Where do you even start when describing this house?? Guess I'll start from the beginning. Communication with the YouGetHere crew was always quick and easy. We flew into San Jose, rented a car, and made the roughly 3-hour drive to Uvita. Henry from YouGetHere contacted me via WhatsApp just after we landed and stayed in touch throughout our drive until we met him in Uvita. We then followed him for about 3 minutes to the house, which, as all the other reviewers have stated, you will need a 4WD vehicle in order to get up the driveway. Once at the house, you will be blown away. The view off the back deck is the big selling point. We spent the bulk of our time at the house either lounging on that back deck or swimming in the gorgeous pool. The master's bedroom is very spacious with a huge bed, and the master bathroom is everyone's dream. The second bedroom is slightly smaller but still great for a couple, and the view from the bed is incredible. We saw (and heard) Howler Monkeys in the yard every single day. We also saw Toucans and Scarlett Macaws while swimming in the pool. There are plenty of places nearby to eat. Ballena Bistro is amazing and maybe 10 minutes away, La Parcela in Dominical is also amazing and has great sunset views of the ocean. Jolly Roger is a great little bar/restaurant with good food and great sunset views but is a similar drive uphill, so make sure you have 4WD. And while we are from New York and get plenty of good pizza all the time at home, one night we decided to go to Pizza Time which is right next to the driveway to the house, and it was well worth it. I set up in-house massages for my wife and friend and they got their massages right out on the deck next to the pool. I highly recommend this if you like massages. We also did the Osa Canopy Zipline tour, which is maybe a half-hour away, and did the horseback ride to Nauyaca Falls, which is about 20 minutes from the house, not to mention all of the various beaches we visited. There is certainly no shortage of amazing things to do in the area and Casa Tropical is the perfect home base to come back to at the end of every day. We loved it there and did not want to leave!

The view is unbelievable, the pictures just don't do it justice!! You definitely need a 4x4 to drive up and down the road to the place. The house has all the necessary amenities and is a wonderful space to spend time in. We were lucky to see toucans and sloths from the patio and various other birds. We spent many afternoons sitting in the pool watching the sunset while the light rain came down on us which made for a very cool experience. The area itself has many wonderful things to explore and our favorite spots were Playa Dominical and Uvita as we enjoyed the beaches and restaurants. Check out the restaurant Sibu and the Gelato place right beside it for some great food! Another recommendation for coffee would be Cafe Mono Congo! We highly recommend you do the paragliding with Zionparagliding that Stephen from YouGetHere booked for us, it was one of the coolest experiences ever! We also really enjoyed the Ziplining and Snorkeling tours booked through Stephen. It was a great space for a family of 5 adults!

"This place is everything you need. The views are AMAZING. The house was SPOTLESS. The location is perfect and only 10 minutes from Dominical! There's a washer, dryer, all your regular kitchen appliances: microwave, gas stove, dishwasher, oven, coffee maker, blender, etc. Honestly, we didn't want to leave the house, that's how perfect it was. The pool was a perfect temperature, the Sonos sound system was easy to set up, and there's a ping pong table too. It was also safe and secluded! One of the reviews mentioned a landscaper or someone coming by to check on the house. So I kind of had that in the back of my mind that someone would just randomly show up. That didn't happen at all. No unasked visitors! Just don't forget you're in the tropics. So you'll see bugs, lots of butterflies, birds, etc. but it was all apart of the experience! I would highly recommend staying here!"

PS: "Thank you for an incredible place to stay! We'd love to go back there or any of the You Get Here properties!"

It was our first trip to Costa Rica and having travelled all over the place we had no idea what to expect. We met our concierge at the tiki bar in town and he led us up to the house traversing an unpaved mountain road. Upon arriving we knew without a doubt it was all real.. the pictures do not properly represent the beauty of this place, which is crazy after seeing the ad! It was more than we could have asked for. We stayed at the house for 7 days.. 7 unforgettable days! Waking up to the sound of howler monkeys, birds singing and enjoying a cup of Costa Rican coffee around that pool was heaven! Pura Vida! We never wanted to leave and we will absolutely be back! The people, the food, water, sun and activities were all so much fun! I can't recommend this place enough! (There's always one thing though - if you have small children or plan on drinking by the pool, be super careful of the tile floor. It gets REALLY slippery and you will fall unless you've got serious cat like reflexes like myself.. I had a close call!) Other than that, go see this place and learn what we did... the essence of pura vida!

After returning home to Colorado, we immediately started envisioning our next trip back to Costa Rica. We absolutely fell in love with Dominical and staying at the Ballena Royal was truly the icing on the cake. This house is the definition of paradise. Each morning we were greeted by an amazing sunrise that painted the most beautiful colors over the ocean and across the jungle. We watched toucans soar across our infinity pool as we listened to the music of the howler monkeys in the jungle. We did yoga in the palapa and relaxed in the hammocks while our friends lounged in the pool. The attention to detail from the hand-carved stone in the walls to the beautiful wooden antique door to the floor of the palapa this house does not disappoint. If you're looking for a house to relax, entertain or take in breathtaking ocean views, the Ballena Royal should be your first choice. Thank you for making us fall in love with Costa Rica! Pura Vida

As others have said this home was exactly as pictured and described. Easy to find just off the main road. Check-in was a breeze. We had maid service every day. Beds were made, towels replaced, dishes done. The BBQ grill was brand new. Security was good and noninvasive. The walk to the beach was short and down a manicured path. The beach itself was off the hook! Large rock formations, soft sandy beach, medium-sized waves and almost no other people in sight. The pool was very large. The Dominical playa was fun, only about a mile away, with shops and several good places to eat and drink. There was a decent little grocery store just a few minutes away. The town of Uvita was about 10 miles away and had a large Maxi Pali grocery store and several very good restaurants.  There is enough privacy that it's no trouble at all to jump into the pool for a quick cool down. Each bedroom has it's own AC and those units all cooled the bedrooms nicely. We would definitely return.

The property management for this and other nearby vacation rental homes have their act together. They have a binder inside of the residence that has all the required contact info for various things around the town. The binder also has contact information for property management maintenance and other miscellaneous items regarding the property. There was a slight issue with the AC unit in the living room. I sent an email on Friday evening and received a rapid response. Saturday mid-morning the A/C technicians showed up to make a quick repair. The pool guy showed up to do a little pool maintenance one of the days we stayed and the cleaning crew showed up to do their weekly cleaning on another day. The property appears to be very secure. There is a safe to place your valuables when you are away. There is also a sliding gate to secure the property from the road. I would definitely recommend this place.