We stayed here for the first 2 nights of our Nicaragua vacation before moving on to Granada. We were able to make our reservation easily by e-mail and our check-in went smoothly on our arrival. We arranged a pick-up at the airport and were met by Norman from Managua Taxi who spoke excellent English. The ride took about 15 minutes. We also hired Norman to drive us to Granada and then back for our flight out. His rates were excellent compared to some of the hotel shuttle rates. After check-in, we were shown to our room (#7) and the room amenities were explained to us.
Rooms: The 16 rooms are in a two story building and most of the rooms are arranged around a small pool in a courtyard. The whole hotel was very clean and nicely decorated with local woods and handicrafts. Our room was basic with 2 beds, TV, safe, mini-fridge with some refreshments (we think there is a charge, but we did not consume any of them), small desk and a closet area with some shelves. The bathroom was nicely tiled and the shower was quite large. Soap and shampoo were provided. Our room was directly beside the pool. There was some minor noise from a family using the area at night, but we had gone to bed early, so we couldn’t complain. If you are a light sleeper, ear plugs would be beneficial
Restaurants and Bars: There is a restaurant on-site, but we found the food to be mediocre. Although it was not busy, service was very slow. The food is made to order, so be prepared for a long wait for your food. Breakfast was included with our room rate and there were about 4 choices from a menu. We ate dinner there the first night and even though we were the only people in the dining room, it took almost an hour to get our food. The prices were quite high considering some other restaurant options in the area. If you leave the hotel, turn right and go to the end of the street and turn right again, just up the road is a restaurant (beside a veterinary clinic) that says Pupusas on the front. We ate there a few times and really enjoyed the food and it was very reasonably priced. The staff speak very little English, so a little Spanish would be helpful. Contuinuin on up the road from this restaurant and to the left on the cross street is Santa Fe (Tex-Mex food). We looked at the menu which was quite extensive, but we did not eat here. To the right at the cross street is a little plaza and there is a bakery called Samson Patisserie that has sandwiches, desserts, coffee, capuccino, espresso and some other take out items. We had some of their desserts which were very tasty.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The pool is small, but kept very clean. There is a variety of different chairs around the pool and we enjoyed some quiet time here reading and watching the birds.
Other Comments: We felt safe walking to and from the local restaurants at night and did not have any problems. Because there are some businesses in the area (Oxfam, Canadian Embassy, doctors offices, etc.) there are security guards present outside some of the buildings. We did hear from 2 young men at our hotel that they had been robbed at a gas station on the main street about 9 p.m. They were not injured, but had lost what money they had in their pockets and a pair of eyeglasses. If you need a grocery store, from the hotel go left. At the main street, turn right and walk past the traffic roundabout. Just down the road, on the other side is a plaza with La Colonial grocery store. It is huge, very clean and bright and has a good variety of anything you might need. We bought bottled water here and coffee beans to take home (3 liters of water and a pound of coffee came to under $5 US). We found all of the staff to be very personable and helpful. We would recommend this hotel and would stay there again, but we would choose to eat elsewhere. Lee and Mike, Sarnia, Ontario, Canada