We had booked here for the last 2 nights of our 7 night stay in Granada, but because the other hotel lost our reservation (Hotel Maltese), we went to Hotel Colonial to see if they could accommodate us. Laura at the front desk was quickly able to get us a room for the 7 nights and we were glad that we had chosen to stay here instead. We had made our reservations a few months ahead of time by e-mail and received prompt answers to all of our questions and a confirmation from Elizabeth. She also wrote us a nice letter afterwards asking for our feedback on the hotel. All of the staff that we encountered here were friendly and helpful with any requests that we had.
Your Arrival: Hotel Colonial is located on the northwest corner of the central square (Parque Central) and is in a great location to walk to local restaurants, stores, etc. There are taxis always close by and horse-drawn carriages that take you on tours of the area. The hotel is a beautiful place with attention to details in decorating. They use beautiful tiles and furniture that suits the period of the hotel. Our room had a canopy bed and was decorated in bright colours. The bathroom was tiled and had a good size stand up shower, nice towels that were replaced daily and toiletries were provided (soap, shampoo and tissues). There was lots of closet space for storage of our clothes and luggage.
Restaurants and Bars: Breakfast was included in our rate and the food was very good. There were 3 or 4 choices on the breakfast menu and anything that we had, we enjoyed. The restaurant staff (Helen and Jennifer) were very cheerful and quickly attended to our needs. The restaurant is open for breakfast only. Next to the hotel is Euro Cafe that offers light meals, tea, coffee, cappuccino, espresso and desserts including gelato. They also have a small section that sells some food items for take-out (granola, soy milk, jam, etc.). We spent a fair amount of time relaxing in their courtyard with a drink and dessert.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
There are 2 pools at the hotel, both in beautiful courtyards. The pool at the rear of the hotel seemed quieter when we were there, but we spent time at both.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel: We used Oro Travel for two tours that we did while in Granada. We had used them on a previous visit to Nicaragua and were very pleased and decided to use their services again. We would highly recommend them. At the rear of their courtyard is the reception desk for Seeing Hands blind massage. There are 3 therapists who are blind who give excellent massages. You can choose a foot or leg treatment, chair massage, or table massage. We had an hour table massage for $15 US. We would highly recommend them. Beside the cafe and connected to their courtyard is a bookstore (Mockingbird books, I believe is the name) where you can buy used books and trade in your travel guides.
Other Comments: The whole hotel is beautiful, clean and a quiet, relaxing place to stay. We would definitely stay at Hotel Colonial again and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a reasonably priced hotel in Granada with superior service. Lee and Mike Sarnia, Ontario, Canada