Vilas la Colina is condominium complex on the road to Ocotal from Coco in Guanacast Costa Rica. With three different grounds levels, it has a total of 86 units and 7 pools. Three pools in each of the bottom two levels surrounded by plenty of greenery and shade. The upper level has one infinity pool overlooking the mountains and is in full sun all day. The two lower levels are joined with plenty of pathways and a resort like feel without the resort crowds. The upper level is not readily accessed except by a very steep hill to its parking lot but has the least amount of units.
Overall, the area is quiet and removed from some of the normal hustle closer to the core and like most places, some units rent out for reasonable rates and other do not. Service levels and experiences will certainly differ as well but for those interested, here is the experience on one specific unit.
Unit 23 (8023) at the top of the 3 level complex is what we rented. A $500 USD deposit was required and the owners capped electricity at $100 USD. This wasn’t much of a concern as typically only running AC late in the day and overnight in one bedroom at around 25 to 28C shouldn’t exceed that limit. With a BBQ cooking could be mostly outside helping to make inside temperatures more manageable. Although the BBQ was electric it was assured to work well so the assumption was the savings attained from cooking outdoors would compensate for the cost.
Settling in we discovered there wasn’t a toaster. When we asked we were told there was one because the owners friend who had previously stayed there bought one. Perhaps it was overlooked so we searched again – 3 times. No toaster.. The property manager insisted the home owner stated there was a toaster but since we had everywhere three times with the exception of locked cabinet and she decided to do her own search which revealed the same thing. Would we really be making this up for a $20 CND item that should have been there? Finally, the owner approved the purchase of a toaster but after a couple of days we were told there were none in town and it would have to wait for a trip to Liberia which was fine by us.
Meanwhile, we found showers had no shelves, hangers, or place for soap and shampoo other than the floor, the master bedroom AC was extremely loud, no extra sheets for the queen bed, all windows had dark curtains with no white backing (would further absorb sun and amplify heating), and both bedroom windows were sealed shut.. Not just a fire hazard, but no chance of any natural cooling too. Of course, making toast in a pan on the stove wasn’t helping the heat situation either.
It seemed logical to ask if would be possible to get a second set of sheets for the queen as they still needed to buy a toaster.. Turned into another “prove it session” because there were extra sheets recently purchased. Pictures of the extra sheets clearly marked for a double where required along with tape measurements of each bed. It took a week, but the sheets and toaster oven arrived because they couldn’t find any toasters in Liberia either. So much for power savings.
The first time the BBQ was used, it became obvious in wasn’t working properly. The selector could be rotated round and round and despite the temperature getting up to 400 initially, it quickly fell to 250 and remained no matter what setting. Flipping burgers was a shocking experience too – bare feet on the patio tile and metal spatula in hand resulted in shocks. The voltage from the BBQ to the tile later showed 70V AC – likely a full 120 to ground. So a dangerous, non functioning BBQ.
On to the stove…
Although the stove top worked, all the membrane keypad buttons didn’t. Of course the up arrow which was need to increasing oven temperature was one of them. Ridiculous. A video sent to the property manager didn’t result in much either. Neighbours in the complex couldn’t believe the craziness, lack of toaster, sealed windows, electric BBQ from hell, and non working oven. Everyone said the owner should drop the power cap which is how we felt too.
Another call to the property manager. After explaining and illustrating the issue, we weren’t left with any warm fuzzies. She didn’t seem to find it to be an issue because the oven could be run at 350 (top default temp). She further insisted the BBQ worked fine and completely ignored the electrocution problem. Her test involved watching it initially heat up at more power expense to me and that was all. At this point, I said it was unacceptable – a BBQ that doesn’t work and can’t be regulated that electrocutes you and an oven that won’t go above 350C just wasn’t going to work. Chicken had better be at least 400 and pizza has to be 425C too. She seemed offended, but reluctantly agreed to discuss it with the owners.
Having already done the research, I offered to provide the manuals, parts numbers, and place where I found the membrane if they wanted to try and fix it. I explained the membrane was discontinued and only available on eBay for $350 USD so it may not be wise to attempt repair. She declined saying she would speak with the owner and someone would have to look at it. Great. More delays.
Week two and we can see power usage is going to be quite high and nothing is likely to get fixed anytime soon. Five days later the owner was looking for the part in Canada, we were told. Wonderful. Apparently it was shipped to the owner in Canada and the property manager was making requests on the local chat group to see if anyone could bring it with them. In the mean time power usage continued to be more while making do with only an oven at a top temperature of 350C.
It was just shy of a month for the initial repair attempt. Of course it failed because they bought the control board and not the keyboard membrane. It took another two days before the owner decided on a new stove which wasn’t going to be an easy find. The stove was built into the counter top (flat glass flush with counter). In the mean time, relax and maybe watch some streaming shows on Prime or something. Nope. Internet constantly dropped and caused problems with streaming. Couldfare test said it was bad for everything even at different times on different days. Mentioning this to the property manager only resulted in a “maybe it should be checked”. Constant pixelization and stalling was all we could get.
At last, a new stove arrived but it didn’t fit. Even after removing the side panel and some other parts it wouldn’t fit but now the whole top was loose and the stove wasn’t high enough to clear the counter. Two of us suggested using some tiles the owners had under the bed to make sure the stove cleared the counter but before an attempt could even be made we had to re-attach one of the stove wires that had fallen off from the exposed plug. Eventually the stove was inserted but not all the way as it still didn’t quite fit leaving a three inch gap to the counter. Whatever… a working stove at last but without a drawer so all the pans needed a new home.
This stoves top element design turned out to make for painfully long warm up times. Once it was hot, it retained heat for much longer too only adding to the cooling difficulties. Again, more energy would be needed for both cooking and cooling and the owner never offered to remove the power cap. The old stove was left in the dining area for later pick up.
Well into a month and half the main toiled broke – couldn’t be flushed. Thankfully we had an en suite to use but with friends staying with us how could anyone use it in the middle of the night without disturbing those in the room? “At least you have another toilet”, said the property manager who took almost a week to find this part and have it fixed. A week of bucket flushing was the overnight solution to not disturbing anyone.
In the mean time there is an old stove blocking out dining table having directly contacted the person who was supposed to pick it up, it wasn’t getting done. They finally said they were going to when we were going on an excursion so two of us lifted it out to the patio. It never was picked up and it wasn’t long before HOA was on it asking when it would disappear. I don’t blame them. Its an eye sore taking up half the patio.
To complete the bad run, a family emergency happened and despite best efforts it became obvious we would need to leave early. Cutting the trip short meant only using 60% of the time. The owner thankfully agreed to a partial refund but only 59% of what remained. Appreciated, certainly, yet something still seemed off. The property manager claimed we would receive more if the unit could be rented out but a listing for the property on the company site or elsewhere was never seen. In the end, it wasn’t rented.
Packed for our departure we were informed power was over – no surprise as everything was working against conservation. Another $58 USD was being charged and may be more when a final read gets done. Nuts. Asking for this to be absorbed due to all the issues was a flat no.
All concerns were discussed with the property manager prior our departure. She felt we received a fair deal and she had done a good job. I believe she tried with most issues except for what seemed like a lack of acknowledgement and commitment regarding the shocking BBQ and dismal internet. Leaving the old stove to sit for a month seemed strange, too. With all the problems, delays, and what seem like indignant treatment from the owner it was a disappointing and costly experience not be repeated. Certainly not something to recommend to others.
As always, not all experiences turn out as well as they could be which comes down to looking for places with some ratings history. Online ratings were not available with this particular unit and truth be told, the property manager was the primary source of information here. Because she was relatively recent in acquiring this unit, she may not have had enough experience to share which only points to more diligence on the part of those seeking to rent. Either way, it is important to know some of these details prior to entering into an agreement which is really the purpose of here.