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TESTIMONIALS |
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"It was the hardest
vacation to walk away from, knowing that we were saying goodbye to what we
will always consider, "OUR FRIENDS" at the Villa. Please let them know how
much we miss and appreciate all that they did for us. Don't let them forget
us, because we will be back.
Busy or not, I think it
is very important to let everyone know how much of an impact the Villa, but
much more important, the staff, made on us."
Coogan Group
Click here to view the Coogan photo album |
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We were a tad
apprehensive about taking a momentous family occasion to a foreign
country. You and the Villa Cascada staff erased any questions we might've
had. All we had to do for the ceremony was get dressed. That's it! If
we'd had a church wedding here in the states, it couldn't have gone any
better. The staff is first-rate without a doubt. Gabby and ALL the
others: the cake lady, the flower people, chair and table rental
people and the photographer, Juan Marcos and his assistant (who were so
good and thorough), should not be overlooked. Not to be forgotten are the
other members of the staff (Alex and Miguel, cooks, bartenders, drivers,
housekeepers, security, etc.) who make sure that your time spent at Villa
Cascada (and Villa Ocotal where our overflow guests stayed) is the best
experience anybody could hope for. We took two babies (under one
year) and all their needs were met in a way we could not have
anticipated. Our minister we were bringing with us had to cancel at the
last minute and Ricardo Estrada (even though he had to be there to witness
and he said he loves weddings) filled in to perform the wedding
ceremony which was also was the prettiest and most meaningful civil
ceremony any of us could remember. The Costa Rican Family Code was
especially moving. If anybody has any trepidation about having a wedding
performed at Villa Cascada, let their worries cease. You and the Costa
Rican people can put on a good one. This was our fourth (and
youngest) child's wedding. Thanks from the bottom of our hearts (and
those of all the guests who are calling for a first anniversary repeat!).
The Costa Rican people are GREAT and you're the BEST! We loved it and
hopefully we ALL will be back soon.
Sincerely,
The families and
friends of Brett and Molly (Burns) Kirchoff
p.s. Anyone who
might stay here, ask for the drink made with Cacique.
We all loved it!
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"After a week of
reality, I guess its time to thank you and everyone at the house for the
best vacation we have experienced in many years of travel. 24 people
all in one house and the only complaint is why do we have to leave. My
compliments to the staff and their hard work to make our stay unforgettable.
Each year our group picks a new destination to travel to, and this is the
first time that we have discussed a return trip. I could spend hours writing
about the great experiences in Costa Rica and the villa, but I'll sum it up
in what one of our friends said upon arriving. His exact words "you've hit a
home run here". Thanks again."
Richard Martin |
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"I know that my mom has
already sent you our thanks, but I just wanted to let you both know grateful
we are to have had such a wonderful experience in November. I have to say
that our wedding in Costa Rica was absolutely perfect. I would not have
changed a single moment, and I am so thankful to you all for making it
happen! Our stay at Villa Cascada and Villa Ocotal was just wonderful. Every
staff member was so friendly and helpful. Gabby (as you already know!) is
fantastic, and so are Felix and Ronaldo. The answer to every question we
asked was YES, no matter what it was. We especially appreciated your making
us a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, complete with turkey and mashed
potatoes! The reception after the wedding was also beautiful, and the band
was a lot of fun! Your villas are absolutely perfect
for hosting this type of event, and I think everyone felt looked after. We
had a very diverse group of ages and lifestyles, and you catered perfectly
to them all!
As for the actual wedding, I truly cannot say enough about Miguel and Lawson
of Almaco Tours. I really do not know how to put it into words! They are
just phenomenal. We might have been the first wedding they planned, but you
would have thought they’d been doing it for years. We casually mentioned to
Lawson back in July that we were looking for a beach for our wedding
ceremony, and he just ran with it from there! He and Miguel put together the
most amazing wedding you can imagine! The sunset sail from the wedding beach
back to Ocotal was breathtaking. The food was delicious, and the guitarists
were very sweet and had everyone dancing! Miguel and Lawson also managed to
have our sailboat escorted by a family of dolphins the whole way, which we
definitely took as good luck! At the end of the night, we just could not get
over the job that Lawson and Miguel did for us. I cannot thank them enough.
They also put us in contact with so many other wonderful people, like our
photographer Ofer, and Bari, who made our delicious wedding cake. We feel
blessed to have had the privilege of working with such an awesome group of
people, and will rave about you all for years to come!"
Thanks again for everything!
Rachel and Graham Roberts
Click here to view the Vaughn wedding photo
album |
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"We wanted to say
thank you so much for a vacation of a life time! Everyone had a great
time. We could not have asked for anything more. The staff was
absolutely incredible and very friendly. We plan to come back as soon
as possible."
John and Suzie
Peterson (Craney)
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"Everything was wonderful
and we love Gabby and the staff! They are excellent!
Also wanted to encourage you to consider Miguel and Lawson for your
water excursions deeds, as well as any and all offsite wedding
planning needs. They absolutely outdid themselves and
anticipated and accomplished our every need – from finding and setting up
the perfect wedding beach – transporting our guests – wedding party of 26
people to the beach via sailboat “Don Bosco,” photography and video taping
the event and timing it all so that we had a sunset hour and a half trip
back w/all the food, drink and music to Villa Cascada – Where your staff
took over and “wowed” us. Also, Miguel’s wife provided
the wedding cake which was incredible!! They would truly
add to your business if ever anyone needed help in planning and
orchestrating a destination wedding! We have had a
glorious time!!!
What a joy to be
able to bring our friends/family here. Your service is
excellent and we feel like “Family.” Thank you for all
your help in making our daughter’s wedding fantastic.
Miguel & Lawson are incredible."
Vaughn Wedding Group
Click here to view the Vaughn wedding photo
album |
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"I wanted to thank you
for all of your help in planning our trip to Costa Rica we had a great
time. The place is beautiful and the staff was great. Laura is working on
next year and I told her my vote is to go back to Villa Cascada."
Thanks again.
Julie Bailey |
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"While my wife is
considering the trip to Costa Rica, I would like to tell you that in my
stay at Villa Cascada, my primary interaction with your staff was: Felipe,
Reynoldo, Ulyses and the Senora who was the cook. All of these people
were very happy to try and please us all. For me in particular, they did.
Please pass my thanks
back to all of them."
Respectfully,
Steve Perry
P.S. Gabby is
obviously the boss, and although I did not require much attention from
him, the times that I did interact with him, he was always very pleasant.
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"First,
I would like to thank you personally for all the hard work you put in behind
the scenes to make my wedding a success. It was such a pleasure to work
with people that were so positive, supportive and understanding. I never
got any pushback on any of my ideas even if they were "firsts" for the
villa. I felt that by the end of the planning process you took on my
friends as your personal guests (even learning their weird names) and shared
my desire to make this a trip of a life time for them. I know this was the
largest group you have ever had but in the end it worked out great."
Click here to
read the entire testimonial |
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"Just a brief note to
say that all of our guests truly enjoyed the trip and the Villa and the
Staff!!! We especially were impressed by Alejandro....Bleu and I did not
have the pleasure to meet him last spring. He was amazing! And
Ronaldo took care of us each night, and Gabby and Felix and their crew
were amazing during the day.
We had the most
fun on Halloween night....costumes and all. I think this Halloween at the
Villa was the BEST Halloween I have ever had!!! Traci loved the birthday
cake for Siena's 4th bday, and the Volcano tour with the horseback added
on was extra special... we also loved the boat tour and iguana tail for
lunch, and the rafting tour (what we got to ride of it)...and the zip
line...wow...we wore ourselves out!!!
We all dressed in
white linen for a group photo on the beach the final night there at
sunset...just beautiful. Then we came back to the Villa to meet the
musicians that you supplied...what an amazing treat...a perfect way to end
the week in heaven!!!"
Cotton Group |
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"Villa Cascada was the
ideal location for our wedding and group vacation. The staff was so
kind - they seemed to always be smiling and they worked so hard to keep
everything looking perfect. The food was fantastic and the kitchen staff
even went out of their way to accommodate my vegetarian diet for each meal.
Alejandro (Alex) kept us very entertained on our day trips and was also a
great source of information about Costa Rica's history, natural resources,
and wildlife (which we saw a lot of). Our group participated in the canopy
tour, sport fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling, and the jungle boat tour as
well as taking trips to Tamarindo and into nearby Coco for some shopping.
(Everyone had a blast on the day trips-especially the canopy tour.) We were
certainly never at a loss for activity, but also had the option to relax
around the pool. (I was surprised how much of a hit the pool volleyball
was!)
The Villa provided a perfect "base camp" for our 28 guests. During the day
we were able to break into smaller groups to go do our own activities, and
we all reconvened late in the afternoon for dinner and drinks. We had heavy
rain for about 1-2 hours each evening, (that'll happen during the rainy
season!) but it was really fun to watch the storms roll in. We got to see
some amazing lightening shows and all that rain made the vegetation in the
area incredibly lush and green. After the storms passed, it was back to the
pool for more drinks and fun.
Our wedding day was so special...the beauty of Playa Ocotal is unmatched in
my book and it provided an amazing backdrop for the most important and
memorable day of our lives. Villa Cascada is an ideal setting to gather with
family and friends for a celebration, or to just relax and experience all
Costa Rica has to offer. We'll all have wonderful memories and stories of
our stay there. Our heartfelt thanks to the staff for all their hard work
and friendly smiles."
Shannon Batzko
Click here to view the Fritz/Batzko wedding
photo album |
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_small.jpg) *
19 Women - Made new friends
* Summer Camp
when we were kids
* Everyday a new
adventure
* Food Excellent
* Tour guides ,
excursions and bus transportation were all great
* Villa gorgeous
* Pool very,
very nice
* Great place to
go for a big group
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"We had such a
wonderful time at the villa last week. Everyone in the group had a
marvelous experience and is anxious to return. The staff is just
fabulous...as I am sure you are aware from past guests. My son Clay
caught a sailfish while on the deep sea fishing excursion on Friday our
last full day. I was so happy to have gone along (kind of on a whim) and
was there to see him. My brothers and I were so excited and Clay has
shown everyone in our town the pictures we took that day. It just topped
off a week that was almost magical, in that everything went so well and so
smoothly. I know Amy and I were both a little anxious on the trip there
hoping that everything would be as promised-but we had absolutely nothing
to worry about. Thanks again to you, Doris and your staff at the villa.
The opportunity to spend a week with the family you love does not really
have a price and to spend it in a beautiful, welcoming location was beyond
words."
Best wishes,
Renee Edwards
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_small.JPG) "Well,
we are back in Ohio after our glorious trip to Costa Rica. I know you've
heard it all before, but the trip was just incredible. In fact, the reason
for my e-mail (other than to tell you we had a great time) is to ask how
soon we can make a reservation for the same week in July 2007 for our
group. We did so many things, including snorkeling, canopy tour, volcano
and mud baths, monkey sightings, casino and deep sea fishing. (My 13 year
old nephew caught a 100 pound sailfish. He can't wait for the first day of
school, so he can brag!) But, there are so many more things we want to do
and see.Every
staff member was wonderful, but Ronaldo and Christina are truly special.
The cooks were so sweet to my nephew Oscar, who is 18 months old. They held
him and kissed him and took him into the kitchen to visit. My mom cried and
cried when we left. She was so happy to have the opportunity to spend the
week in such a beautiful place with all of her children and her
grandchildren.
Even though I had read
about it, I was still surprised at the kindness of the local people. Even
in 90 degree weather at the overcrowded airport, the ticket agents and
immigration workers were upbeat and talkative. Well, I'm sure you have
more to do today than read my rambling note about our blissful vacation. It
exceeded any expectations we may have had (especially the guacamole and
chips!). I'm a French teacher, but I think it is time to learn Spanish!"
The Conn Group
Click here to see the Conn photo album |
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"Thank you VERY much for all of your help in setting up another fabulous and
memorable vacation at wonderful Villa Cascada. What can we say about
Villa Cascada that you haven't already heard. The staff is terrific.
We eagerly awaited Ronaldo's "Drink of the Day" and Felix's smile is
contagious. Our daily Shuffleboard tournaments were great. The
snorkeling trip with Miguel was a highlight of the trip…especially when he
brought us to our own private beach. Absolutely outrageous and one of
the best days of our lives. The food was plentiful and tasty and they
did a great job of keeping the house clean.
Look
forward to talking to you soon and planning out third annual!!! I
don't think you'll need any more references, but in case you do, send them
my way."
The Moshier Family, 2005
Click here to see the Moshier photo album |
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 "Speaking
for Risa's Amigos, who visited Villa Cascada in June, I must say all of
our expectations were better than expected. The Villa is beautiful with
large spacious rooms, a great pool and hot tubs. The staff provided
excellent service and all were willing to do anything we ask. The food
was especially good with a wide variety--our favorite, the guacamole and
chips.
We
enjoyed the tours, although the Canopy was a bit scary for me, I was glad
I could say I did it. Miguel provided a great lunch on a private beach
area, we caught fish and part of the group snorkeled. Alejandro was very
informative of the land and wildlife as he guided us to the waterfall,
volcano, and mud baths. The golfers enjoyed the course---twice, and the
men also went on a deep sea fishing trip while we ladies enjoyed shopping,
facials, and massages.
However, as a group,
I must say our nightly shuffleboard tournament provided the best
entertainment for a group of old friends who decided to hop on the plane
to Costa Rica. Thanks for a great trip!!!
Shirley Wagner
Click here to see the Wagner photo album
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Please also view some of the testimonials
from guests who have stayed at our other villa,
Villa Ocotal. |
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