Casa Serena, Playa Grande. A recently refurbished private beachfront property! Reviews, Deals & Photos 2025

Q: Is Casa Serena, Playa Grande. A recently refurbished private beachfront property! pet-friendly?

Yes, pets are allowed at this property. Some restrictions may apply, so please contact the property for more details.

Q: Where is Casa Serena, Playa Grande. A recently refurbished private beachfront property! located?

Located in Palm Beach Estates, this beachfront villa is in the city centre, 0.7 mi (1.1 km) from Grande Beach, and 2 mi (3.2 km) from Las Baulas National Marine Park. Conchal Beach and Ventanas Beach are also within 9 miles (15 km).

10/10 Excellent

Danielle S.

29 Jun 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Nice house & location

Beautiful grounds and large kitchen with lots of counter space. We loved the new overlook to the ocean and easy access to walk to the beach. Rooms have AC and nice. Would recommend for large groups.

Stayed 7 nights in Jun 2024

10/10 Excellent

Paula R.

11 Apr 2022

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Finally!!

We absolutely loved everything about this property! Its location, its overall vibe....we could not have been happier with our holiday!!!

Stayed 7 nights in Apr 2022

10/10 Excellent

Britton W.

24 Jan 2020

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Wonderful Property

This was the perfect property for a secluded stay on the beach. The house staff was very helpful, polite and friendly too. I highly recommend this property for anyone who is looking to stay close to tamarindo but does not want all the noise of the city.

Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2020

10/10 Excellent

Robert N.

24 Jan 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Visit to Casa Sarena

Overall we loved our stay. It was a family trip and we had a group of 17 people ranging in ages from 11-78. The location was fabulous. The beach was wonderful and very accessible from the property. We were very happy that there were several boogie boards at the property. They got a lot of use. There was also a place a short distance away that rented surf boards. The food was wonderful. Your employee that did the cooking was excellent and the cost was very reasonable. There were also some very good restaurants in the area. The lay out of the property is very good with a lot of communal space to eat meals, play pool, ping pong, swim, lie in hammocks and various other activities. The raised patio was a great place to read and watch the sunset. I have traveled extensively and would have to say that I have never stayed at a place so well suited for a large family get together. The complaints I had were minor and not worth mentioning. Overall, I would give it a rating of 10.

Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2025

10/10 Excellent

Mark H.

5 Jan 2018

Fantastic private compound steps from a wide, quiet beach

Our family of 8 adults and 7 children spent a lovely week at Casa Serena in December. The home is just steps from Playa Grande beach, which is (having tried about a dozen) one of the best and most child-friendly beaches in Costa Rica. Wide beach, soft sand, good waves for fun. Plenty of surfing action and board rentals nearby. The property is well-maintained and well-run and is just as beautiful as in the pictures.

Stayed 5 nights in Dec 2017

10/10 Excellent

Sierra S.

6 Jul 2022

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Unique beach front home great for family

We enjoyed our stay at this wonderful property that had plenty of room for one large family. We especially enjoyed cooking at the outdoor kitchen while the kids played ping pong and swam in the pool. Having the beach just outside the door was an absolute treasure and we loved waking up to the howler monkeys in the trees each morning. Playa grande is a wonderful quiet area with all the amenities to make your stay comfortable. Would definitely recommend to others.

Stayed 4 nights in Jun 2022

8/10 Good

Joe D.

13 Dec 2018

Great location! Beautiful beach just steps from the property.

Máximo was great to work with and was quick to respond. The grounds of the property were beautiful. Just make sure you understand this is not a “house” it’s more of a compound. There was no common indoor area and the bedrooms are all separated from the kitchen and dining area. The outdoor dining area was a great place to gather as a group. Luckily we had beautiful weather but I would be concerned about rainy days. Make sure to watch the fabulous sunsets from the upper deck.

Stayed 7 nights in Nov 2018

10/10 Excellent

Paula R.

29 Mar 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Beach Beauty

This is our second visit for our group of 5 couples!! We were totally thrilled once again! The property is in the BEST location! The beach is to die for! The beds are super comfy, and we love the outdoor living!! I will say that the local restaurants have doubled in price since our last visit in 2022....and chatting with others at the airport who visited different areas...this seems to be the general consensus in Costa Rica . Not a deal breaker, but would perhaps consider cooking at the property more frequently! The staff, Simon and Saray are incredibly sweet and accommodating! Using a translation app worked very well! We had Saray prepare a meal for us which was absolutely delicious! Maximo, the host was super quick in his responses and very helpful when we needed anything! We love this place and enjoy returning every couple of years for sure!!

Stayed 8 nights in Mar 2024

8/10 Good

Holly K.

22 Jun 2022

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Wonderful piece of paradise!

We had a great stay at Casa Serena! There were 16 of us (8 adults and 8 kids - 4 families total) and we fit comfortably within each of the spaces that property has. The rooms were cool and comfortable and the shared spaces were great to have to wait out a rain storm or take a break from the beach. The kids played game after game of pool and pink pong. The kitchen was ample and the grill area was nice to be able to throw on some hotdogs and make some mixed drinks! The pool and grounds were kept clean and tidy by Sergio. He also responded immediately when we had a toilet back up and continued to monitor it for us through out the week. It definitely helps if you speak a little Spanish (hey, we're in their country after all! ) The beach is steps away and it wins the prize for best part of the trip! The beach is yours aside from a few surfers! The shells and sunsets, oh my! There are restaurants within walking distance and we visited them quite frequently. We highly suggest Cafe Mar Azul - they accommodated 16 people quite often and were polite and gracious the entire time. Spent a few evenings on the roof top patio, enjoying the breeze (we went in the rainy season and the temps were lovely in the evening! ) All in all, our stay was wonderful and we'll definitely be coming back !

Stayed 7 nights in Jun 2022

8/10 Good

Natalee J.

2 Jan 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Like your own private resort

We a large group of 14 stay at the property and we truly enjoyed the stay! The on-site property managers (Simon & his wife) were absolutely fabulous. They did not speak English, so we used our broken Spanish & Google translate to communicate, but they were so helpful and friendly. They cleaned the outside areas every morning, and were helpful with anything we needed. When we checked in, we realized that laundry was not onsite as listed & this was the second half of our 2 week vacation - we had all planned on using the on-site laundry. Simons wife (I wish I remembered her name) offered to do our laundry since we couldn’t, so we gave her a load and she ended up doing it by hand for us! Had I read the reviews and listing a bit more intently I may have realized this - but there is no indoor space to hang out. The only way to get away from bugs is to be in your bedroom. It worked out fine with lots of bug spray & citronella but we all left with a lot of big bites. That comes with Costa Rica, however, a netted area or a place to escape for a little while as a group would have been nice. That being said, we loved all of the games and activities available on site. The beach was beautiful and that private entrance was awesome for us to have, we loved being able to catch sunset nightly. We also liked that we were away from the busyness of Tamarindo. The town is about a 40 minute drive, or about a half mile down the beach you can jump on a water taxi to take you across the river for $2. Overall it was a great stay & we were sad to leave

Stayed 5 nights in Dec 2022

6/10 Okay

Keri B.

11 Feb 2020

Liked: Location

Disliked: Listing accuracy

Awesome Location on the Beach in Playa Grande

Long story short - we 100% enjoyed our stay at Casa Serena. We were steps away from the most beautiful and serene beach, could walk to the boats to cross the river into Tamarindo but were still far enough away to have the area to ourselves. There are a few things that could be improved with the majority of our issues being solved with an updated website and a 3-ring binder with all the information we needed. The website lists that there is a washer and dryer on site for doing laundry. We only packed a few clothes thinking we would be able to do some laundry on property. I thought to ask about some of the other features on the website that weren't there, but did not ask about this and so was a little surprised to find it wasn't there. No one was at the house to greet us and we were a little unsure of procedures. Isolda (the housekeeper) and Sergio (the outside maintenance guy) were so extremely nice but speak no English and it was difficult to communicate at times. We had no phone numbers for them and didn't know where they were when they weren't on the property so it surprised us a little when we had an issue we were told to just take it up with Isolda and Sergio. Having a binder with the wifi password, phone numbers of Sergio and Isolda (or some way of contacting them), and some local information would have been extremely helpful. For the first couple of days, random people would walk onto the property peddling services and goods to us which made us uncomfortable. All of this could have been alleviated if they could leave their info in a binder for us to contact if we wanted. Our biggest complaint was the pool. It was pea green and swampy the entire time. We were told it couldn't be treated because of the water line tiles so we just had to deal with dirty water. A lot of the beach chairs and boogie boards that were there were broken and when we'd take them down to the beach, we'd have to walk them back up immediately because they didn't work. There are two fridges on property but only one fully works. The one at the bar, only the freezer works. This is a great place for a large group of people that are outdoorsy people and want to enjoy Costa Rican beaches. Aside from the pool, everything was minor and we had an overall enjoyable stay!

Stayed 7 nights in Jan 2020

8/10 Good

Ana M.

16 Jul 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Excelente casa para disfrutar del mar en familia!

Las habitaciones son cómodas, las áreas comunes espaciosas, la piscina de muy buen tamaño para todas las edades y lo mejor de todo la propiedad es que está frente al mar, eso hizo que la experiencia fuera fantástica.

Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2024

4/10 Poor

Ronaldo

3 Jan 2024

Stayed 6 nights in Dec 2023

8/10 Good

Bruno D.

20 Mar 2023

Liked: Check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

One of the best beach vacations! If you want quiet, here it is!

In summary, the house was not perfect, but the quiet sandy beach, staff service and overall quietness of the area made our trip one of the best beach vacations. We were 10 people, kids/adults. Let's start with the bad: 1. What the pictures don`t show is the wear and tear. 2. The house is large and has a lot of outdoor living spaces out into the elements! It’s worn out, over-used, a lot metal is rusted. 3. Kitchen needs some TLC (broken cabinet doors, leaking DW and fridge) 4. Bathrooms: 4 out of the 5 BRs had issues (broken doors, blocked drain). 5. Land is large, lot of unkempt areas and pile of garbage lying around, not inside the house, but around the grounds. Not a showstopper. 6. Rental might be a bit expensive for what you get. 7. And of course, ants and crawling bugs, but it is a tropical forest after all! Now the good: 1. The owner, Maximo, seems very nice, is very responsive and answered all our questions. 2. Access to the beach was just amazing. 100 feet off the main gate. Easy flat access, very private and nobody around when we were on the beach. 3. Beach: Beautiful 5-km white sand beach, with perfect waves for swimming or surfing with at very few people around (40-50 people on the whole 5-km long beach!) 4. The house keepers, Simon and Saray, were absolutely amazing. They live on the grounds in a separate house and are around day and night. They responded to our requests in a timely fashion, fixing what was broken, providing additional towels when needed, even setting up a beach tent for us on the beach, helping to carry some of the chairs to the beach, and even helping pack up the car when we left. They made a huge difference. There were always notifying us if they had to leave for different reasons. You forget about the bad with them! 5. We got one meal prepared by Saray, very tasty! It was enough for 2 suppers and 2 lunches, and some. 6. They kept the common grounds and pool clean in the morning but didn’t go into the bedrooms unless requested by us. 7. There are a few small stores and restaurants less than a few hundred meters away, very affordable. 8. From the house, you can reach Tamarindo in about 15 minutes by foot and a dinghy across the crocodile infested Tamarindo Estuary (for $1-2/person). Dinghies run from about 8AM to 5PM…or drive to Tamarindo, in 30-40 minutes! No bridge across the estuary. 9. Tamarindo is a beautiful town full of grocery stores, restaurants, shops, hotels, and nightlife.

Stayed 7 nights in Mar 2023

6/10 Okay

Kathryn E.

24 Dec 2022

Liked: Location

Disliked: Cleanliness, communication, listing accuracy

"Luxury" Beachfront Property quite rundown. Pictures not fully accurate

This is a unique beachfront property, with wonderful potential, but is quite rundown. I messaged the host first in hopes of getting some helpful feedback, but it was not, so I will just give you fair warning. Background: I am an ex PeaceCorps nurse who worked and lived in Costa Rica. My husband is Costa Rican. We are part owners of a lovely hotel across the street and friends with all the other business owners there. We have rented at least a dozen homes at Playa Grande over the years for our friends and family and have only had fantastic experiences. This year we made a late decision to come before Christmas and this was the only property of this size available. Briefly, the place needs TLC. Moldy, and rotting decks and Supporting posts to main room. Broken and decayed light fixtures, ceiling fans dont work, leaking refrigerator, plugged and overflowing dishwasher, no items at all in kitchen( not even soap, trash bags, salt or pepper. Broken cupboard doors. No beach equipment whatsoever, ( Beach chairs, umbrella, sand toys) No information info upon arrival ( WiFi code, info on house, nearby activities, tours, stores). A completely rusted and corroded BBQ which was not safe to use. Finally, there is no Irene, wonderful cook on the premises. Instead a new couple from Nicaragua who had no idea about anything in the house, cooking, cleaning, laundry. I told them that it was not their fault that they had no training and that I would clearly not blame them, but the owner. The positives: The rooms are small, but adequate. Each is independent and opens to the outside only (no connecting) The pool is small but heated . There is an upstairs cabana built with views and sounds of the beach and monkeys. Beachfront. We had a beautiful time at the beach and in the pool with our family and friends. We ate out most nights and truly enjoyed the the area, as always. I have photos of all these issues if anyone wants to see them

Stayed 4 nights in Dec 2022

10/10 Excellent

Maria Acuna

3 Jan 2022

Stayed 5 nights in Dec 2021

10/10 Excellent

Jeremy C.

10 Jan 2020

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great villa

We had a great time at Casa Serena over Christmas. It is literally steps from the ocean, which can be seen from the second floor lounge area. The property has 5 bedrooms; each with en suite bathrooms. The kids loved the pool table and ping pong table. The pool was nice, but a bit cloudy at times. -Raccoons will visit at night so be sure to lock up food and trash in the kitchen. -There isn’t a bathroom for swimmers or guests. You have to go in one of the bedrooms. -The location is great if you want to chill out as the beach is never crowded. -Tamarindo is a 20 minute walk and a 3 minute boat ride across the estuary ($1/person), but the boats only ferry folks until 5 pm. To return to the house by road it takes 40 minutes. -Wil-Mart grocery store is 5 km away and has most items you may need. There is also a small corner store a few blocks from the house that has basic necessities. -Playa Grande has restaurants within walking distance. -We did not get robbed during our stay, but we are not stupid humans who leave thousands of dollars of electronics laying around, even when traveling in our home country. Great place and we definitely recommend Casa Serena.

Stayed 7 nights in Dec 2019

6/10 Okay

Chris T.

18 Dec 2019

Liked: Location, listing accuracy

Great Location, Plenty of Space, With Challenges

Pros – Proximity to beach, fantastic outdoor living area with covered dining table, lounge area, pool table, ping pong, and hammocks. 5 private bedrooms with private bathrooms gave everyone their own space. The elevated lounge area with view of the ocean is great. The pool was good sized for the property and kids loved. Bodyboards and pool floats provided. The outdoor bar kitchen with BBQ grill is nice to have for cooking up dinner. Cons – Make sure you keep valuable items in rooms and lock your doors. The setup is such that only the bedrooms and kitchen can be locked (everything else is open air with a wall around the perimeter). We were robbed during our stay: thieves jumped the wall and went through the common area and inside unlocked rooms at night when adults/kids were sleeping. They stole electronic valuables and cash from inside the bedrooms, common areas and even items in the kitchen. Security cameras are not a deterrent and unsure if they work (owner never provided any camera footage from the night of the robbery after repeated requests). It is a bit run down from other areas in Playa Grande (beds/furnishings) and no televisions. (It wasn’t a problem for us but might be for others). They only clean the common areas daily, where other properties have cleaned bedroom/bathrooms/cleaned dishes/etc. daily (this staff will clean the bedrooms, but you must pay each time). No onsite laundry available to guest. Raccoons frequently break into the bar kitchen refrigerator off the pool, so don’t leave any food in that refrigerator. Upgrading to electronic locks on each of the rooms and the safes would prevent guests from having to keep track of keys – especially while playing at the beach. Similar properties in the area have included an alarm system which would be an added deterrent.

Stayed 8 nights in Nov 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

17 Aug 2019

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Perfect for families

We were a group of 3 families with children of different ages. 16 people total. The house has so many social areas that converge at the pool, it was very easy for everyone to find something to do and not feel like we're crowded while at the same time keep a close watch on younger swimmers. We enjoyed the beach right across a shaded picnic area daily. All the amenities were graciously provided: beach chairs, boogie boards, towels and outside shower. The long sandy beach is clean, a little rough but fun, and not crowded at all. I have been renting homes near the beach in Costa Rica for years and this is by far my favorite. The access roads are in excellent condition, and all but the neighborhood are paved. There is a small market at about a 15 min. drive and many larger supermarkets near Tamarindo, which can only be reached by car in about 30 min. I loved the bedrooms configuration with air conditioning. Beds were comfortable and everything as pictured. We had some hiccups at check in that were sorted out promptly. I didn't give it 5 star rating on cleanliness because the bedroom floors were not thoroughly cleaned up. Because the social area is not enclosed, additional cleaning was needed to prevent traffic dirt from accumulating in the bathrooms, even though Sergio swept outside daily. The property staff is helpful and friendly. I caution future renters to find a very strong locking mechanism for the refrigerator outside which is visited nightly by a raccoon. Maximo is an excellent host and Sergio is available and willing to address any needs. Maximo, thank you for putting together such a well appointed property for us, and for making this a rental we would love to return to!

Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2019

8/10 Good

Connie S.

18 Apr 2019

Mixed feelings

The setting and the house were lovely. We especially enjoyed the howler monkeys and the beautiful green parrots. The people who came to maintain the pool and grounds were very efficient and friendly. We did have trouble with the mal-functioning stove that wasn't fixed until late in the week. We were also disappointed that no-one was there to greet us or to explain how things worked.

Stayed 7 nights in Mar 2019

10/10 Excellent

Mike G.

17 Apr 2019

Great family beach house

We just spent a fantastic week at Casa Serena! The property is exactly as advertised, with the one exception being that pictures can't do the beach justice. Truly a phenomenal beach, great surfing and swimming, and hardly anyone else on it. We were a group of 2 families with 5 children ages 2-6. The kids really enjoyed the pool, and being able to play/run around the walled compound. It's large enough for them to have lots of room to play, but easy to keep an eye on them from the open air dining/common area. We had Isolda cook for us, which I'd highly recommend. She made great Costa Rican food for breakfast and dinner, and we always had lots of leftovers for lunch. We arranged our airport transfer and grocery delivery through Ariel, with Playa Grande Shuttle and Tours - also highly recommended. He made everything seamless. The kids (and adults) also really enjoyed watching the Howler monkeys who swung past the property almost every morning and late afternoon. Fun to watch from the elevated deck. I really can't say enough good things about Casa Serena and the staff. Truly a great property!

Stayed 7 nights in Apr 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

5 Apr 2019

Amazing stay

Couldn’t have picked a better location for our group to stay. Steps away from the beach, pool and ping pong and billiards for hours of entertainment when not surfing. Isolda made for an even better stay by cooking some amazing meals. Will definitely book again for our next Costa Rica vacation

Stayed 4 nights in Mar 2019

10/10 Excellent

Pierre-Paul G.

15 Mar 2019

Awesome Villa!

We spend 1 week in Villa Serena with a group of 16 . The Villa was very nice. We were very fond of the adjacent beach front and the swimming pool. Nothing beats watching the sun come down in the sea on an almost empty beach in Costa Rica! The staff was helpful and friendly, the kitchen - and huge bbq - provided us with all we needed to prepare meals for 16 ! The daily visit from the family of monkeys was a delight for all of us. We definitively recommend for people who just want to relax during their vacation ( Tamarindo is a 12 minutes walk).

Stayed 7 nights in Mar 2019

10/10 Excellent

Cyndi W.

11 Jan 2019

Outdoor Living at its BEST

Casa Serena was perfect for our group of 13. We loved the outdoor living. So many cool places to stretch out, relax and play. Plus, only steps from the beach! We used the kitchen to cook fabulous meals and appreciated having two refrigerators. The gas grill was perfect for cooking the fish, shrimp and lobsters we purchased from the local “fish guy.” Air conditioners worked great in our bedrooms. We will definitely return.

Stayed 6 nights in Jan 2019

10/10 Excellent

Matt L.

17 Aug 2018

Awesome Place

What a great place to stay and so close to a good surfing beach. The outdoor living area was fantastic and we hung out there almost all the time. Rooms were nice with individual A/Cs and nice showers. Staff were helpful and kept the place in great shape. Tamarindo was just a 10 minute walk to a fun town where we ate with "toes in the sand" a couple of times. Thanks for a great facility and we will recommend it to anyone who asks.

Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2018

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Casa Serena, Playa Grande. A recently refurbished private beachfront property!

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