mishi

Staying for 3/4 nights in Manuel Antonio for our October honeymoon...and trying to decide between a villa at Makanda or a 1 bedroom villa (Buena Vista Villa) at Tulemar. They both look great so I need your help...please tell me what you know and/or what you experienced at either/both places!

We like open-air luxury type places with privacy...we want to be able to see animals from our balcony and/or inside the villa just in case it rains a lot (we want to feel like we're outside and experience the outside even when we are inside), we want to be able to access other local restaurants in case we don't like the one on-site, and we want to be able to enjoy the beach and water activities (snorkeling, kayaking, etc).

Please tell me anything you can to help me make a decision. Thank you!

faithie

Toured Tulemar and stayed at Makanda . I did just go and read Makandas reviews on Trip Advisor .... One was about the robbery during the wedding , 2 other negatives about management , one negative about some noise .... Other than that, the reviews were great . About the same for Tulemar . Tulemar will have children . Makanda no . We would hike from Makanda , up the road to other restaurants , but it's not advisable at nite for either . Grab a cab , and during the day use the local buses . Tulemar has a cute little beach , Makanda has one at low tide after a " good " hike .... But Biesanz is closeby... And Tulemars beach is literally the next little cove away from Makandas Beach . You could almost throw a rock to it !! Our big villa at Makanda was huge , completely open , private , panaoramic view , monkeys , the infinity pool beautiful ...... I dunno !! Tough choice . I love Makanda . Sift through reviews again , both would be great choices . If it was me I would do Makanda simply because it seems more " honeymoon " because there are no children . ( their little beach is nothing to write home about,but a little gem of a beach is a little hike away )

58smom

We just returned from CR, stayed 5 nights at Tulemar. The Buena Vista Villas are on the same property, just farther down. You reach them by going into Tulemar. The BV Villas are beautiful. We stayed in the Tulemar bungalows and walked down to the beach each morning. There are plenty of monkeys around Buena Vista, we would see them every morning. We even stopped at the BV pool to talk to the manager there and a monkey was hanging in a tree above our heads. It's very private and even during the Easter week when we stayed (a very busy travel week) there weren't very many people on the beach. The beach is so nice, you have a bathroom to use, the drink hut (for ordering those all important tropical drinks!) and kayak and snorkeling equipment for your use.One note- the snorkeling masks that my husband and son were going to use, one of the straps broke on one of the masks- if you have your own it might be worth taking.

marthag

58smom......How would you characterize the differences between the accomodations at Tulemar vs Buena Vista? Is the location of Buena Vista Villas better than Tulemar, or is it just that Buena Vista's accomodations are more luxurious? Did the Tulemar bungalow have a balcony, or is it just lots of windows? That seems to be the main difference between the two properties than I can figure out, other than level of luxury. Thanks for your help.

58smom

The tulemar bungalows are surrounded with windows, which some you can open for fresh air vs AC. They have ceiling fans also. We enjoyed them for the view, it was spectacular to wake up looking at a view of the ocean and being surrounded by foliage! Buena Vista Villas are also built into the mountain side. They are newer, some have balconies, we didn't go in any, just noticed them on our way down to the beach. They are more luxurious and more expensive, 2 bedroom suite $450/night. Tulemar also has some newer units. Some of them may have balconies, you can inquire on their website, they were pretty efficient w/ getting back to me w/ my questions. I don't think you could go wrong either way. If you do stay at Tulemar, they are pretty nice at BV about using their pool, it's pretty and a little more tranquil than the other pool. I think the guy in charge at BV is Vincent? Not positive on his name, but a really nice guy. BV villas are just farther down the mountain from Tulemar, a little more driving--which is a story in itself!

marthag

Thank you so much for the helpful information. I think Tulemar will work just fine for us. We don't need luxury so much as we need the views.