Make it a tripto remember with Mead Brown.

If you’re planning an escape to Costa Rica this year, be sure to check in with Mark Mead and Michael Brown of the eponymous Mead Brown, a full-service, vacation rental marketing and property management company specializing in the country’s Central Pacific Coast. The company is widely regarded as one of—if not the—best for travel to Costa Rica, a hard-earned distinction for its two founders. After all, Mead and Brown gave up fast-paced careers in the United States to set up shop in Costa Rica, where they drew on their own experience as tourists to create one-of-a-kind vacations for a market that had, in their eyes, gone uncatered to, or at least insufficiently so.

“After rewarding careers in the US, we knew we wanted adventure and to live abroad,” says Brown. “Several visits as tourists to Costa Rica illustrated the need—and business opportunity—for a professionally managed vacation rental company that could deliver to the expectations of North Americans. After a year of research and planning and the investment of hundreds of thousands of dollars into the best systems, we opened for business.”

The result was Mead Brown, which now boasts a diverse collection of privately owned beachfront villas, houses, condos, and fincas in the Jaco, Playa Hermosa, Herradura, and Los Sueños areas. Mead Brown has also become the preferred vacation rental provider for the Los Sueños Resort & Marina, where clients enjoy lavish condominium accommodations and leisure, sporting, and spa privileges.

Mead Brown also offers complete concierge services, meaning clients can craft the ultimate vacation package. Spa services, championship golf, world-class sport fishing, horseback riding, sea kayaking, and flora-and fauna tours are among the wishes and whims the outfit’s dedicated guest services staff can fulfill. There’s also the placement of private chefs, as well as air- and watercraft charters, housekeeping, and transportation.

“Service is what sets us apart from most of the vacation rental companies in Central America,” Brown says. Even when the most hedonistic at heart come calling, Brown, like a seasoned hotelier, has the answer: “We will do virtually anything to meet our guests’ needs, expectations, and wishes,” he says. “This is a promise not easily fulfilled in a developing country, but we give it our very best and we typically deliver.”

So how are these American expats adjusting to life in this business? “It’s been really gratifying and rewarding for us,” Brown says. “When [guests] leave, they tell us that they’ve never been so well taken care of. It seems a bit odd to us . . . it’s not as though we are peeling their grapes.” Maybe so, but we have a feeling that this hospitable pair would be happily willing to do just that.—Lindsay Lambert

Mead Brown’s accommodations range from fully equipped three-bedroom condos from $300 per night to seven-bedroom villas at $7,500 per night; all properties include daily housekeeping. For more information or to make a reservation, visit www.meadbrown.com or call 866-567-1516.

Classy Colina is a peaceful and serene ground-floor, two-bedroom, two-bathroom condominium in the Colina community of the Los Sueños Resort & Marina. Beautifully decorated and fully equipped, this light-filled end unit resort residence has a marvelous, up-close view of the golf course’s 7th hole! The setting affords much privacy and peacefulness. The large terrace is the perfect place to begin your day with coffee and to end it with cocktails.The master bedroom has a king-sized bed, television, private en suite bathroom and a sliding door to the terrace, which has a hammock for your siesta! The second bedroom features a two double beds and a hallway bathroom.

The residence includes wireless Internet, telephone, satellite television, full-sized washer and dryer, and a dining table that seats six.

Rates
High Season (January 5-April 30, 2009): $440 per night
Green Season (May-November 2009): $295 per night

Casa Mono Loco is within the Los Sueños Resort & Marina, yet it offers secluded splendor. With dramatic, spectacular vistas of Bahia Herradura, the resort and the surrounding rain forest and nature preserve, Casa Mono Loco also affords maximum privacy. Recently upgraded, redecorated and refurbished by the new owners who pay homage to the architectural integrity and beauty of the original. The open and clever design of Casa Mono Loco allows one to experience the monkeys, toucans, scarlet macaws, other sights and the sounds of the surrounding lush, tropical rain forest from the comfort of your private Shangri La. Satellite TV and VOIP with free telephone calls to the U.S. and Canada.

Three air-conditioned bedrooms with private en suite bathrooms. The master with king-sized bed is a detached pavilion, providing maxium privacy. The Dome Room bedroom has two full beds and a domed ceiling. The Coral Room bedroom also has two full beds. Every room has a spectacular ocean view. The living area is an open air rancho beyond which is the pool with an infinity edge that melds into the blues of Herradura Bay.

Casa Mono Loco is the only house on the very quiet road; you’ll have no human neighbors! If you seek tranquility and to be at one with nature but desire comforts that are more than civilized, this is the home for you. Yet you’ll have access to all the amenities of the Los Suenos Resort, including the spa, marina, shops, restaurants, golf course, room service from the Marriott Hotel, casino and more just two minutes away by car.

Rates
High Season: $1,200 per night
Green Season: $1,000 per night
Holiday Season: $3,000 per night

Rates
High Season (December-April, excluding mid-December through early January): $850 per night
Green Season (May-November): $650 per night

Located in the prestigious Altamira Community of Los Sueños Resort & Marina, Altamira Villa features the best water view of any villa available for rent within the Los Sueños Resort.

The villa has a private, infinity-edge swimming pool and Jacuzzi, lush landscaping and spectacular views of Herradura Bay out to the Pacific Ocean. This private 6,000 square foot villa has three large bedroom suites plus a private, detached guest cottage.

Amenities include a chef’s kitchen, full laundry facilities, wine cellar and terraces. The guest cottage and all bedrooms have plasma televisions. Additionally, the guest cottage–perfect for a nanny or the grandparents–is equipped with a refrigerator and coffee station.

Bedroom suite 1: King-sized bed, plasma television, en suite bathroom
Bedroom suite 2: Two queen-sized beds, plasma television, en suite bathroom
Bedroom suite 3: King-sized bed, plasma television, en suite bathroom
Guest cottage: King-sized bed, kitchenette, plasma television, en suite bathroom

Mead Brown guests are privileged with complimentary access to the private Los Sueños Beach Club.

Rates
High Season (January 5-April 30, 2009): $2500 per night
Green Season (May-November): $1800 per night

The Bay Residences are an exclusive enclave of 30 waterfront condominiums located within the Del Mar community of Los Sueños Resort & Marina. These west-facing units afford spectacular views of the marina, Herradura Bay and the signature sunsets of Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast. This ground floor 2,000 square foot home is beautifully appointed with Italian ceramic tile flooring and countertops, as well as Costa Rican hardwood cabinetry, baseboards and crown molding, quiet central air conditioning, ceiling fans, satellite televisions, high speed wireless Internet, and telephones. The resort residence is fully furnished and features three bedrooms, two baths, utility room with full-sized washer and dryer, spacious great room and designer kitchen with stainless steel appliances. The wrap-around terrace and private lawn provide the perfect vantage points from which to enjoy the peaceful landscape and the soothing sound of waves gently rolling onto the beach.

The large terrace is a terrific place to start your day with morning coffee or wind down with cocktails at sunset. The Bay Residences are mere steps to one of three large swimming pools. Guests have access to the resort’s amenities, including room service 24-hours every day from the four-star Marriott Hotel. The Bay Residences Del Mar gym is available at no additional charge. Guests have full and free access to the private, oceanfront Los Sueños Beach Club. Tennis, golf and other activities are available as well.

Rates
High Season (January 5-April 30, 2009): $575 per night
Green Season (May-November 2009): $420 per night