From Luxury Yachts to Luxury B&B Bungalows in Caribbean Cahuita
Joe and Chris Cannon
Joe Cannon and his wife, Chris, owners and operators of Coral Hill Bungalows, reflect on their adventures, dreams, visions and plans that took them from working on private luxury yachts to buying, building and launching their luxury Caribbean bungalows five years ago in the small village of Cahuita, Costa Rica.
Chris says “Joe and I met back in the 80′s when we both worked as crew members on private mega-yachts. Joe was the Chef and I was the lead Stewardess. The standard of service, quality, presentation and congeniality that we learned while serving on those yachts were of the highest level. The people who owned or charted these mega-yachts paid for and expected that exceptional kind of experience and that is what groomed us for our present roles as proprietors of a boutique hotel.”
“We felt we wanted to offer a similar kind of attention to detail, but in a small land based Bed & Breakfast type of establishment somewhere in a remote ocean side area. We were looking for a place that had top of the line mattresses, thick plush towels, impeccably clean rooms, large luxurious showers and a unique high quality breakfast, but couldn’t find exactly what we were looking for, so we decided to create one ourselves.”
Their original plan was to build 5 bungalows on a good sized lot a short walk to the beach, but after laying them out, they thought they would be too close to each other, so they decided on only building three large “cabinas” to allow for more privacy. Each Coral Hill Bungalow is made of local woods with an airy design and layout that takes advantages of the cool night breezes.
Joe said ” We fell in love with Cahuita. It is a small rustic, undeveloped village that had almost exclusively budget / surfer type hotels. Our vision was to provide an accommodation for people like ourselves that are looking for something much better, yet still offers a natural, ecologically friendly experience with a high end of comfort, personal attention, and, of course, my experience as a chef!”
Coral Hill Bungalow Interior - click to enlarge
The Bungalows are set in a garden of flowers and trees sitting on an ancient coral reef.
They are made of local wood varnished and meticulously maintained. The furniture is custom designed and built bamboo creations by a local Guapiles artist who grows the bamboo himself. The bungalows feature top line double pillow top mattresses, imported 1000 thread Egyptian cotton sheets, plush towels, oversized bathrooms with large mosaic open showers with dual shower heads for two persons, double hand painted sinks, airy high roofs, and large walk in closets. The porches all have hammocks, rocking chairs, bench seats and fresh flowers.
Joe continues, “On mega-yachts we were used to serving multi course breakfasts, artfully presented with fresh fruits, a large variety of freshly baked goods, served on quality tableware with crystal glasses, cloth napkins, tablecloths and personal service. We wanted to offer a similar experience to our guests – the best breakfast in the Caribbean!”
Chris says ” We decided that in order to maintain the peaceful, eco friendly and total experience of nature that there would be no televisions, no buzzing air conditioners, no restaurant open to the public, no humming mini bars or refrigerators. Everyone told us we were crazy! We wanted tour guests to sleep well, to relax and recharge their mental batteries, and experience the sounds of the Howler Monkeys, the birds, frogs, the sound of waves caressing the beach, and the sweet scent of Ylang Yylang Trees and Bella Donna flowers.”
Remembering the work in bringing the project to reality, Joe relates, “I suppose we are a good example that if you have a dream, vision and a plan that with hard work and perseverance you can succeed in creating you little piece of paradise. Just be careful of what you ask for, you may get it! It was much more involved and difficult than we originally thought, but we love it here and we love what we do.”
Chris continues, “Nobody could prepare you for living here in the Caribbean. Even though we lived in Southeast Florida for 15 years before Costa Rica, with a similar climate, living here so close to the ocean with the high humidity and moisture is like living on and maintaining a wooden sailboat, it never stops.”
Beach 100 steps from the Coral Hill Bungalows
Cahuita, with its natural beaches, beautiful oceanfront Cahuita National Park, colorful reef, wonderfully friendly people, many activities and great restaurants is surely a worthy consideration on your next vacation itinerary, and the most restful surroundings there are the Coral Hill Bungalows / boutique hotel.
Coral Hill Bungalows Hotel is now for sale – a successful turn-key business opportunity.
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February 28, 2011 at 4:18 pm
It is great to see this story. We spent our honeymoon at Coral Hill Bungalows. It was the best. Joe & Chris and Lady are great hosts. Their Bungalows are the perfect Honeymoon getaway. The rooms are very romantic. The breakfasts were the best. We felt surrounded by luxury in the plush beds. The giant showers are so romantic. They are close to the beach and their gardens are filled with flowers and wildlife. Could not have asked for a better Honeymoon spot. We are going to try and return on our anniversary every year to relive the romance.
March 1, 2011 at 8:02 pm
There is no question Choral Hill Bungalows are heaven on earth. It was the most relaxing holiday my wife and I have ever experienced. Joe and Chris are simply the best hosts you could possibly have. We are planning a return visit this March..
March 8, 2011 at 9:01 pm
I was just in Cahuita about a month ago and stayed in a bungalow not to far from Coral Hill Bungalows. The beach was Ok in the park and the trail in the park had lots of wildlife. On the other hand the village of Cahuita is a dump filtered with drug dealers and the food is less desirable than the village it’s self. Coral Hill Bungalows sounds like a nice place, but good luck finding a decent meal for lunch and Dinner. The owners should have picked a better location than Cahuita.
March 13, 2011 at 7:16 pm
Seriously??? Costa Rica is a third world country. If you wanted resorts, you should have gone to Hawaii. I don’t know where you ate, but I tried basically every place in Cahuita. I will agree that some were better than others but you get that anywhere you travel. As far as the village being a dump…Again, it is undeveloped so I’m not sure what you were expecting.
I don’t know where you are from, but you are fooling yourself if you don’t think your town is filtered with drug dealers too. Perhaps you should do a bit of research before you embark on your next adventure. Then maybe you won’t be so disappointed.
Coral Hill Bungalows is EXACTLY as advertised; beautiful and peaceful setting, spotless accomodations, great breakfast…I’ve never slept better than I did at Coral Hill. The beds are to die for. Chris and Joe are marvelous hosts.
March 18, 2011 at 5:40 pm
We would like to let everyone know that we are an adults only accommodation,We especially cater to cater to honeymooners in our Bungalows. Many of our guests have come to us looking for a low cost honeymoon in a rural and rustic environment for their honeymoons rather than a large hooneymoon type resort, so we now offer three honeymoon packages, please check out your NEW Honeymoon packages on our web site.
April 1, 2011 at 7:32 pm
Very cool, I will have to check you out on my next trip to costa rica