We loved our experience, Ilan Ilan became our home away from home! We did excursions, but it was nice to come "home" and relax. The view is amazing. There is also wildlife around the house. Every time we would go outside and search the wooded area next to us for the birds, iguanas and monkeys! My wife and I, our 3 teenagers, and my parents had plenty of room and bathrooms. The kitchen and grill was perfect for meals on the patio.
House: Clean, charming, and had everything everyone needed!
We rented a van to hold 7, and to help get up the hill we would get up speed at the bottom, at airport the rental company lost our reservation we called Zindis & they delivered van!
We found the sustainable touches a part of the culture, as the owner and Costa Ricans take pride in keeping their beautiful country natural. Some of the lights and fans are on timers, and the air conditioners have remotes to make them easy to turn off and on, and we were careful to conserve energy. They are big on conserving water, so the pressure isn't as high as in USA, but we were mindful to spread out our showers, again being mindful is part of the culture so we were happy to oblige
The tap water is clean and drinkable. We have a couple sensitive stomachs, so I brought a Berkey water purifier to purify our drinking water. Again we watched our footprint when visiting this beautiful country, so I tried not to get plastic bottles of water, instead kept a pitcher of purified water in the fridge
We kept a box of recyclables and would take them down to the Luperon to recycle.
There are plenty of beach towels. The washer and dryer works well
The whirlpool is not heated to conserve energy, but with the hot weather you don't need it
Tourist stuff: Hermosa was great little town. The Luperon grocery store and souvenir shop by Hermosa Heights has everything you need. Roberto's was our favorite restaurant for dinner with the sunset, and they used reusable straws! Aqua sport was great lunch spot. Ginger fine dining for dinner. Bocelli's great Italian. The Hermosa Heights pool has a swim up bar and great bar food, and we loved the pool and slides!
We did a hike in Rincon De la Vieja park, started at the Las Pailas ranger station (toll road, 700 colons per person), took La Cangreja waterfall trail through rainforest and waterfall was amazing, saw white faced monkeys. We went to Diamante, awesome ziplining and seeing animals. Sunset sail and snorkel through Tico Tours amazing. Pura Vida!