REFUGIO Sabaneta de Yásica

The host family made me feel at home, and the house was clean and pleasant. There are so many green plants and trees around the guesthouse that it feels like a little jungle, but it’s quiet and peaceful. I could work well there thanks to the calm and good internet. A lovely place to relax, get work done, and feel welcome.

Such a beautiful place, with a really unique atmosphere.

We felt at home right away at Refugio Sabaneta. The house has an adventurous feel and sits in a beautiful jungle setting, a great experience if you appreciate nature. Aris and Corine made us an amazing meal on our first day, and the food was fantastic. They were quick to respond whenever we needed something. When our motorbike broke down, they arranged a repair within two hours. Aris also met us at the airport exit and had refreshments ready. After our stay, we had a wedding at a resort an hour away, and Aris and Corine dropped us off before picking up their kids from school. The place was beautiful and the service was top notch. Thank you so much, we’ll be back!

The place is beautiful, with lovely decor, and in the pictures it looked peaceful, like a perfect spot to relax. Unfortunately, our stay was stressful. When we arrived, the patio doors had been left open for 24 hours, both the mesh and glass doors. The owners acknowledged this in our messages. We closed them while we were there and when we went to dinner, but creatures that had gotten in earlier came out that night: a gecko, a frog, a huntsman spider in the bathroom, a wall crab spider on a curtain, and a local tarantula under the kitchen sink, called a 'cacata'. The spiders were all over 5 inches across. We spent at least an hour checking nooks and crannies, turning things over, looking behind curtains, and removing or killing the creatures. We couldn't get rid of the tarantula. I'm an experienced traveler from a tropical country, so I'm used to some critters, but this was egregious. We expected animals outside because it's a jungle area, not inside the house. We also didn't know whether any were dangerous or poisonous, which added to the stress. The rest of the evening was ruined; we stayed on edge, knowing there was a tarantula in the kitchen cabinet and wondering what else might be hiding. We slept badly, waking up constantly, for only about 4-5 hours. When we contacted the owners for an explanation and to warn them about the problem, their response amounted to “that's too bad.” They said creatures could get in “quickly” when doors were left open, even though they admitted leaving the doors open overnight. We also had trouble with the internet and air conditioning two hours before checkout. At 9am, the electricity was on everywhere except the AC. It had stopped while the vent was open and stayed that way, and it didn't respond to the remote. The Wi-Fi router was on, but we had no internet from 9am until checkout at 11am. We checked several times before leaving. The owners said the whole place was on a backup generator except the router and AC, but that didn't explain why the router was on and connecting to our devices while providing no internet. These two issues together made us think they might do this to get people to check out “on time.” It felt like too much of a coincidence. We'd paid for the service and wanted internet and air conditioning so we could plan our day; we shouldn't be punished for other guests leaving late. They blamed the internet and AC trouble on “power fluctuations,” though the rest of the house had electricity. They took very little responsibility and showed no empathy. We can't recommend the place, even though it's beautiful. Making a mistake is one thing, but the internet and AC issues, along with the poor response from customer service, aren't acceptable to me. We hadn't seen anything in the reviews or Airbnb information saying giant creatures inside were normal or common sense. If we'd known the owners considered it “normal” for spiders that size to be staying with us, we might not have booked. I feel it's our duty to warn others.