Lapas Leona Home

Lapas Leona Home is Natural Leona and Lapas Paradise booked together: two mirrored houses side by side in the Las Lapas residential inside Punta Leona, with a private saltwater pool and rancho behind them and Playa Mantas a walk away. It sleeps up to 16 across four bedrooms, eight beds and four and a half bathrooms (two full in each house, plus a half bath by the pool and rancho), and it suits big families and groups who want to share the pool and the meals but sleep in separate houses.

Each house has its own front door and its own kitchen with an island, oven, refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, toaster, blender and rice cooker, a dining table, a living room with a TV, and a floating stair up to two bedrooms. The bedrooms combine double beds and bunk beds, eight beds in all, each room with air conditioning and a ceiling fan (a third bedroom in each house stays locked). Downstairs, glass doors open both houses onto the shared back yard: a saltwater pool with a shallow ledge, artificial turf, an outdoor shower, and a covered rancho with a table for eight. A paid washer and dryer are in the unit, parking is on the premises and on the street, and a smart lock handles self check-in.

Guests rate it five stars across 37 reviews. They praise cleanliness first, then the pool, which is bigger than it looks in the photos, the modern kitchens, the comfortable beds, and our team, who answer quickly. Groups say the layout gives everyone room, and several guests have come back a second time.

Finding the house is the part to prepare for. It sits inside a residential area that map apps do not name, and several guests got lost on arrival, so follow our directions rather than the pin and arrive in daylight the first time. Playa Mantas is walkable. Playa Blanca is reached on foot along Playa Mantas or by buying club bracelets, which give access to the Punta Leona club facilities and its transport to the beach; prices and rules are the club's and change. Raccoons live in the neighborhood, so keep the back doors closed when you go out. The pool has no fence, and it is salt water rather than chlorine, which is gentler on eyes, skin and swimwear. Rinse sand off with the hose out front and shower before the pool. A camera on the corner of the block watches the front of the house.

Check-in is from 15:00 by smart lock and check-out at 11:00. Tres Mares and the local team send directions and tips before you arrive, and a past guest recommends renting a golf cart to move between the house, the club and the beach. Restaurants, a small convenience store and an ice cream shop are within walking distance.

Punta Leona is on the central Pacific coast, about one hour by car from San José airport (SJO) by our estimate; guides put it at around 90 minutes with traffic. The road is paved the whole way and no 4x4 is needed. Enter Punta Leona by the main access road, not the hotel entrance, which charges a fee to non-guests. Inside, the residential streets are not named on every map app and several guests were sent to the wrong block by their navigation, so follow the directions we send rather than the pin, and arrive in daylight the first time. Airbnb shares the exact address after booking; the lock code and directions arrive by message before check-in. You will want a car for supermarkets and restaurants beyond the walkable few.