We stayed in the mountains for about a week, and wanted to go away. We spent the day in the rainforest, and took the ferry over to Culebra. With no accommodations, residents suggested Mamacitas.
We walked over, and one room was available (which was on the third floor). The room was clean, with no bugs, and we were happy to have AC. When we woke up the next morning, we saw the most beautiful view. Afterward, we headed to Flamenco Beach.
The only problem was that there was low water pressure.
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This place is not a hotel. Each villa is independently own. The place does not have any service for their guests, and it is very far away from the town.
We stayed here the week of July 4th. They said they would have breakfast and dinner served, and that was not provided. They did not have maid service, either. Also, if you have a boat, they have a very small port - so be careful.
There are better options in Culebra.
8 users found this review helpful. 5 found this review unhelpful.
This is our favorite inn. It is pure Puerto Rican. It gives one a chance to get away from the e-mail, television and hectic pace.
You have all the amenities you need: clean beds and shower, refrig. and cooking utensils, and air conditioning. You can walk to open air restaurants, and enjoy a stroll around town.
The locals do not want cruise ships, chain restaurants, or high rise hotels. I hope they keep it that way. It's easy to catch a van to the beach at the front door.
4 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
Some issues should be addressed.Visited: January 2007
Posted by beach_baby
My room had a nice balcony overlooking the canal. The bed was comfortable, and the room was small.
However, the biggest problem was there was no hot water - and no one seemed to care! Also, there was a bar that played music until 11 pm every night, so you can't go to sleep earlier than that.
They were nice people, just not good at taking care of issues.
7 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful.
We enjoyed the tranquility and snorkeling here.Visited: May 2006
Posted by mikeandk
We stayed here after a conference in San Juan. We were looking for peace and quiet - and we found it.
They boasted a lovely view, and the property was well-equipped. We had the pool to ourselves (and every other beach on Culebra!). I recommend you take a snorkel and lots of books to read.
We received lots of useful information upon checking-in from Luis the manager, and then we were left to ourselves. It was a perfect holiday.
9 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
extremely small, extremely loudVisited: February 2005
Posted by jhenrylong
My wife reserved a week at the Posada La Hamaca online. The rate was $80/day. The room was the absolutely smallest I've stayed in. The room was slightly bigger than the bed. So small that there was no room for: a chair of any kind, a table, or even a closet. As I said, no closet, just a few hooks on the room wall.
The toilet had two signs saying that you needed to not flush your used toilet paper but were required to put it in the waste basket in the bathroom. The sign in English said it was because the toilet clogged. The sign in Spanish said it was for ecological reasons, unstated.
Our first night was on a Saturday. At nine PM sharp, at the neighboring outdoor bar, a few feet from our room, an extremely loud drum band stated up. The drummers were good, but we were tired and wanted to sleep. I was afraid the band would continue nonstop until 2 or 3 in the morning. Fortunately, it stopped at 11 PM sharp. There must be some ordinance in Culebra closing bars down at 11 PM because the customers were pushed out the door at that time, with a police cruiser dropping by a couple minutes later.
We moved to Flamenco Beach Villa a day later for the remainder of our stay on Culebra. The $55 a night extra, per night, was well worth it.
We don't expect a lot when vacationing on the cheap, but this place was really, really bad.
5 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
We never really got a chance to stay. We book a reservation 4 days prior to our trip and while the management was happy to take our money they conviniently forgot to tell us of the aready forcasted tropical depression with high winds, high seas and flooding that made acess to Culebra impossible (no ferrys or airplane flights into culebra). I am still waiting to hear back from them by e-mail (they never answer the phone anyway)
Be careful when you book with them they will require full payment before you even see the property. Better yet make sure you bring a local lawyer with you to the trip.
4 users found this review helpful. 4 found this review unhelpful.
If you’re looking for sterile paradise, then Tamarindo Estates in Culebra is not the place for you. But if you seek pure, simple life on a small Caribbean island, this is the spot. My girlfriend and I spent four nights there in June 2004. The resort is small and secluded, and it has great views. It’s a very serene place. Our cabina was plenty big for two and sported a functional kitchen and A/C. One great thing about Tamarindo Estates is that they will rent you a (slightly weathered) jeep as part of the package for $160 per night in the off-season. It’s a great deal, and I highly recommend it, especially for travelers who want to experience what the Caribbean was like before the mega resorts arrived. It’s a magical place.
Now for the drawbacks. The road leading up to the resort is terrible. You will bounce around a lot in your bare-bones rental jeep. The bad stretch is about a quarter-mile long, but you’ll have to pass it every time you go to the beach or dinner. The other bummer is the bugs. Although a trade breeze keeps Tamarindo from getting swampy, the entire island is beset by mosquitoes, and your cabina is no different. I also was dismayed to encounter a few huge roaches in our bedroom. Luckily my girlfriend did not see them. The bugs and the bad roads are part of the price you pay for the beautiful, empty beaches and the abundant wildlife. And it’s worth it.
3 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
If you’re looking for sterile paradise, Tamarindo Estates in Culebra is not the place for you. But if you seek pure, simple life on a small Caribbean island, this is the spot.
My girlfriend and I spent four nights here in June 2004. The resort was small and secluded, and it had great views. It was a very serene place. Our cabana was plenty big for two and sported a functional kitchen and A/C.
One great thing about Tamarindo Estates was that they will rent you a (slightly weathered) jeep as part of the package for $160 per night in the off-season. It was a great deal, and I highly recommend it, especially for travelers who want to experience what the Caribbean was like before the mega resorts arrived. It was a magical place.
Now for the drawbacks. The road leading up to the resort was terrible. We bounced around a lot in our bare-bones rental jeep. The bad stretch was about a quarter-mile long, but we had to pass it every time we went to the beach or dinner.
The other bummer was the bug problem. Although a trade breeze kept Tamarindo from getting swampy, the entire island was beset by mosquitoes, and our cabana was no different. I also was dismayed to encounter a few huge roaches in our bedroom. Luckily, my girlfriend did not see them.
The bugs and the bad roads were part of the price you pay for the beautiful, empty beaches and the abundant wildlife. And it was worth it.
7 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
Tamarindo is a beautiful, peaceful and unique Caribbean destination.Visited: May 2004
Posted by jepsfm
Our family of three (our seven-year-old daughter had a great time, too) just returned from a week's stay on Culebra Island, PR. Having traveled throughout the Caribbean, we were looking for a place with pristine beaches and snorkeling abound.
After much researching on the Internet, we chose the perfect destination and place to stay in Tamarindo Estates. The accommodations offered a nice retreat after a full day of activities, including breathtaking views, sunsets, A/C, well-kept accommodations and very helpful and knowledgable caretakers.
In a week we were able to get into island life and enjoy local foods, sights and sounds. We'll definitely return someday!
4 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
My husband and I had a great escape on Culebra and stayed at Tamarindo Estates. The accommodations were fine - everything we needed and wanted!
The location was peaceful and beautiful - the beaches and snorkeling were beyond belief! The caretakers at Tamarindo were more than helpful - they were patient and personable. We can't wait to go back to this paradise.
3 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
It was even better than the advertising!Visited: February 2004
Posted by pkittel
Selecting a vacation spot over the internet involves work and luck. At Tamarindo, we found the perfect match for our lifestyle.
We love to swim, snorkel and hike and have morning coffee on our deck with an ocean view. We love to sit by the sea in the moon and star light.
The pool was also a lovely hidden surprise. Our one-bedroom unit had everything we needed and everything worked. We were especially impressed with the helpfulness of the live-in caretakers.
Tamarindo was not a luxury resort. (Hopefully there will never be any luxury resorts on this little island.) It was a quietly beautiful, unassuming place in keeping with the island of Culebra. If you are especially lucky--as we were--you will become friends with other guests attracted to the same lifestyle.
4 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
I will return to Culebra, but not to Posada.Visited: February 2004
Posted by jacjac969
I do feel bad criticizing this guest house, but I feel it is warranted.
Positives:
It was $95 a night, with a decent sized room that had a very comfortable bed - a well-equipped efficiency studio:
The room had a ceiling fan, air conditioner, 2-burner hotplate, toaster, coffeemaker, microwave, plates, cutlery, pots, pans, cooking utensils, etc.
It was also in a convenient location: access to great food, supplies, supermarket, cash machine, internet store, and beaches.
The manager was friendly, helpful, easygoing, and forthcoming with information.
The owner was a wonderful, kind and generous woman. On my last day, she happened to notice me waiting for my taxi to take me to the airport. She offered to drive me herself. She offered me the use of her cell phone to cancel the taxi I had called. When we got to the airport, she carried my bag (it was very heavy!) out of her truck. I cannot speak highly enough of her. She really impressed me.
The negatives (and they are considerable):
I stayed for eight nights (Feb. 16-24), and they never cleaned my room.
After the fourth night, the manager said they would clean my room the next day. They did not. No explanation was given. It seemed clear that they just didn't feel like cleaning my room, so they didn't.
On my seventh day here, the manager came up to me and asked me if I wanted clean sheets. No apology was given for not having cleaned my room as she had said. I told her that I was staying only two more nights, so never mind.
No housekeeping meant take out my own garbage, using wet towels, and most insulting, buying my own toilet paper.
Check-out time was 10:00 am! After being so laid-back about their treatment of the guests, it was so rude to rush the guests out of there.
Lastly, and for me this was the clincher. I had accidentally left a bag of local candy bars in the refrigerator. I had bought them as little gifts to bring back for friends. I returned within an hour of checking out, to retrieve my candy bars.
The cleaning man was already there. I told him that I just came back to get the candy I left in the fridge. He told me that he already took it out of the fridge, and he pointed to the counter. I walked over to get them. As I walked over, he said, "I ate one of them." I opened the bag and saw that he had actually eaten two of them. I said, "You ate two of them." And he replied, "yeah." He was completely unapologetic.
Just then the manager walked in. She had heard the whole conversation. She said, "You ate two of her candy bars?" She slapped him on the back and started laughing.
I won't ever go back this guest house.
7 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
Tropical Paradise, Very Relaxing, Great StaffVisited: February 2004
Posted by jonas_ri
If you are lucky enough to find Culebra, you know you're travelling off the beaten path. Tamarindo Estates is a perfect mix of the laid-back Culebra atmosphere and the ease, cleanliness, and beauty that you want on a vacation.
We loved staying at Tamarindo Estates! The views are spectacular. The property is well-kept. The apartment units are clean and functional, with ceiling fans and A/C in the bedroom. And the private decks with sweeping ocean views are the big treasure.
We were also impressed with the caretakers at Tamarindo Estates. They took care of everything we needed--from snorkel gear to fresh beach towels to helping set up a day-trip on a boat to answering any and all questions about Culebra. Plus, they were friendly and upbeat and always available.
3 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
Tamarindo was in dire need of work.Visited: December 2003
Posted by astethem
If you look at Tamarindo Estates’ web site, you’ll be lured to a small paradise found in today’s overcrowded, sunny destinations.
If you have doubts, you’ll be more than comforted by the 1996 accolade from Travel and Leisure espousing it in its “20 Affordable Getaways.” You will read the ‘testimonials’, too, from the website, full of very happy and pleased people. If you hunt further and do find a negative comment, you’ll pass it off as a disgruntled exception not to be heeded.
As per instructions, we made our way to the Culebra airport for ‘check-in.’ Checking in required full payment. The fine print on the invoice we were then given stated “the renter agrees that he has examined the property and found it in good condition.” You will not see anything until you are completely locked in financially.
There were three separate slanted buildings composed of rooms-slash-units. The 100s had six units (two stories with three per floor); the 200s had three, as do the 300s. If you have neighbors, you will hear them through the thin walls unless you go back to the bedroom and turn on the air conditioning.
We were first given #101, a decrepit, little enclosure with broken tile and dingy bedroom - but the view was great. The blanket was crunchy, yet oily, and the ultimate welcome was one lone cockroach who scurried out from the foam, just as shocked as we in our mutual discoveries.
So, you may chalk these words up to the ravings of a mad person...or go visit and see for yourself!
5 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
Posada La Hamaca is a wonderful place in paradise (Culebra).Visited: July 2002
Posted by dignadel
I stayed here with my family. We have visited Culebra for many years, since the 1980s. We used to go camping, but now our backs want a bed. We have also stayed in other inns and houses. This one is the best.
The service is great, nice and efficient, but they also give you your privacy. The prices are okay. The building is pretty and comfortable. They provide ice, a balcony, and you can keep your belongings locked after you leave the room until you leave the island.
The apartment has a fully equipped kitchen. At night, we sit by the canal and have a lovely time. We loved it here, and we will be visiting again in July 2003.
1 users found this review helpful. 1 found this review unhelpful.
Caribbean 
It was more than we expected. 
There was no service here. 
It was fabulous. 
I didn't think the prices matched the quality of my meal here. 