Stay Where Stab Stays

Ed note: As part of our accommodation agreement for Vacation 2, we owed House of Somos a story about their new digs. But in all reality we owe this piece to you, our readers, because it is genuinely one of the best places ever, and we’d be remiss not to bring it to your attention. If you want to visit, use code STABVACATION for a 15% discount.

Around this time last year, we visited Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, with our Stab Highway Europe winners Zoe McDougall, Letty Mortenson, Eli Beukes, Jacob Szekely, and Shane Sykes. 

The trip resulted in a not-so-cleverly-titled film, Vacation 2, which featured a special guest– Electric Acid -winning shaper, Donald Brink. 

As an added bonus to the surfers’ prize package — which included a 10-day stay at Costa Rica’s premier surf resort/hostel House of Somos, which we first visited in 2020 — we had Donald shape each winner a bespoke, asymmetrical board based on his perception of their surfing. The boards were created on-site at Somos’ in-house shaping bay.

“I have no idea if these boards are even going to work,” Donald told the crew as he handed over his rose-tinted creations. “These are pretty abstract, even for me.”

The boards showed varying degrees of promise for each surfer. At a peak not 200 meters from Somos’ front gate, Letty’s carving on the twin stopped multiple beachgoers in their tracks, as did Shane’s meat-cleaver hacks and Zoe’s tuberiding. Eli didn’t especially gel with his Brink (which featured a serrated rail line), but he did manage to put on the performance of the trip on his own boards, hucking body and soul to the flats for no fewer than five @stab-worthy airs. 

Perhaps the most memorable wave belonged to Donald himself, who halved his 7’8  x 17” asym on a particularly ledgy double-up. “You don’t find many waves like that in San Clemente,” he laughed. “Had to give it a crack.”

He’s since pieced the board back together, bruised but ready to fight another day.

Between surfs, the crew indulged in extracurricular adventures throughout Santa Teresa, sampling some of the local sights and cuisine. But most of their time was spent at Somos itself — which is easy to understand as their amenities include: 

• An in-house restaurant/cafe serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• A full-time bar
• A pool
• A co-working space
• A surf shop
• A shaping and glassing bay
• A yoga studio 
• A gym
• A tattoo parlor
• A pool table

All of this is just a three-minute walk from the best beach break in town. 

Somos wave seasons

Dec – Feb: small, clean surf, sunny every day, tons of visitors (most $$$$ time of year to visit)
March – May: surf starts to increase, still mostly good weather and plenty of visitors (average $$ time of year to visit)
June – August: rainy season kicks in, as do the biggest swells of the year, and still plenty of visitors (average $$ time of year to visit)
Sept – Nov: this is when the weather can get pretty dicey, but still plenty of surf and significantly fewer visitors (cheapest $ time of year to visit) — use code STABVACATION at checkout for a 15% discount.

As far as accommodation is concerned, Somos has shared, hostel-style rooms for as little as $25 a night/pax and luxe private suites that cater to couples and Amex-wielding bachelor(ette)s. 

As far as the clientele is concerned, Somos has 60/40 split – with women in the majority. In terms of age, (and they don’t advertise this) Somos rents rooms to those above 18 and under 50, to help maintain the young-adult vibe and keep kids/Karens/Kellys at an arm’s length.

Speaking of sound pollution, Somos has live music every Thursday that brings in hundreds of Santa Teresa locals and visitors, with plenty of additional nightlife just outside the compound in the main town. 

While we were staying there, we met people from the States, Canada, Brazil, and all over South America and Europe. Most of the occupants surfed, some were just there to enjoy the people and the place. 

All of which is to say: if your ideal surf trip is some blend of surfing, partying, eating well, being surrounded by wildly diverse and generally cool people, and not spending a ton of money, there’s no better place we’ve found than House of Somos.

And yes, it’s also adored by non-surfing partners. 

Somos is happy to offer Stab readers a 15% discount on their next stay in Santa Teresa, CR. Just use code STABVACATION at checkout, and book a trip that is pretty much impossible to fuck up.