NOISY!! NOISY!! NOISY!!

I have to agree with the last reviewer, the construction surrounding, literally surrounding, Villas Macondo is out of control!!!! The construction site is separated from Villas Macondo by a short aluminum siding "fence" which only magnifies the sound. Construction begins at 6:30am including Sunday (and some days even earlier) and most nights ended at sunset. The noise made it impossible for anyone to sleep past 7am, relax during the afternoon or experience any form of privacy - the workers overlook the pool and just stared at the guests all day. The hotel needs to lower their prices, alert potential guests to this problem and change their website, "A quiet location in a side street" - not any more!

I'm sure this hotel was wonderful when it was first built but the massive construction throughout Tamarindo has has the worst affect on Villas Macondo. While I do recommend visiting Tamarindo, I cannot recommend this hotel over many nicer options.

Great and affordable

we were told about this place by friends who loved it and completely agree. we didnt make reservations but you should. we got the last room mid week, before noon. they were full for good reason. the staff, and owners were great- the rooms clean- the pool and garden were relaxing- and very affordable.

Not For Everyone

I just returned from Costa Rica and thought I would send out a bit of warning to others thinking about staying at Villas Macondo. I would definatly agree that the rooms are clean and the hotel staff is friendly. There is however extensive construction taking place directly beside the hotel which probably effects nearly half the rooms. Also the 200 meters from the beach is fairly significant. The pool is not that great and let me warn you casual often means a few dogs walking around....I would not tell anyone not to stay but it certainly was not what I would consider a mid range hotel but the price is probably right for lots of others.

Easy going, central but tucked away

We arrived in Tamarindo just in time for the New Year and stayed at the Villas Macondo.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the standard of the rooms, good value for your colones. They are basic but nicely decorated and clean, and most importantly they got very hot showers (my first hot shower in Costa Rica). I would say that the pictures of the Villas in the web don't do them justice, they are even better in real. If you can try to request a room by the pool as they have a nicer view than the ones by the car park.

They've got new safes now - so your valuables should be ok.

I would recommend it to couples, singles, groups...it is just a nice easy going place with some good atmosphere.

A unique, fun and friendly place to stay!

Villas Macondo is an incredibly special place. I stayed here for about 3 weeks in 2004 and highly recommend them.

The property is made up of small apartments and individual rooms. All of them are situated around and adjacent to the pool. The entire complex is very small and has a bright, festive feel to it.

There is an office where guests can use the phone to call home (with your calling card of course) and a community kitchen that has all of the essentials anyone would need for cooking/eating/etc. All of the rooms & apartment have a hammock in the front. I was there during the rainy season...so mine tended to smell a little musty half of the time.

I stayed in one of the two-story apartment units. The bedroom & bath were upstairs and the living room & kitchen were downstairs. It came with all the basic supplies (silverware/dishes/cookware/towels/etc) and had a 20" TV in the living room. It was adorable. I had several pictures of the apartment and grounds, however...half-way into my trip, my digital camera and laptop were stolen (in Montezuma, where I lived after my first three weeks in Tamarindo)...so I only have a few personal photos from my entire stay.

The property was kept up very well and everything was very clean and well maintained. The owners, Anja and Tom, were very cool. They made a point of treating you like a friend and the atmosphere of the place is very informal & fun.

I was traveling alone...so it was a relief staying some place that had a small-community feel to it. I didn't go into any of the single room apartments....but they look cute from the pictures on their website.

The location is central to everything. Tamarindo isn't very big but Villas Macondo is central to the main part of Tamarindo with all of the bars, shops, restaurants & various other services close by.

Theft is a pretty serious problem in Costa Rica. While I was at Villas Macondo, one group of people staying in an apartment unit had all of their valuables stolen and the guy in the unit next to me had his camera stolen. The windows in the back of the units have bars and all of the doors lock...however, these thieves apparently unscrewed the bars from the window.

This problem exists everywhere though - it isn't exclusive to Villas Macondo. After Tamarindo I spent two months in Montezuma. I was staying at the Luz de Mono and someone broke into my Casita and stole over $5000 in computer & photo equipment. In the 3 months I was down there...I heard dozens and dozens of stories from tourists who had their cars broken into, hotel rooms sacked....even their beach bags swiped on the beach.

So...my best advice is to be *very* careful with your belongings. Villas Macondo provides a little safe in each room. I highly recommend locking up your passports and small valuables any time you go out.

As mentioned earlier in this review....I don't have many of the photos I took on my trip as they were all on my laptop which was stolen. However...I've included a few that I managed to upload to my web server while I was down there. The rest of them are photos from the Villa Macondo website at [--]

So, bottom line:

Great place to stay. Small, comfortable, clean, close to everything and a very fun/friendly place. Not incredibly fancy, but frankly...there aren't many places in Tamarindo that I thought were. I rated this place excellent in that it was exactly the type of place I wanted to stay at....which was more of an independent living area (your own little apartment) without a big-resort feel or service people bugging you all the time.

Tamarindo wasn't really my style...which is why I ended up moving down to Montezuma...but Villas Macondo was perfect for me.

1 of 3 place in Tamarindo I would recommend

The staff is extremely friendly and very helpful. The room deco is nice and the showers are hot. The locations is prime for going downtown and to the beach. Each room has a hammock and patio facing a relaxing pool- great for having a beer, playing cards, and cooling off. The fans in the room are super powerful, but we did opt for the AC rooms with TV. My only complaint is when they leave the door open on vacant rooms, bugs get in, and I wish they had a can of bug spray in the room or not keep the doors open.

Great

We loved Villas Macondo and the managers are very friendly people. The rooms were nicely decorated with lots of bright colors and they were spacious. You could notice the attention to detail in the design and construction of the place. For $50 a night we got hot water, ac, cable tv, a mini-refrigerator, and a safe. Outside, each cabin had its own table and chairs and hammock on the porch. The pool was always clean and chilly, great for cooling off in the hot sun. There is also a shared kitchen that was clean too. Would definitely stay there again, they have apartments too.

An Exellent Value

My husband and I stayed at Villas Macondo over Christmas this year and were extemely pleased with our choice. The hotel is much closer to the beach than many hotels and resorts in Tamarindo. The rooms are very clean and bright with lots of hot water, which is all solar heated. The garden is well maintained with lots of trees and the pool is great too. The beds are very comfy. There is a communal kitchen where you can cook if you like, and a book exchange which was very useful as I kept finishing my books and needing new ones... The owners are very helpful and speak fluently in Spanish, English, and German. Just make sure you make a reservation if you are going during a busy time because they will fill up.

Best deal in Tamarindo, Costa Rica

Wonderful place to stay. We were there for 6 weeks. 1 and 2 bedroom condos. They have a nice pool and only a few blocks from great surfing beach. Definately the best prices in Tamarindo. Owners are very friendly and helpful. See their web site at --------------------- Tell them Jarib says Hi!!

Pura Vida

Villas Macondo - Best value in Tamarindo,Costa Rica

Villas Macondo is an amazing place to stay in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. They have 1 & 2 bedroom villas as well as sleeping rooms. Small resort, but very well done and definately the best prices available in Tamarindo. We stayed there several weeks and loved the place and the people. Very friendly