Tag: hotel

The Natural Beauty of Laguna Apoyo, Nicaragua

Yesterday we moved from Ometepe Island to Laguna Apoyo on the mainland, and we are very happy with the change. Just the natural beauty of Laguna Apoyo makes you feel peaceful and relaxed, plus we are staying at a yoga resort which is lovely.

Map Laguna Apoyo Nicaragua
Drive from Ometepe to Laguna Apoyo

Leaving Ometepe

We left Ometepe yesterday via taxi, lancha and another taxi, and 3-4 hours later we were at Laguna Apoyo. It may only be the resort we selected, but what a difference those few hours made.

bad hotel in ometepe

Let me tell you why we were so happy to leave Ometepe – the only reason was our hotel. I struggled trying to get us a room on the Island to begin with – we did have a few parameters, but it shouldn’t have been that difficult. Wanting 2 separate beds in a room in Nicaragua seems to be a challenge for the hotels here. Be forewarned. Anyway, I found this place on booking.com and it was a great location and had decent reviews and was cheap.

When we arrived, they tried to hold our air conditioner hostage. Seriously. They took the air conditioner remote with them and left us in this windowless basement room and walked away. I followed. Good thing I took Spanish lessons because now I knew how to call them liars. I still don’t know Spanish for scumbag. Need to ask around. I showed them our booking. Apparently, they tried to claim that it was $20 more to get air conditioning and that I hadn’t booked it with air conditioning. They had clearly not given an option on the online listing, and the listing said it included air conditioning. I showed them.

Lyna and I sat down to lunch and debated leaving right then, but before we could decide, the receptionist seemed to realize her mistake, apologized to me and gave us the cherished air conditioning remote. It was unbelievable. First time I’ve had a hotel ransom the air conditioner remote. How about you? So that left a terrible taste in our mouths about that hotel and we were happy to leave.

Continue reading “The Natural Beauty of Laguna Apoyo, Nicaragua”

Don’t trust the bitch at Hotel Europeo

I put my trust in the wrong person and I got fooled yesterday.  I am angry at myself for falling for her scam but you can learn from me. Don’t stay there if you go to Managua, Nicaragua, and definitely don’t trust the bitch at Hotel Europeo.

Angry at Myself

First, don’t worry about me. I am fine and only out $80 so you don’t need to start crowd funding.  I am merely upset with myself for not being smarter plus angry at the hotel and their unethical receptionist.

Transport options

In advance of my arrival in Nicaragua, I did some research on transport from Managua to San Juan del Sur, where my Spanish school is. I emailed both the school and my hotel in Managua enquiries about options. I ultimately went with the school’s taxi as it was a better price and I figured he knows the destination. And I emailed the hotel that I didn’t need their transport.

The hotel receptionist helped me get taxis for my excursions into Managua on Saturday and was generally very nice so this is probably why I thought I could trust her. She asked if I was good for transport to San Juan del Sur and I assured her I was. When she asked when the taxi was picking me up, I told her 1230p tomorrow and that’s when she put her evil plan into operation. Read on and don’t trust the bitch at Hotel Europeo.

Continue reading “Don’t trust the bitch at Hotel Europeo”

Surprise Layover in San Salvador

I’m supposed to be in Managua right now. I am not in Managua though, I am at a Quality Hotel near the El Salvador airport, outside of San Salvador. I was only supposed to be in that airport for 50 minutes but plans change. My flight was cancelled. The airline did right by us, however, and bussed us to this very decent hotel, gave us dinner and are bussing us back, albeit at 3 am (!),  for our early morning flight to Managua. Fingers crossed!

The Positives About the Surprise Layover in San Salvador

Some good things came of this unexpected stop: I got a new stamp in my passport, tried the local beer (not that good), watched some Americans do karaoke in the bar, and met two Nicaraguans who were sooo nice and made me more excited to live there! In fact, one of the people I met over dinner runs a small hostel in San Juan del Sur with his wife, who is American and is in DC right now to do the Women’s March. Small world!  So the surprise layover worked out fine. Just wish I could have used the pool – it looks nice.

school bus
Our transport to the hotel
Continue reading “Surprise Layover in San Salvador”