Hi - does anyone have any information about the Villas El Almendro in Santa Teresa?

Never heard of it. Theres so many places in Santa Teresa who knows???Have you ever been to the Mal Pais/Santa Teresa area? I've been going for the past 4 years. It is just getting really popular now.I would definitely recommend Mal Pais over Santa Teresa for lodging. Theres cleaner places and its not so much like hostels all over the place.I just got back and some really nice places are built.The most killer new place was called casa chameleon.I looked at it but it was rented.The view from the place was killer and it was real close to the beach.Its better not to be right on the beach because theres no viw and its public so theres always people walkin around-No Privacy.I would definitely stay in the mountains.

surfexec - much appreciated. casa chameleon looks amazing. can you walk down the mountain to access the beach? we're looking forward to surfing warm water and were hoping to find beachfront accomodation. i think that the villas el almendro are relatively new and there's only two of them. they are located between milarepa and the campground...sound familiar?

surfexec,
You've a lot of experience in the area, but when we were there and stayed at Tropico Latino, I was under the impression that the better lodging was found in Sta. Teresa--especially the 2 high-end places, Milarepa and Flor Blanca. Didn't see much more than rustic up toward MalPais. I must have not been looking very closely! Thanks for the info!

Surferxec,

Do you have a link to the Casa Chameleon? I did a quick search and couldn't find it.

Do you have any suggestions on who to go to for surfing lessons and board rentals while we are in the area?

This one caught my interest also, so i searched and found the following. I am assume this is it.

http://www.costarica-beachrentals.co.../chameleon.htm

hello everybody,
shillmac,I really like tropico latino too.if yor looking for beachfront i think thats the best deal around.the rooms are nothing special except for one in the front that you can see a little bit of the ocean is nicer.it's pretty clean though and theres a good surf break there. In my experience all the beachfont hotels ive stayed at in costa rica have no ocean view.florblanca and milarepa are located at the far end of santa teresa more toward playa hermosa. they are the nicer places in that area but theres no view at florblanca.i never stayed at milarepa.
catherine,don't know the place you mentioned.i remember seeing a new place in that area that looked nice but there was a bunch of tents in front of it.i thought if i was staying there i'd be pissed with all those campers by my balcony.i don't know if thats the place though.
jlh370, i had a good experience with the surf shop located at tabu,which is about 100 meters north of the crossroads.theres a guy,david,whos really nice there.
dfarmer,yeah thats the place.it looks even better in person.

surfexec - thanks for the advise on casa chameleon - we've confirmed for our stay and are v. much looking forward to it! any thoughts on purchase vs. rent surfboard for a 10 day trip in mal pais?

Congratulations!You are very lucky.I am trying to book there for April but I have to figure out my dates first.
Please let me know how you liked it!
You should check the local surf shops and see if they have any deals on purchasing a board.Many times someone will buy your board off you before you leave and you've basically used it for free on your trip.Have a great time!