My wife, Susannah, and I stayed at SFTS from Jan. 5-12, 2012, and Donna and Darryl's hospitality added to what was a spectacular week in Costa Rica.

First, we wanted to get away from the more touristed spots in Costa Rica, so Dominical/Uvita was the perfect spot to choose without having to work too hard or take too many chances. Shlter from the Storm was a welcome place to rest after days spent hiking, beaching, horseback riding and just wandering around the beautiful countryside.

We stayed in the villa, and Donna was able to accommodate a change in our schedule by booking us for an extra night. We loved the monkey jungle just outside our patio and the perfect weather as well as the pool/bar area and wonderful hosts. The ceiling fans provided all the cooling we needed inside our part of the villa. We used the kitchen to our advantage, saving us time and money instead of paying for a dinner out.

Boomer is a special dog friend waiting to greet you if you make it to SFTS, and MJ and Lil' Ricky also help you feel as if you're home in Costa Rica.

My wife and I were looking for the perfect place to travel for a special anniversary. We perused many websites for the perfect location but nothing really hit it right until we heard about Shelter from the Storm. The instant we opened the webpage, we knew this was the place for us – and it was! We had a truly wonderful time at Donna and Daryl’s little piece of paradise. Throughout our stay, from our arrival to the day we left, we were warmly welcomed and cared for. The villas were spectacular and extremely clean. The Ranchero was the perfect place to hang out and make new friends. The grounds were extremely well maintained and beautiful. We were sad when the day came that we had to leave our new friends. We look forward to our next trip there. I cannot imagine it having been any better.

I found this little piece of paradise from a friend reco. I was not disappointed.
I'm picky- been to loads of places and SFTS blew us away.
Location: you are right between 2 towns that have lots of cool stuff to do and see and buy. The villas are private and it feels like you are in a 5 star resort in the middle of the jungle. You will see monkeys, sloths, lizards and the most wonderful sounding birds.
Facilities: perfect. Clean, new, totally amazing. If you need anything at all- Donna or daryl will get it for you.
Tours- so much to do! We decided to go one day on-on day off and it was the perfect blend of epic and relax.
Cost: 2 weeks of exactly what yeas looking for- for a unbelievably reasonable cost.
Owners: Donna and Daryl are special people who really care about their guests and their happiness. I fell in love with them both and their cute lil animal family.
I can't tell you enough about how this is actually a perfect dreamy place to be. There's nothing I would change.
Cannot wait to go back!

My wife and I have just returned from a 10 day stay with Daryl, Donna, MJ, Boomer and Little Ricky - the nicest family that you could ever want to spend any holiday with.

We were fortunate to be able to stay in the secluded Monkey House, where ceiling fans were more than adequate to keep the apartment cool at night, and where we could spend the early mornings on a lovely balcony with our coffees overlooking the jungle in a fruitless attempt to catch a glimpse of any monkeys (thankfully there were a number of monkey sightings at other locations on the property, so we did get our "fix").

The high-lights:

a) Daryl and Donna themselves - a nicer and more sincere couple cannot be imagined. From the introductory margheritas to the wealth of information and suggestions, they could not have been more accomodating;

b) the Rancho - on those days when we just wanted to "veg", the Rancho (pool/bar area) was the complete answer - comfortable lounge chairs, a refreshing pool, Sky tv entertainment system which provided relaxing music (my favourite station being "French Style"), an honour bar with prices for diet coke below that charged at the supermarket, and, thanks to Brett, another Canadian traveller, a movie system which enabled me to watch the Stieg Larsen Millenium series movies as soon as I finished each book;

c) the sights - Don Lulo's horseback ride to the waterfalls accompanied by a lovely fruit and cornbread breakfast and Tico-style lunch, zip-lining and mini- guided tour at Hacienda Baru, and a day at Manuel Antonio where we hiked through the jungle to the wonderfully sandy beaches catching monkey sightings throughout;

d) the nearby beaches - especially the lovely Playa Ventana with the caves at low-tide;

e) the restaurants - the unbelieveable Exotica with a superbly informal setting and a 5-star menu overseen by the delightful Lucy - a gem in any country; the "surfer bar" Tortilla Flats and San Clemente, both of which provide great short-order menus; and, my personal favourite, Piccola Italian (in Uvita), with unbelieveable pizza and the best pasta this side of Amalfi!; and

f) MJ, Boomer and, best of all, Little Ricky (the 6-month old pup whose sole mission in life seems to be to make life miserable for his older siblings).

In talking with Daryl and Donna, they confided that it was their goal to be able to provide a setting where people can enjoy, in a natural and peaceful setting, the beauties of Costa Rica. When I remarked that, insofar as my wife and I were concerned, he has achieved this goal admirably, Daryl's eyes lit up and with a big smile he said, "Well, that's terrific" - truly, the best memory that my wife and I could have had from our stay!