Casa Mesakeca

Casa Mesakeca sits on a private two-acre lot in Samara Woods, a quiet residential community less than 3 km from the town of Sámara — close enough to walk to the beach and the shops, far enough to keep the jungle quiet. The nearest city is Nicoya, about 35 km north; the house is reached by a well-kept gravel road half a kilometre off Ruta 150, with plenty of parking on a level driveway.

The gourmet kitchen was built around custom Guanacaste-wood cabinetry and black leathered-granite counters, with a ten-foot island seating six, a KitchenAid wall oven, a six-burner Thor gas range and a Vitamix on the counter. The living room is cooled by a large Minka Aire ceiling fan and cross-ventilation rather than air conditioning. Out back, a solar-heated infinity pool has a shallow splash section for small children, a changing room and outdoor shower on the deck, and a covered pool deck with a propane grill, a pizza oven and a Guanacaste table that seats fourteen.

There are five bedrooms and six bathrooms. Four are in the main house — two with sleeping lofts for older children — and each bed converts between a king and two singles, on Douglas mattresses imported from Canada. The upper master opens through retractable glass walls to a private deck, with a stone bathtub and a Brizo rain shower in the en-suite. The one-bedroom Casita is separate but joined to the main house by a concrete walkway that lets a guest with limited mobility reach the pool without stairs, save a single four-inch step at its door; it has its own bathroom and kitchenette, and is included for groups of eleven or more, or available for a fee to smaller parties.

The grounds are planted with mature Guanacaste and Cortez Amarillo trees, mango, papaya, lime and moringa, and a row of spiny Pochotes along the drive — a favourite hangout for howler monkeys and birds. Housekeepers clean and sanitise the house before arrival and return mid-stay on request; the pool is cleaned twice a week and a gardener comes as needed. Air conditioning runs in every bedroom, and the Casita too.