Hotel 3-Star di Rivas, Nicaragua

Overall a nice place to stay, in the middle of nature surrounded by its wildlife. When we arrived it seemed to be not busy in the hotel, so we were kindly upgraded to a cabin with lake view, which we really appreciated. The staff was very friendly, at the reception and restaurant. Unfortunately the room wasn’t that clean. Kindly note that the cabins are made entirely out of wood, which makes that it is open for all insects/small reptiles. The room was quite covered with dust, and it just looked like they only do a “surface clean”. Nevertheless, the room was cleaned daily and we were given fresh towels every day. Just note that the hotel is quite far from the main road, and the road to the hotel isn’t paved. We rented a motorbike and found it a little challenging to drive the 1.7km dirt road to the hotel in pitch black. The breakfast was good and a good choice for all kinds of flavours. The hotel has its own beach with umbrellas and sun-beds/chairs. You can walk directly into the lake for a refreshing swim!

You probably should stay here if you are tourists, as opposed to surfers. There are very few places to stay in SJS for you. This has 12 rooms. New, but there are problems to correct: the light and fan are wired together, so you can't sleep with the fan on if you want the light off. The AC works well but we don't usually like to sleep with that. No elevator, but you get a stunning view from the 3rd floor. But plan on lifting your luggage up the spiral staircase. Great breakfast at the Iguana on the beach included. You will need instruction and experience to get hot water, but its not necessary and not worth the trouble. Hot water doesn't circulate in NICA hotels. Only a block from the beach, we got here from CR via caribeshuttle. They were superb, just late an hour on the first ride. NICA time. SJS is not ready for prime time tourists.