We rented Villa Alborada during the second week in December, my wife and I and two grown daughters—one, with her husband and four-year old in tow. We loved the ever-changing ocean vistas and waking up, and dozing off, to the smell and sound of surf. But after four days, our youngest and her family decided to leave. This is not a place for small children, especially when you’re not fluent in Spanish—as English fluency among Playacar management, taxi drivers and the surrounding community is strikingly rare.
Villa Alborada has many positives—among them, the view, the quiet, the security, the large rooms, the unit’s tidiness, not to mention ambient sunlight from the street-level wall of Gulf-facing windows. Yet each of these attributes had its downside.
It is a mile and a half to the tourist district. The view is of a small beachfront access across the street. And where you can see out, passersby can see in. Security is omnipresent (probably for good reason). No dishwasher. No chairs in 2 bedrooms. Unheated pool. After hard rains, the unit smelled bad, possibly from septic gas. To preserve the septic system, bathroom wastepaper goes in a basket rather than being flushed.
Our only meeting with the host featured dramatic warnings of penalties should we exceed our electricity allotment. When she said she would enter our unit 15 minutes before our leaving it, I refused.
That said, the sun and surf were lovely.