What a fabulous time we had. Can't wait to return! Visiting a rain forest jungle was a new type of vacation for us and this one did not disappoint. (We actually only saw rain briefly on two different days.) We flew in to the San Jose Airport, a 4-ish hour drive from CieloMar. The scenic route was beautiful and we enjoyed the drive. You will need a GPS to get out of San Jose, it's extremely confusing. Spend the dough, get a 4WD w/ GPS, so worth it. The driveway to the house would have been a challenge in a 2WD car. We got a diesel Toyota Fortuner and never needed to buy fuel until we were ready to leave after 10 days, and we drove a lot! The house was as described, if not better. Being disconnected from daily news, phones and social media was heavenly. We really rely on customer reviews so I want to be honest here. This place is not for sissies. It's a jungle and jungles come with some humidity and things that crawl. We absolutely loved it. A girly girl would probably struggle here. If you're addicted to social media and need to be "connected" all the time, I won't suggest you stay elsewhere.
I will suggest you give it a rest, stay in this beautiful place and take it all in. The world can wait. It's to be experienced, especially heard. The howler monkeys, the parrots, toucans and even the lizards serenade you. I was asked what our favorite part of the trip was. We snorkeled, took boats out fishing with locals, went on jungle walks, saw sloths and monkeys right on the property, hiked to a waterfall, rode horses on the beach, swam daily, ate a lot of great food...yet, my answer was, "just listening". It never grew old, the sounds are amazing. Save your pennies, treat yourself. Even though it's considered to be an undeveloped country, it's not inexpensive. We've already started saving for our next visit. Our favorite space was the upper level at the house. We ate breakfast there and most dinners, too. It was like being in a tree fort. A really nice tree fort :) I was very concerned about mosquitoes and I'm happy to report that I saw about 4 the whole time we were there. With the breeze coming up the hill from the sea, we kept the doors open and the fresh air flowing through the house. The house is earthy and rustic, exactly what we were hoping for! We were greeted upon arrival and given a tour and all of the local numbers of the maintenance people, should we need them for anything. It was an effortless stay. Thanks Kerry!