Our lives often feel like we’re living on autopilot. We go to work, grocery shop, cook, pay bills, and try to find time to exercise. That was the life of Hani and Honza. They lived in the beautiful part of the Czech Republic called South Moravia. It is a border region near Slovakia. Their daily life as they knew it was good. Then COVID hit the world. In 2020, their life turned upside down. This change led them on a pathway to eventually make Costa Rica their new home.
The government established strict lockdowns with mandatory mask wearing and vaccinations for everyone. This created tremendous stress for Hani and Honza. Additionally, banks were not giving loans for people who wanted to start building construction projects. All of the government restrictions made Hani and Honza restless. They wanted to escape their homeland in search of another place in the world to live a free life.
The Search Begins
Mexico and Costa Rica were top contenders on Hani and Honza’s list of possibilities. Ultimately, Costa Rica came out as the winner because it is safer and it has no army. Beautiful Nicaragua was briefly considered, but they crossed it off the list for safety reasons.
Costa Rica offered them the most amazing possibilities. They decided to explore and travel all around the country for one month. Wisely, they chose to travel during the rainy season (May to October). It was important to see how they liked living in wetness and rain for an extended length of time. They settled in for awhile in Labrador, located in the province of Puntarenas. It was in this location that they met and stayed with a kind and sweet woman from Chile, Nathalie. They noticed how great they slept and they loved the hot temperatures. The gardens were picturesque and the landscape was beautiful all around them.
Their one-month stay helped them make the pivotal life decision to make Costa Rica their new home. Sadly, Honza had no parents anymore so he was free to go. Hani and Honza returned to the Czech Republic and sold everything: their cars and houses. They would not miss leaving behind high taxes for energy in Europe. They were excited to start the next chapter of their life in Costa Rica.
The Boutique Hotel Business Dream Begins
In 2021, Hani and Honza arrived in Costa Rica with only their luggage in hand. They spent seven months living in Nathalie’s garden house in Labrador. She became their mentor. Nathalie taught them everything she had learned from her experiences beginning a new life in Costa Rica. She also shared her list of things to be cautious about.
They decided to leave Labrador after seven months to give the province of Guanacaste a try. They traveled to beautiful Playa Carrillo and found a place to rent for one month. In 2022, they discovered a beautiful jungle lot for sale in Playa Carrillo. It was only 10 minutes from the most beautiful beach on Earth. The expansive jungle lot included a small 2 bedroom Tico house with an outdoor toilet. They felt this property perfectly fit their needs and wishes so they bought it. The vision was to transform the property into a unique boutique hotel business.
Setbacks Turn Into Comebacks
Once they settled into their small Tico home, they traveled north to Liberia to shop at Walmart. Their goal was to buy everything needed to begin living their new life in the jungle. This included purchasing a refrigerator and a washing machine. The trip to Walmart provided some normalcy to daily living. Still, they were living in a home without windows, doors, and a gate. Thankfully, their dogs added an extra layer of protection for them. They endured this hardship for two months. They decided to hire a salesman from Liberia. He was to order and install the much-needed windows and doors. They paid him the required deposit.
Three months went by and they received no communication from the window and door salesman in Liberia. Finally, he communicated and said the delays were due to COVID. That response motivated Hani and Honza to go on a mission to Liberia to find this salesman. After an extensive and exhaustive search, the salesman was nowhere to be found. He stole $4,000 of their hard earned money.
They contacted the police and the police’s response was, “We can’t help you!” Next they contacted a lawyer to take him to court. The lawyer checked his name in the Costa Rican database and said he has nothing of any value. Unfortunately, he owned no house or car, so taking him to court would be senseless. Additionally, the lawyer explained that the process would take between 2-3 years to resolve. The courts would require a monthly payment until the case was resolved. In the end, the man had no money and nothing of wealth. Hani cried for two full days. He stole their $4,000 dollars. Still no windows and doors for their home.
Never Surrender. Keep Moving Ahead.
After overcoming and persevering through their circumstances, they decided to give another salesman a chance. Once again, they needed to give a deposit of $4,000 for the order of the windows and doors. This time, this man was true and honest to his word and installed the windows and doors within two weeks. This gave Hani and Honza a gift of hope. They were encouraged to continue moving ahead with their plan to create a boutique hotel.
Help is On the Way
Hani’s son, Miki, traveled from the Czech Republic. He helped Honza with the construction and renovation of the main house. They worked daily alongside two hired workers from Nicaragua to help them with the construction. After months of sweat and tears, they completed the construction of their main home. The next project was to build one casita after another until all three casitas were finished. Over time, they increased their hotel occupancy by adding two independent extra rooms to their main home. A year of intense work led to the completion of their unique and beautiful boutique hotel. It is surrounded by a peaceful garden paradise.
Grand Opening: House in the Palm Forest
House in the Palm Forest officially opened for business in November 2023. Driving into the property you feel like you’re entering a peaceful garden paradise. The beauty of the jungle comes to life with the howler monkeys and scarlet macaws. The location is perfect. It provides guests with a magical feeling of being surrounded by immense old-growth trees. Many palm trees give a very tropical feel to this area. Hani put her master gardening skills to work. She created the most beautiful and colorful garden sanctuary for the guest to enjoy. They added a plunge pool for guests to cool off from the hot and humid temperatures.
New Chapters Ahead
Hani and Honza dedicated three years of their life creating House in the Palm Forest. They poured their heart, soul, strength, and talents into this magnificent project with remarkable results. They thoroughly enjoyed serving their guests. Hani and Honza worked very hard. They wanted to provide a wonderful experience for everyone who chose their hotel in Playa Carrillo. They experienced a tremendous amount of success and personal reward. However, after much consideration, they have decided to sell their special place. Now they wish to set out on a new adventure in another area of Costa Rica. There, the temperatures are milder and they can grow a full vegetable and fruit garden. Beautiful Costa Rica will continue to be their new home where they can live a free and simple life.
Recommendations for Future Home Builders in Costa Rica
- Verify everything. Everything! You can’t believe what people say.
- Post the name of the worker on Facebook and ask if they are a good, reliable and honest worker.
- Check everything before giving any money to a worker. Always best to pay directly to the store or company.
- Go to the store yourself to pay for materials with your credit card. It is best to never give money for materials directly to a worker or pay a deposit.
- Hire a trustworthy lawyer recommended by others who had a good experience. It is important that the lawyer makes good decisions to benefit you and not others.
- Hire an experienced topographer. It is very important to know the lot lines of your property to eliminate disputes. Otherwise, you will never really know your property lines and you risk building beyond what is legally your land.
- Hire a great architect. This is very, very important. Hani and Honza hired an architect who charged $30,000 for the blueprints. He did not make the blueprints according to the property lines and he kept their money without providing correct blueprints. They had to hire another architect for $5,000 more dollars to redo the blueprints according to their property lines.
- Increase the budget to cover the costs of being taken advantage of by a worker or supply company. It’s a Banana Republic.
4 responses to “Czechs Happy to Escape Homeland for Beautiful Costa Rica”
Very very important, nice. How many people come to Costa Rica- so many stories. Marianne thank you .
Great story!
Very good suggestions. They were so resilient to preserve through so many challenges. It’s disappointing that so many have this common experience from workers and architects there.
Wow, what an incredible journey this couple has been on to get to Costa Rica and build their new lives there. Sounds like a lot of challenges that had to be overcome along the way, yet they endured! Very neat. Beautiful property and scenery! Looks breathtaking. Thank you for sharing.