to was enormous and palatial, and completely enclosed, thank God, but it was missing a certain charm and character that only Mono Loco could offer, even though this new villa had every expensive everything and is currently on the market for $4 million. The view was not nearly as spectacular either, but it had every Human creature comfort.
  I must admit that Mead-Brown, and in particular, Mark Mead, go out of their way to provide the very best in accommodations and customer service to both the renters and the rentees and Los Suenos is a beautiful and well maintained compound, but that's what it is, a compound. Outside the gates of Los Suenos are poorly maintained roads with shacks filled with very poor Costa Ricans. It makes you feel guilty passing through the gates of Los Suenos to such Beauty and luxury knowing what the people right upside of there have to live like. But, with that being said, go to costa Rica. With tourism being the number one industry, they need your money, and be sure to tip generously.

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  Detailed ratings for this rental

  • Check in
    
  • Cleanliness
    
  • Comfort
    
  • Location
    
  • Service
    
  • Value
    

  
  

  
  Would you recommend this vacation rental to a friend? Yes

  Recommended for: Friends, Families w children

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  Was this review helpful? Yes

   

  Response from Mead Brown Costa Rica Vacation Rentals - 07/12/2012

  

  Mead Brown Costa Rica Vacation Rentals

  Manager

  I am truly sorry that your experience was not as you had hoped. Casa Mono Loco's one-of-a-kind location and open air layout allow guests to experience the best the jungle has to offer -- stunning views, lush flora, monkeys, and exotic birds. We understand that proximity to these curious creatures can sometimes be a bit unnerving, especially if unaccustomed to living so close to mother nature, but we are always happy to arrange alternative accommodations in such a situation.
  
  Please note that we have taken your feedback to heart and are diligently working to make adjustments to the property so that it continues to meet the high standards our guests expect and deserve. I am pleased to let you know that I have scheduled a complete remodel of the kitchen and bathrooms, which will be completed in September 2012. We want to ensure that all visitors to Casa Mono Loco have a once in a lifetime experience and I am committed to make that happen.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Doug Cox
  Owner