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Hostal Familiar

Del Muelle Municipal, 200 metros al sureste, San Juan del Sur Nicaragua
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#15 of 21 guest houses in San Juan del Sur
Location
5.0
Service
5.0
Value
5.0
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Location

Del Muelle Municipal, 200 metros al sureste, San Juan del Sur Nicaragua
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AMENITIES
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Free parking
Breakfast included
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Free parking
Breakfast included
Air conditioning
Non-smoking hotel
Airport transportation
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Free parking
Breakfast included
ACCOMMODATION CLASS
No rating available
4.0 of 5 stars4 stars
No rating available
2.0 of 5 stars2 stars
LOCATION
San Juan del Sur
15.6 miles to Emerald Coast Airport
0.8 miles to San Juan del Sur Beach
San Juan del Sur
16.5 miles to Emerald Coast Airport
0.2 miles to San Juan del Sur Beach
San Juan del Sur
16.5 miles to Emerald Coast Airport
0.1 miles to San Juan del Sur Beach
San Juan del Sur
16.3 miles to Emerald Coast Airport
0.9 miles to San Juan del Sur Beach
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CP_SF wrote a review Nov 2015
San Francisco, California3 contributions4 helpful votes
First, note that this place is mislabeled by tripadvisor. As the other reviewer says, it's in the Indio Maiz region, on the Caribbean side of Nicaragua. The town is alternatively named Greytown, San Juan de Nicaragua, and San Juan del Norte, but where this hotel is definitely not is in San Juan del Sur, on the Pacific side. Doña Martha and Zurdo have a great little place here, and it's an amazing deal too. For just $15 a night, you can have one of the interior rooms and a típico breakfast with coffee. The rooms are basic but have plenty of space and are clean. (I stayed in both the rooms over the water and the interior rooms, and actually preferred the interior rooms. The rooms on the water are nicer but noisier due to boat traffic.) Both Martha and Zurdo are hospitable folks and will make an effort to help you feel at home. Apart from the basic breakfast, the food here is excellent, probably some of the best you'll have in Nicaragua. Fish stews, chicken dishes, plenty of vegetables, and excepting breakfast, precious little gallo pinto, for which you'll be grateful if you've stayed in Nicaragua for a while. The warnings: There is no wifi at the hotel. A German guy told me there's a computer at the library with painfully slow internet access, so it's possible to reach it. The town is served by Claro but not Movistar, so make your phone plans accordingly. I had been relying on T-Mobile roaming throughout Nicaragua but discovered there that T-Mobile only works with Movistar. There are also no ATMs in town, so you'd better bring adequate cash for everything you intend to do. Doña Martha and Zurdo only speak Spanish, and the only way to make a reservation is to call them, so you'll need to speak enough to cover the basics. But, it's a nice little place and they're great people, and if you're adventurous enough to make it to San Juan, then you'll likely love it. ******* Regarding the reserve and the guides: The summary... I am ambivalent about my experience, and I would strongly recommend against going for most people. Why? First and foremost, scabies, which I got from staying with one of the families, and am still fighting to completely kill after two weeks. Scabies are little mites burrowing into your skin that create scars and unimaginable itching, and turn you into a communicable disease vector. It is an absolute nightmare, and you do not want it. I had had it before in Africa and fortunately knew how to quickly deal with it once I got home, but nevertheless, it has taken a long time and great effort, and I'm not entirely in the clear just yet. If left untreated, they will only multiply. Second, the guide service. While I liked Hilary, and recommend him with just a few reservations, I found Solomon to be an arrogant, fat snake. While your experience may differ (clearly, since others seemed to really like him), some percentage of people will, like me, find him overbearing and offensive. By the end of the trip I just wanted to get away from him, and it was only 3 nights. The details... I contracted with Solomon as a guide into the Indio Maiz reserve, based on the positive reviews I'd seen of him here and elsewhere. I had my first misgivings about him when I called him on the phone. I asked him if he preferred Spanish or English, and he said Spanish. Ok, fine. My Spanish isn't great but it's sufficient; I made a reservation with Doña Martha over the phone that went just fine after I apologized and explained to her that I didn't speak that well. But with Solomon, over the course of about a minute, he became increasingly rude when I missed one thing that he said. He then switched to English, and was even ruder, until it became clear that I was serious and might pay him, at which point he sweetened up quite nicely. I paid Solomon $400 for a solo trip into the reserve for 3 nights. He told me that half of this would be going to the people in the reserve. I can't say for sure, but I sincerely doubt that was true, because later Hilary (the other guide) asked me how much I had paid, and when I told him, he was quite surprised at how much it was. That told me that Solomon isn't sharing information about the amount that he's collecting, even with the other guide. That seems like a bad sign to me. Though $400 may seem reasonable by Western standards for a trip like this, you have to understand where you are in the world. I negotiated some with Solomon, but agreed to this price based on what I had read from others before going - that you should expect to pay a minimum of $400 just to get in, no matter how many people you have. But $400 for one person for three nights borders on highway robbery in Nicaragua. It's more than what many people earn in two months and it's more than you could expect to pay for room and board for a month in a long-term stay, even as a gringo. So for this price, Solomon brought Hilary (who actually drove the boat) and a woman named Mary to cook for us, which, while possibly protecting me from undercooked food, reduced the authenticity of the experience, and didn't do anything to protect me from the real risk, ie, scabies. Then he proceeded to treat me throughout the trip as if I had never been in the woods before. We rode in on the boat in a pouring rain. Not much you can do about that and a frequent occurrence in this area. So we didn't see much of anything on the way in, besides the occasional iguana and bird at a distance. But generally, without a colossal zoom (300mm+) and a lot of coaching of the guides, there are few good opportunities to photograph wildlife while you're on the boat, even when you see a lot, because of the great distances and the boat movement. And there's the risk to your equipment when it's raining. We spent the first night in a house fairly deep in the reserve. The young mother was there when we arrived, along with her two sons and a baby. The baby had a cough that I could have sworn was whooping cough by its sound. After dark the husband showed up from his job, which is for an NGO that is attempting to track incursions into the reserve by campesinos and drug runners. He and another man sat up fairly late recording data from their GPS unit. The families have solar systems, so they worked by fluorescent light. While I understand the necessity of this work, none of this felt very primitive to me. I attempted to sleep in the provided hammock, but it was just too uncomfortable, so I ended up on the floor, with my backpack as a pillow. About 1:30 in the morning the roosters started crowing (from under the house, which is on stilts), and they didn't stop until dawn at 5:30, at which point everyone was up. Later that morning a white guy stopped by who is leading the NGO locally. We discussed the situation and the work they're doing. Then the guides and I went for a hike to the ruins, which appear to me to not be ruins but natural rock formations similar to Devil's Postpile in California, but with the rock formations on their side rather than vertical. Along the way Hilary showed me some medicinal plants. Both Hilary and Solomon move rather slowly. It was raining and very hard to take decent photos. Again, just an aspect of this place. When we got to the rock formations, Solomon started giving me an aggressive pitch about providing funds to protect the area that went on far too long and made me very uncomfortable. I am alone with the two of them, in the middle of the rainforest, while they have machetes and I have nothing, and he's pressing me to give them more money? I really felt as if that crossed a line, and it made me very angry, but I was too uneasy to say anything when we were in the jungle. So I just listened until he stopped talking. On Night 2 we stayed with a much larger family, six kids and a mother and father. I was given a bed to sleep in, with a foam mattress pad. If you do decide to go, and you stay with them, don't sleep in this, as I'm certain it was the source of the scabies. I woke in the morning with large itchy bites on my feet and the sensation that something had burrowed into a butt cheek. On the morning of Day 3 Solomon attempted to get out of the final night by telling me that the plane left on Sunday, so we should go, yes? I know there's a Sunday plane, I said, but I'm leaving on the following flight out, not that one. Oh, ok, he said. So we stayed in the same place on Night 3. I was given the option to move on but decided to stay since I liked the family and didn't yet suspect scabies. On Day 3 we went for another hike, this time with Brian, the husband of the second family. Brian is a nice guy. We walked to a little hut that Brian had built where there's a small cascade in a stream. This hike was fairly strenuous and both Hilary and Solomon could not keep up with Brian and me. Solomon especially had trouble. On the afternoon of Day 3 we went fishing with just some lines on spools (no rods), hooks and bait. Unfortunately there weren't enough spools for everyone. I'm a decent fisherman - I grew up doing it, from the time I was 3. But I was sharing my line with Hilary and when I missed hooking a fish a couple times, he took the line from me and didn't give it back, even when I asked. I didn't argue, since I figured Brian's family was dependent on the catch, but it still seemed childish to me. But that's really my only complaint about Hilary - otherwise he was kind and decent. Near dusk on the evening of Day 3, on the boat ride back from fishing, we saw many animals - different kinds of birds and monkeys, a crocodile, some iguanas. On Day 4 we rode out. We took a side trip in the boat but only saw a few birds and a couple howler monkeys. Evidently it was too hot to see much. When we got back, I told Hilary that I seemed to have scabies. He went to the trouble of brewing up some traditional medicine for me, a wash, a drink, and a topical application. It was very nice of him to do it and he didn't charge me much. Unfortunately it didn't work. Later Solomon visited me at the hotel, and I was candid with him about how I felt about his guiding, since at that point I felt safe to do so. There were some very interesting experiences - listening to the family talk in their Creole language, seeing what life is like in the reserve for them, going up river in a place most will never see - but for me it wasn't life changing or a window into a truly primitive life. The Rama families farm rather than hunt and gather. They have solar systems. They speak an interesting language but it's not the original Rama language. The jungle has its charms but photography is very difficult due to the humidity, and I didn't see an abundance of interesting insects and flowering plants like I have in places like Peru and Africa. And then, there's the scabies. There's also Solomon, at least for me. If you still decide to make the trip, I recommend contracting with Hilary. Hilary may still bring Solomon, but at least you will be paying Hilary's price, and enlisting him as the lead guide, which is better, in my opinion. Plus Hilary speaks better English and isn't constantly trying to convince you of something. And, if he does bring Solomon, and you like him, you can write a review telling me why I was off base about him.
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Date of stay: October 2015
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Trip type: Traveled solo
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NorthIslandGirl wrote a review Jan 2015
Victoria, Canada4 contributions18 helpful votes
The Rio Indio Maiz biological reserve is one of the few untouched pristine places left on earth (more in a moment on how to get there from San Juan de Nicaragua). To visit, you take a Costena airlines bush plane from Managua to San Juan de Nicaragua (sometimes called San Juan del Norte, or Greytown). The plane may make stops at Ometepe and San Carlos. Be prepared for rough landings on dirt airstrips! Once you get to San Juan, there are really only two places to stay; the Rio Indio Lodge, or Hostal Familiar, which is run by a lady known to the locals as Miss Martha. Staying at the Rio Indio Lodge is the *far* more expensive option, although I heard from a fellow traveller who stayed there that the food was heavily Spam themed, so he wasn't impressed with what he got for his money. In contrast, the rooms at the Hostal Familiar are only $20 a night for a large private, breezy room that can sleep up to 4 people. There are two such rooms, each of which is set over the San Juan river on pilons, with a little verandah out front where you can while away the day watching the locals boat past in their pangas and dugout canoes. The river is their highway. Each room has an attached little bathroom with a shower. Miss Martha's restaurant is right beside the rooms, and there you can get a good breakfast, with coffee, a huge serving of fruit, beans and rice, and eggs, all of which is included in the price of the room. You can also get lunch and dinner for approximately $8 a meal or so (depending on how many beers you drink). The homecooked-style food is some of the best we had in our travels through Nicaragua, with fresh river fish prominently featured in the meals. There is no menu... mostly you eat what she choses to cook for you. We were never disappointed. The rooms are not fancy, but are very clean. Because there is always a breeze coming off of the Caribbean, which is just 200m away separated from the river by a thin strip of land, there are no mosquitoes, and the temperature is always quite nice. Go even 100m inland, however, and it is significantly hotter. Expect it to rain several times a day even in the dry season, and for it to always rain at night. And when I say "rain", I mean "torrential downpour". What to expect in SJdN: frequent cuts in power and water in the village. There is also no internet service, but there is local cell phone service in the near vicinity to the village. There is no hot water, and in Hostal Familiar, the "shower" is more akin to a pipe over your head in the ceiling pouring water down onto you. The power cuts out frequently during the day, and always seems to be out at night. A tip: bring some glow sticks with you... on moonless nights in SJdN it is *dark*, and with glow sticks you aren't left fumbling for your flashlight in the dark. Getting up to go to the bathroom in the night is an adventure when it is pitch black. Also, I've found that glow sticks are a huge hit with kids whenever I go into remote areas, so I always pack a few extra :-) The village consists of several thousand people, but it is spread out along the river. We never walked too far into it. Just a short distance away from Miss Martha's is a shop that sells some basic clothing, and a bit further on is a shop that sells the most basic of food supplies, but they do have a small selection of cookies and sweets. Don't expect any tourist shops in SJdN! Very few of the locals speak english (and Miss Martha only speaks spanish), so be prepared for that. Before you arrive in SJdN, pre-arrange with Miss Martha to have her husband, Zurdo, (I think he's her husband) pick you up at the airport. There is nothing at the airport but a lonely airstrip, and it is a 15 minute panga ride to get to the village. If you don't pre-arrange transport, you'll have a lonely vigil at the airport! While in San Juan, I highly recommend that you contract with local Rama indians for a two day trip into the Rio Indio Maiz biological reserve. Only Rama indians are allowed to take people into the reserve. We highly recommend the guide Salomon Daniels, and his friend Hillary McRae. Miss Martha can call them for you when you arrive in SJdN. Salomon and Hillary speak both english and spanish. For $200 per person, they will take you on a two day trip, starting with travelling 7 to 8 hours up the Rio Indio river, into the largest area of the most pristine wilderness you have ever seen (and I grew up in a pristine wilderness, so I'd know!). Monkeys, crocodiles, birds, turtles, iguanas... all kinds of wildlife. Once you get up the river, you will stay with a Rama indian family, in the most primitive permanent habitation I (and you) will ever behold. It was just an open grass hut on stilts, with a cooking hearth in the corner. Even in the dry season, thick mud is everywhere. There were many chickens pecking about, so you will want to wear the boots they provide to you, and not wear sport sandals or Keens. You will eat the same food they eat, which consists almost exclusively rice they grow themselves, starchy tubers that they boil, and perhaps some bushmeat (they cooked iguana soup while we were there, that they butchered on the spot). A tip: bring a jar of peanut butter and crackers with you. I will eat pretty much anything, but I had a hard time eating the food, and I actually got quite sick on the second day after eating breakfast. There was no running water, and the only electricity was provided by a small solar panel that lit one bulb for about an hour at night and also powered a radio. At night, you sleep side by side with the family, and the two guides, in hammocks strung up from the roof beams of the hut. The night is frequently punctuated by the calls of howler monkeys, and loud cicadas. If the sky clears, you will see the brightest stars you've ever beheld. There were surprisingly few mosquitos. I slept without mosquito netting. PS: Bring some glow sticks for the kids :-) To go to the bathroom, you simply wander off into the jungle, and pick a spot appropriately far from the camp. Bring your own toilet paper, and hand sanitizer. Try to keep your hands as clean as possible, and by no means walk barefoot. Hookworm is a serious problem in developing countries, and I noticed that many of the Rama kids had the swollen tummies that are a hallmark of hookworm infection. On the second day, after breakfast, the guides take you a little way up the river, to a trail head where after a four hour hike over a mountain in thick mud you will see pyramids in the jungle. I saw ruins along the way, but unfortunately never made it to the main pyramids because I had gotten sick from the breakfast. The elderly guide, Hillary McRae, took me back to the boat, and along the way slashed a big tree and told me to taste the milky white sap. He told me he was a medicine man from a long line of medicine men, and that the sap of the tree was good for stomach and intestinal upset. It started working within 10 minutes, and within 30 minutes I was fine (!). As we continued our descent, he showed me many other plants that are used for medicinal purposes. My uncle was travelling with me, and he noted that all the Rama indians we met were very kind, honest, and sincere people. The guides told us only 15 to 20 tourists per year make the trip up the river, so making the trip will be a very unique experience that you will treasure for a lifetime.
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Date of stay: January 2015
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Trip type: Traveled with friends
Room Tip: Choose one of the two rooms right on the water ($20 each per night, including breakfast). There...
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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HOSTAL FAMILIAR - Guest house Reviews (Nicaragua/San Juan del Sur)