El Jardin

Great service, nice, friendly people, nice clean rooms, great food, gorgeous view! Such a peaceful and serene ambiance. Very nice pool that is welcoming even after dark. I would definitely come back. Little slice of heaven.

My stay at this beautiful hotel was one of the best travel experiences I’ve had. The hotel is located in the coastal hills of San Juan Del Sur. Since it’s not in town you have a beautiful, relaxing retreat after long days adventuring, with easy access and free shuttles to and from the city center. There are also a number of amenities available for guests, as well as fabulous and AFFORDABLE food. The staff proved to be very knowledge, professional, attentive, and kind. I was completely blown away by the owners who went out of their way to make my experience easier and more enjoyable, all while seeming genuinely happy to help. I would recommend a stay at El Jardin to anyone, and I’ve been raving about it to all my friends and family. If you’re going to San Juan there’s no better place to stay.

We visited El Jardin in February 2018, and it was a great vacation. The hotel staff was exceptional, and they went out of there way to make our stay fantastic. Everything on the menu is exceptional, and we nearly tried everything. It's about 10 minutes from San Juan Del Sur, and a $5.00 cab ride. We hope to be back soon, and definitely are returning to El Jardin.

We were in San Juan for 3 days in January. There was a concern that we were too far out of town...but that did not turn out to be the case. It was a beautiful, peaceful environment outside of a noisy town. Our room was very nice with a balcony overlooking the pool with a beautiful view of the ocean. The staff provided excellent service.The food was excellent. They provided taxis into town....so it was not a problem going in for dinner...and it was easy to get a taxi back up in the evening. At the bottom of the hill, its possible to pick up a shuttle to the surfing beaches in the area. Their black lab, Pandora, was a wonderful friend during our stay.

Breakfast was good, loved the gallo pinto mmmm.. Pretty hotel with a nice pool, stunning views and a cute dog! We rented a motor bike and managed to see the main beaches. Would definitely visit El Jardín again and spend more days enjoying the scenery.

Came here for dinner and ended up staying for a week! We ended our trip traveling around Nicaragua here and it was the best decision. So relaxing, perfect view. To clear up past reviews of other people that I read: we were here in February and we have a VERY small car and although the hill up is a little steep, we had no issue getting up it and to the hotel. Also the WiFi is ALWAYS working perfectly. Our AC and fan worked great, HOT showers, and super clean. The staff is attentive and makes sure the property is perfect to the best of their ability. Of course there are some lizards and bugs, but you are in Nicaragua and they’re everywhere. Dennis in the restaurant is SO nice and the food is delicious. We had breakfast each morning included and it was awesome. Dinner is amazing! Even if you don’t stay at the hotel, make sure you come for dinner! Pandora the hotel dog will greet you. All of the staff is friendly and helpful. The owner is very involved, always making sure things are good, and she will arrange taxis or tours for you(highly recommend the horse back riding place that she uses! The best!). Thank you to everyone at El Jardin for making the end of our Nicaragua trip the absolute best and so relaxing!!!

People were friendly and helpful. My favorite was the food. What they had that I ordered were very tasty. I liked the breakfast. The restaurant's view was nice and relaxing. The bedroom lacks the inviting atmosphere, very "dry" appearance. It's a room to spend the night and sleep. Outside the window of the bedroom was the back of the hotel that needs tending: broken chairs, muddy, messy sidewalk, etc. Had double doors to the porch making the ocean view from afar visible from the bedroom making it a nice place to sit. Bee hives visible from the ceiling of the porch. Overall lacks cleaning maintenance. Road going to the hotel was not easy. There is no beach to walk to like it advertised. The closest beach about 20 minutes walk was dirty and not attractive at all and it is not a friendly place for anyone to go to and relax.

Oh my...it was good. Above the noise and clatter of San Juan del Sur, it was a wonderful oasis. We really would not have had to leave. The service was wonderful and the restaurant is more than wonderful. AND the view was truly life-giving. Can you tell we loved it? It is a ways to anything else, but if you have a car, it is no problem. We understand that there were regular shuttles,so even if you didn’t have a car, you should be able to get around. We booked this as a two-day Sabbath during a business trip, and left revived, well-fed and ready to go back to life. We will definitely be back.

Great little hotel with world class views. We spent our day on the empty beaches then would come home in time for drinks and the sunset. Couldn't be bothered to go to town for dinner!! Service was great, food was good, not spectacular

I can't say enough positive about El Jardin. The property is nestled in the hills above San Juan del Sur, and offers probably the best lower hills view of any property in San Juan del Sur, period. The sunset we saw was spectacular. The property is very clean, the staff is fantastic, and many are bilingual. Our room was smaller, and the property is a bit older compared to a few others we stayed at (Nicaraguan hotel rooms are for the most part shockingly large) but it was very clean and well appointed. We had a beautiful private patio overlooking the pool and that view, the amazing view. Breakfast options were plentiful, the coffee was delicious, and hot coffee and tea are available self-serve all day. The restaurant is fantastic, one of the best meals we had. They have a short wine list, but nothing on the list wasn't at least mid-range. The wine was served at a proper temperature (this is a surprising issue in Nicaragua). Be aware that the meal prices are high, even for the standard of the meal - but the quality is worth it if you want to splurge. There are some observations other travelers have made I feel I need to address: 1) The hill is steep to drive up to and it is hard to get to the property. Wrong. For lowland hills it is no big deal, you can go up higher in San Juan del Sur and there are VERY steep roads. Heck the drive to Pacific Marlin by the statue of Jesus is far worse. On the worst days of the rainy season I could see it being a challenge, but, "our car barely made it," comments I read, I guess if your car is a lowered Ford Mustang it would be an issue. We had a FWD 2015 Nissan Tiida and I had zero issues. 2) There isn't a shuttle and you're trapped up at the property. Absolutely true that this isn't a "walk to town" property. You will need to take a taxi, have a rental car, or use the shuttle service they added. It is a fixed shuttle that only runs a few times a day, but they do have it now. We had a car so we didn't use it. 3) Bugs, issues, with bugs, and more bugs. Having stayed at about 10 properties through our trip to Nicaragua, yes there some black beetles flying around on the property that are unique to the Pacific coast, but this is nothing. If you're THAT worried about bugs, honestly, Nicaragua, a tropical developing nation is not for you. Yes, we had to kill a small flying bug that strayed into our room, oh nos! 4) Wifi, I have read Wifi is only available in the common areas, don't know if that is true. Given our proximity to the pool, we likely had a better experience with wifi available in our room. Stop thinking, and start booking.