Where Casa LaVista Sits
On the highest point of a gated community above Playa Hermosa, just north of Uvita — high enough for an open Pacific view and the quiet, close enough to the beach and town to come and go easily.
Casa LaVista occupies the top lot of an exclusive hillside neighbourhood, set into rainforest above Playa Hermosa in the Uvita area of the Costa Ballena. From the terrace and the pool the land falls away toward the ocean and the Whale's Tail sandbar in Marino Ballena National Park. The beach is a short drive down the hill rather than a walk; most guests who plan to explore keep a rental car or arrange the team's driver. For the region itself, see Where You Are: Costa Ballena.
Arrival & Access
For a view this high, the access is unusually easy: paved and reachable by any vehicle — no 4x4 required. The one thing worth knowing is the map pin, not the road.
Many ocean-view homes on this coast sit behind a steep or gravel final climb; Casa LaVista does not. The approach is paved and manageable in a standard car, minivan, or rental SUV. Most guests fly into San José (SJO) and drive south, or take the short domestic hop to Quepos (XQP) and continue by road; the team can arrange an airport shuttle, deliver a rental car to the door, or both. The full picture is in Roads, Rental Cars & Transportation and Getting Here.
The honest, useful detail — drawn straight from how arrivals actually go — is that the generic Google Maps pin for the area can mislead a first-time driver on the last few turns. It is not a difficult road; it is a confusing pin. So the team sends an exact location and stays in touch on arrival day, and will talk a driver in by phone if needed. Tell us your arrival window and we'll make the last five minutes simple.
The Home & Its Design
A light, contemporary villa built around its view and its art — floating king beds, local and international pieces throughout, and indoor-outdoor living that keeps the ocean in the room.
Inside, Casa LaVista reads as a considered, gallery-like home: a harmonious blend of local and international artwork sets the tone, and each of the bedrooms carries its own distinct design rather than a repeated template. The living spaces open wide to the terrace, so the boundary between inside and out softens through the day. The scale is generous without being grand — roughly 4,500 ft² of home opening onto a 4,000 ft² terrace, set on a large private plot near the top of the ridge.
A Day at Casa LaVista
Shaped by the view and the water. Slow mornings on the terrace, the pool through the heat of the day, and evenings around the firepit as the ocean goes dark.
Mornings come early and open: coffee on the terrace with the Pacific laid out below, the rainforest waking around the house. The middle of the day belongs to the infinity pool and the jacuzzi, with the outdoor kitchen and wine fridge close at hand for an easy lunch. Many groups build a day around the area's waterfalls, a guided night hike, ziplining, or horseback riding — then come back to a private chef dinner and the firepit, with the lights of the coast far below. It is, by the rhythm of the guest messages we see, a house people use fully rather than just sleep in.
A Closer Look
A few moments from around Casa LaVista — the pool and the outlook, the terrace and firepit, the living spaces open to the view.
Bedrooms & Sleeping Arrangements
Casa LaVista sleeps ten across five rooms — four ensuite king suites, each with its own character, plus an ocean-view office that converts to a guest room with a full-size Murphy bed.
The four principal suites — known in the house as Sala Salud, Paradisio, Treehouse, and Oasis — each pair a floating king bed with their own design, and air conditioning is individually controlled room by room, with ceiling fans throughout:
- Four ensuite king suites — floating king beds, distinct artwork and design in each, individually controlled A/C, framed by the rainforest and the outlook.
- The ocean-view office — a workspace that doubles as a fifth bedroom via a full-size Murphy bed, ideal for a couple, a child, or a work-from-villa stay, with the sea in view from the desk.
Bathrooms run to four full baths plus a half-bath. One honest note for planning: the fifth sleeping space is an office-with-Murphy-bed rather than a separate, partitioned bedroom — perfect for most groups of ten, but if you need fully independent sleeping for every traveller, confirm the configuration with the concierge first.
Pool, the Whale's Tail & Outdoor Living
An infinity pool on the edge of the ridge, a jacuzzi beside it, and an outdoor firepit and kitchen built for long evenings — all facing the ocean.
The private infinity pool measures about 6 by 3 metres and is open year-round, with a jacuzzi alongside for the cooler, soothing end of a swim. Around it sits the heart of the home's outdoor life: a firepit with a ringed seating area, an outdoor kitchen and barbecue, and an outdoor wine fridge so refreshments stay close. The 4,000 ft² terrace gives the whole group room to spread out without crowding. As with most villas on this coast, the pool is an open infinity edge, so close supervision is essential with young children (more in Families & Multi-Generational Travel).
Kitchen, Food & Chef
A full open-plan kitchen indoors and a complete outdoor kitchen with barbecue — easy to cook in, and easy to hand over to a private chef.
The indoor kitchen is fully equipped — refrigerator and freezer, oven, microwave, dishwasher, and the usual coffee-machine-to-juicer run of small appliances — and the covered outdoor kitchen extends the cooking outside for the group. Private chefs are, by a wide margin, the most-requested service we see for this home: the team can arrange a chef for a single dinner or the whole stay, pre-stock the kitchen before you arrive, and point you to the markets, fish vendors, and restaurants — all in Food, Groceries, Chefs & Eating Well.
Concierge & Services
A full concierge sits behind the stay — airport transfers, a rental car delivered to the door, private chefs, in-villa massages, and tours, arranged before and during your visit.
Once your dates are set, the Pura Villas team helps shape the trip at no extra charge: arranging airport shuttles, having a rental car delivered right to the villa, booking top private chefs and relaxing massages, and recommending the area's best activities, hidden beaches, and excursions. The guest record for this home is full of exactly these requests — chefs, drivers, waterfall and night-hike days, ziplining, horseback riding, massages — handled by a local team a message away, rather than a call centre.
Wildlife & Soundscape
Set into rainforest near the top of the ridge, the home is quiet and genuinely in nature — birdsong by day, the forest close on every side.
The villa's hillside, rainforest setting means the soundtrack is the forest rather than the street: birds through the day, the green pressing in around the terrace, and the area's wildlife — monkeys and tropical birds among it — moving through the canopy nearby. Guided night walks and jungle excursions are an easy add from the door. More on what lives here, and how to meet it gently, in Wildlife & Living in Nature.
What the Home Is Known For
- The view — an open Pacific and Whale's Tail outlook from the highest point of the community.
- The easy access — a strong ocean view without the usual 4x4 climb.
- The chef table — private-chef dinners are the signature of a stay here.
- The outdoor living — infinity pool, jacuzzi, firepit, and outdoor kitchen on a vast terrace.
- The art & design — local and international pieces, and four suites each with their own character.
What to Understand Before You Book
A few honest notes, so the home is exactly what you expect on arrival.
First, the beach is a short drive down the hill rather than a walk — the trade-off for sitting high enough to own the view. Second, the access road is easy and paved, but the generic map pin can mislead a first-time driver, so use the exact location the team sends and let them know your arrival window. Third, the fifth bedroom is an ocean-view office with a Murphy bed rather than a separate suite, and the infinity pool is open-edged and unfenced. None of these surprise a guest who's read them here — which is the whole point.
Who Casa LaVista Suits (and Who May Prefer Another)
It suits groups who want a commanding ocean view, generous outdoor living, and an easy arrival — families, groups of friends, celebrations, and weddings among them.
If you want a high, open view without 4x4 logistics, a true outdoor-living home for ten, and a concierge happy to build the days around chefs, waterfalls, and tours, this is a natural fit; the office and reliable connectivity also make it comfortable for a work-from-villa stay. You may prefer a different home if you want to walk barefoot to the beach from the door, need five fully separate ensuite bedrooms rather than four suites plus an office, or want a single-level layout — the team can point you to villas that match those instead.
Travelling With Another Family
Casa LaVista pairs naturally with its neighbour Casa Colibri — the two are about a two-minute walk apart in the same Playa Hermosa pocket above Uvita. For two families who want to be together by day and keep their own kitchen, pool, and bedtime at night, booking the pair is often better than squeezing everyone into one house. The team can quote and coordinate both homes as one stay — more on combining homes in Families & Multi-Generational Travel.