Vara Blanca Vacation Packages

Room by the pool was very noisy and not private (balcony shared with communal balcony).

The views from Shana by the Beach were stunning, and the beach adjacent to the hotel, Playa Biesanz, was lovey and not overly crowded. The winding, narrow road leading to the hotel is certainly not for the faint of heart, and we were never brave enough to venture out after dark because of it. Additionally, the hill on which Shana by the Beach property sits is very steep, making walking it on foot challenging for the able-bodied and I would think impossible for those needing accessible accommodations. Hotel staff do have golf carts for transporting guests and luggage, but except at check-in, they were never visible to us until we had already arrived on foot to our destination (pool, restaurant, beach or registration desk). The room in which we stayed was not as clean or well appointed as I would have expected. The tile floors throughout seemed dirty and in desperate need of mopping, which never occurred during our stay. The seal on the shower door was loose, which led to the bathroom floor being dangerously wet after our showers, and despite being booked for four guests, we were repeatedly given an insufficient amount of towels, hand towels and wash cloths. There are no beach amenities offered by the hotel, but locals “staff” the beach area, offering chair and umbrellas as well as kayaks and stand up paddle boards for rent. (Be sure to take cash—colones or US dollars are accepted—if you’d like these). It was nice, but not quite as nice as expected.

Beautiful surroundings. Walkable trail and nice wildlife. Very secluded. Nice private pool we had with our stay. Good breakfast. Would come again and my husband said it was the highlight of the trip. Thank you!!

Stayed at this property in April for 3 nights. No complaints about the property other than the electricity going out for the morning of one of the days we were there in our building - seemed to be only our building after seeing air conditioners running on others. What we were not happy about is the fact that when we booked, we booked one room with four people, before arriving. We then decided to book a second room before arriving, and added one person, for a total of five people. We tried to move one of the four people from room one to the second room because it reduces the extra person fee of $40.00 per night, and bc the cost of the second room included two people even though the reservation had only one adult. At check in we were assured this was fine, and the hotel would take care of it, and the forms were executed with 3 people in one room and two in another. At check out the hotel charged us the $120 and had since refused to refund the money.

The property is very unique in that you will see wildlife everywhere. People who have issues walking should avoid the villas . There are just too many steep steps leading to the main lodge. The roads are not paved so be prepared for bumpy rides.