Villa Ensenada is a private, beachfront property owned by Hi and Flor, whose family has owned (and still owns) a major portion of this particular stretch of Rincon beach between Steps and Maria's beaches, two of the premier and uncrowded beaches in the Puntas area of Rincon, The property consists of Hi and Flor's house, the guest house which has four large apartments each with its own balcony, a beautifully landscaped and maintained pool, patio, barbecue area for the guest house. The guest house itself faces the beach. There are two lower units that each have a ground-level terrace; and two upper units each with a private balcony. All terraces face the beach which is literally ten steps away.

We stayed in one of the upper units which had two full bedrooms, one with a queen bed and the other with two single beds. The queen unit has its own bathroom. There is a large, open living/dining/kithen that goes directly out onto the balcony which is itself furnished with comfortable wicker chairs and coffee table. The apartment is a bit 1970s; not fresh and up-to-date but comfortable, clean, and well-appointed. The beds are comfy, the bathrooms AOK. We went for a week in March and spent all our time out on the balcony for breakfast, lunch, sunsets and a late-night glass of wine.

The beauty of Villa Esenada is its location and property, Ten steps from the house is the gate to the beach. A 500m walk to the left takes you to snorkleling at Steps beach. A 500m walk to the right takes you to the "swimming spot" (marked by the dead palm tree) where there is a break in the rocks and one can have heavenly swims. Another 50m and you are at Maria's beach, one of the most popular surfing beaches in the area, where you can grab a bite or drink and check out the surf/dive shop.

Because Villa Ensenada is on a stretch of property that has been in Flor and Hi's family for a long time, there are very few houses around you. This particular strtech of beach has a private house about every 50 - 100m -- no hotels, no high rises. Therefore, the beach is always uncrowded, usually only people going for a walk or local folks fishing. If you are a surfer, you can take your board out the gate and surf.

Villa Ensenada is great for families and couples or a few friends who want a great beach getaway. When we were there, our fellow tenants were: a Puerto rican family coming on a surf vacation; a US family on a surf vacation; a 30 something couple with teenage niece and nephew on vacation.

We are already planning our trip for March 07.