Honest expectations
Questions, answered plainly
This house is charming precisely because it’s a real Caribbean house in the jungle. Here’s everything practical, told kindly.
Living in a jungle house
Are the bathrooms private?
No. All five bedrooms are private, but every room shares the house’s bathrooms — there are no en-suite rooms. The owners describe them as sparkling clean with hot showers (the whole-house listing mentions a bathroom on each floor, with hot water in two of the three showers).
Is the house sealed off from insects?
No — it’s a breezy, open-air Caribbean house, and you can expect about the same contact with nature as in a cabin in the woods. Every bedroom has a fan, a mosquito net and screened windows.
Do the rooms have air-conditioning?
Air-conditioning isn’t listed for any room. Each room has a fan, a mosquito net and screened windows, and the house is designed to catch the breeze.
Are there animals at the house?
Yes: dogs (including Guapo), a cat and chickens live on the property, with guinea fowl in the garden. Wild neighbours — sloths, monkeys, toucans, iguanas, birds and butterflies — live in the trees around the house. Good to know if you have allergies.
Will I see sloths?
There’s a good chance — the owners see them regularly, especially from the Treetop Room — but they’re wild animals and nobody can promise a sighting. Look up slowly, and look up often.
Is there a kitchen I can use?
Yes. The large, well-equipped guest kitchen is always open, with two refrigerators, plenty of space and appliances, and coffee and tea available at all times. The owner calls it a “bed and make your own breakfast”.
How good is the Wi-Fi?
The house has high-speed fiber-optic internet that reaches the whole property, balconies and outdoor areas included — good for video calls and remote work. (Its pages quote 200–300 Mbps.) There are lots of workspaces around the house, and Rooms 1 and 4 have desks.
Is the house on the beach?
Not on it — near it. Playa Negra is about a two-minute walk (the owner counted 142 steps from the gate), and downtown Puerto Viejo about five minutes on foot. You fall asleep to the sound of the ocean.
Policies & bookings
When are check-in and check-out?
The house’s booking site lists check-in from 3:00 PM and check-out until 11:00 AM. Its listings on other platforms add a 9:00 PM latest check-in — if you’ll arrive late, message the hosts so they can plan your arrival.
Can I bring my pet?
No — guest pets aren’t allowed (the resident dogs, cat and chickens have the porch covered).
Can I bring children?
It depends on how you book. The whole-house private rental welcomes children aged 12 and over. For individual rooms the owners don’t publish a rule, and the house’s listings on other platforms say children aren’t accommodated — so please ask the hosts first.
Are there quiet hours?
It’s a shared house, so be kind with noise. The house’s listings on other platforms ask for quiet between 10:00 PM and 8:00 AM; the hosts will share the current house rules.
How do payment, deposits and cancellations work?
Rules vary by booking channel. On the house’s own booking site you can pay by PayPal, card, cash, Zelle, Cash App or SINPE Móvil, and the owners’ Book Now page says a deposit becomes due one week before arrival. No cancellation policy is published on the owners’ sites, so ask the hosts before you book; if you book through another platform, its terms apply.
Is there a minimum stay?
The whole house has a four-night minimum. For rooms none is published, but in our tests the booking site didn’t return single-night searches — if a one-night stay shows nothing, WhatsApp the hosts.
Is the availability on this site live?
This site doesn’t hold any availability. When you pick dates, we hand you over to the house’s own booking site, which shows what’s free and the exact price for those dates. Or send your dates on WhatsApp.
Do you offer long-stay rates?
The house publishes length-of-stay discounts of up to 20% for Garden Room 2 and Sunshine Room 3, popular with remote workers. Message the hosts about longer stays in any room.
Getting here & around
How long does it take from San José?
Plan on most of a day: roughly 4.5 to 7 hours by bus, shuttle or car, depending on traffic and the mountain road. A short Sansa flight to Limón plus about an hour by road is the fast option. If your flight home leaves before 3 PM, the owners suggest spending the night before in San José.
Can the house book tours for me?
The house runs its own medicinal and edible plant class. Other tours — chocolate, ziplines, rescue centres, Indigenous-territory visits — are run by independent operators you book directly. The owner is happy to give advice: “just tell me what kind of trip you want to have and I will help you get there!”
Do I need a car?
Not really. Town and Playa Negra are walkable, the coast road is flat and perfect for bikes (you can beach-hop all the way to Manzanillo), and local buses run down the coast.