Casita Almendra | Playa Potrero, Costa Rica
Hotel & Accommodation in Surfside, Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
A walkable second-floor home in Surfside
Casita Almendra sits on the second floor of a five-unit building in Surfside, a few steps from Potrero Beach. The furnished condo has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and about 96 square meters of living space. Concrete-block walls, a tile roof, and tile floors date to 2008. The address is in Tempate, Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, just off the main road.
This is a private home, not a hotel. There is no reception desk and no posted hours. The point is a compact furnished unit you can cook in and walk from. If you need a staffed lobby, the building will feel too quiet. If you want sand, a market, and dinner without driving, the location is the reason to look here.
Five units share a gated entry with a guard, a community in-ground pool, on-site maintenance, and maid service. One parking space belongs to the condo. City water, a septic system, and cable internet and television are already connected. The annual association fee is $8,760.
Two bedrooms, walk-in closets, and stairs to the door
The floor plan fits a couple who want a guest room, a small family, or two pairs traveling together. Walk-in closets give you a place for beach clothes and extra bags. The balcony is the outdoor room attached to the unit. The in-ground pool sits downstairs and is shared among the five homes.
Every arrival includes stairs. The condo is on the second floor of a three-story building. Walk those stairs with bags before you commit if anyone prefers a single level. Tile floors stay practical in Guanacaste heat and match the 2008 construction.
Ninety-six square meters works for a longer stay when the kitchen and laundry see daily use. The layout is compact rather than sprawling. That helps if you plan to cook, wash clothes, and sleep with the beach a short walk away. Compare it against larger houses only if you need more indoor spread than a balcony and two bedrooms provide.
Cook, wash, and cool the rooms you actually use
The kitchen is set up for self-catering. It has a refrigerator, freezer, stove, oven, microwave, washer, and dryer. That appliance list is why a 96-square-meter condo can function as a real base. Stock the market down the street, cook through the hot middle of the day, and wash clothes without leaving Surfside.
Multiple wall air-conditioning units and ceiling fans let you cool room by room. You do not have to run the whole condo at once. Cable internet and television cover indoor evenings. City water and a septic system handle the rest.
Pack for a furnished kitchen, not an empty shell. The machines are already there, so clothing and cooking gear can stay light. A first stop at the nearby market fills the pantry. The rest of the afternoon can go to the beach and a meal in walking distance.
A five-unit building, a guard, and one parking space
Life here runs on the association, not a hotel desk. A guard at the gated entry is the first contact for residents, guests, and deliveries. On-site maintenance and maid service mean upkeep is not purely do-it-yourself. Ask what the association includes, and how guests get announced at the gate.
The pool is shared among five units, not a resort crowd. One parking space comes with the condo. After the drive in, that space is why you can leave the car and walk. Extra cars and drop-off guests need a plan that works with a single space and a gate.
When you compare small buildings along this coast, include the $8,760 annual fee. Set it next to the guard, the pool, maintenance, maid service, and connected utilities. The fee is part of how a five-unit building stays gated and maintained.
Morning swims, midday shade, and dinner on foot
Distance is the practical advantage. The condo is steps from Potrero Beach and an easy walk to a market, restaurants, bars, a yoga center, and a sailing center. You can swim early, pick up groceries without a drive, and still make a yoga class or a sail the same day.
A day in this corner of Playa Potrero works best on foot. Early light is the comfortable time on the sand. Midday heat pushes people toward shade, the balcony, the pool, or a long lunch. Late afternoon is when a sail or a yoga session fits without a long transfer.
After dark, restaurants and bars in walking distance keep the evening local. That matters when you have one parking space and a gate to pass on the way home. Surfside sits in the same Santa Cruz canton beach corridor as the rest of Playa Potrero. Anything the neighborhood market cannot cover still wants a car. Being just off the main road makes those out-and-back drives simpler than a house on a remote spur.
From Liberia to the gate, then around on foot
The drive from Liberia International Airport is about 50 minutes. That airport is the usual air gateway for this part of Guanacaste. Arrive with daylight if you can. It is easier to find the building, the parking space, and the short walk to the beach.
Once you are in Surfside, walking covers the beach, the market, restaurants, bars, yoga, and sailing. The car earns its keep for the airport transfer, day trips, and anything beyond the immediate cluster. Sailors and yoga practitioners can keep those hours in the neighborhood. A beach-and-dinner plan uses the same walkable pattern.
Casita Almendra works as a private furnished base. Second floor, two bedrooms, pool in the building, sand a few steps away, and Liberia about 50 minutes up the road. Stand on the balcony, time the walk to Potrero Beach, and see how the stairs feel with bags in hand. Nearby condos along this stretch differ in floor level, building size, and how far you walk to the sand.