Ecopacific Santa Teresa

It's a shame, because someone clearly put a lot of time, thought, effort, and money into making nice lodgings from shipping containers. But the place is let down by poor upkeep and basic cleaning. The kitchen doesn't really work if you want to cook, though it's fine for takeaway pizza and beer. The bathroom looks quite sad, the chrome fittings have lost their shine, and the sink often smelled bad. We also questioned the bedding after getting so many bug bites during our stay. The quiet location off the dusty main street is a plus, but we found it rather expensive for what was offered. Maybe Santa Teresa just wasn't for us.

The apartments are self-contained, quiet, and just a short walk from the surf, supermarket, and restaurants. We stayed four nights and found the kitchen well equipped, with a fridge. The hot shower and good AC were welcome too. The only thing I'd change is having the garbage bins emptied every day or two, as they were getting a bit stinky by day four.

The owners are really cool, and the place feels like you're in the forest. On our first morning, monkeys were playing in the trees just outside the bedroom window. It was pretty and matched Santa Teresa's spirit perfectly. We enjoyed our four nights and would recommend the place and stay again. The container rooms are a fun concept, with big windows, a small kitchen, a large bed, good AC, a hot shower, and a broad balcony with hammocks. At $50 a night, it was great value. It's just off the main track and very quiet, although the little sign was hard to spot the first night. A good soda and the lovely zwart café are about 100 meters away, ronny2 supermarket is 200 meters away, and the beach and a good surf spot are 200 meters away. The AC was very effective and essential for drying out the room air. The kitchen is spacious, but cooking was disappointing: there was only a double electric burner, a stove and a metal pan, and we could barely boil water for pasta on the first night. More and better kitchen tools would help, since right now it feels suited mainly to toast or heating water for coffee. There was no room cleaning or towel change during our stay. That didn't bother us, though some guests might appreciate being asked.

The room was comfortable and in good condition, and the location was really nice. Keep in mind the kitchen just has an electric stove, though. José, the host, gave us great service and the best tips for the area. I really liked it!