Casa Loros Bed & BreakfastPlaya Hermosa de JacóCosta Rica
|
|
| Progress
Reports
November
2010
Photos Real Estate Related Links to Other Sites |
 View of the Pacific Ocean from Casa Loros Please read the notice concerning our Grand Opening Specials located at the end of the "Things You Want to Know!" page!
Welcome to the Casa Loros Bed & Breakfast Web Site! We're glad you stopped by. This site is probably different from other sites that you have visited because it's about a Bed & Breakfast, Casa Loros, that has not yet been built. We're going to include you in the entire construction phase by posting up-to-date photos as often as we can. We'll also include descriptions of the photos to let you know what's happening. We hope you enjoy your experience, and we hope you will come to visit us when the project is complete. First, a little background. How Casa Loros Began We didn't start out with the idea of building a B&B. We began with a one week vacation to Costa Rica. We'd never been there before. Fred started surfing the web looking for somewhere warm to go and discovered this beautiful country. He decided to stay at Playa Hermosa, a small town near Jacó (the "Ja" is pronounced "Ha"), located on the Central Pacific Coast. It was wonderful! Beautiful, peaceful and quiet! When we travel, and if we like our destination, we always consider what it would be like to live there. Accordingly, we asked at the hotel where we could find a reputable real estate agent. The next day we drove into Jacó and arranged for a tour of the area in the afternoon. We originally were interested in beach front property, but didn't see anything that appealed to us. The agent suggested that we look at another property that was not on the beach, but across the road. So away we went, down the Coast Highway just south of Playa Hermosa and turned onto Calle Hermosa, across the bridge, past the school and then left up a private road. We stopped at the foot of the hill and turned on the four-wheel drive and up we went. When we stopped at the top and got out of the truck, the panorama above is what we saw! It was breathtaking! That was in November of 2003, Thanksgiving week in the USA. If you'll click on the links listed under the Photos on the left you'll be taken to pages of thumbnails of the area near Casa Loros. If you're interested in looking at property in Costa Rica's Central Pacific area, click on the Daphne link. She and her staff will help you find the property of your dreams, introduce you to an attorney to handle the transaction, an architect to help you design your dream home, and a builder to construct it. All of the people we have met throughout this project have been friendly, honest, ethical, and have exhibited the highest level of integrity. They have our highest recommendation. We began to discuss purchasing the property with the idea of building a home there and retiring early. We researched the country on the internet and by reading books and articles. Everything we read was exciting. So, in January, we made an offer on the land, which was accepted. We found a local attorney thru Pacific Properties, and proceeded with the land survey and it's registration, the creation of a corporation we named Las Cuatro Bs, the purchase of title insurance and registration of the transaction in the National Registry. It took seven months. During that time, we thought about the house design and began drawing it. One day at the office, Fred was showing his manager photos of the property and the view from it. She suggested that the location would be a great site for a Bed & Breakfast. That planted the seed that led us to decide to build our home with the idea of having two bedroom suites available to guests. And here we are! Where are we in the construction process? The site work began in November, 2005 and construction began in June, 2006. The site prep includes removing an existing above-ground water tank and replacing it with a six inch well, and an in-ground water tank, installation of the septic system and gas tank and swimming pool shell, and removing some of the front from the upper level plateau. The property is approximately 15,000 square meters, about 3.7 acres. It is on top of a high hill and has two plateaus, one above the other. The house is designed to have the main living area on the upper level and a guest suite, maid's quarters and a storage area on the lower level. Steps on each side of the front lead to a 6.5 meter deep and 15.25 meter wide front veranda (20 feet by 50 feet) overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Playa Hermosa, one of the best surfing beaches in the world. We'll add to this section as the work progresses. You can view photos of our progress by clicking on the Progress Reports links above. Why are we called Casa Loros? Casa Loros means Parrot House. We decided to call it Casa Loros because we are owned and managed by five parrots that will come with us when we move into our new home in Costa Rica. The parrots' names are Bessie, a Quaker Parrot, Chief, a Hawk Headed Parrot, Bear (Osa in Spanish), an African Grey and Blue and Callie who are Blue Front Amazons. The birds will live mostly on the deck surrounding the screen-enclosed roof-covered pool. You'll be able to interact with them. All of them talk and they enjoy eating meals with us on their separate individual tables. Their ownership of us is shared by two Ocicats, Boo and her tawny brother, Beau. The cats and birds get along very well, and work together to make sure we are entertained. You can see photos of them by clicking here.
This site has been visited |