Sambo Mambo Beach Hotel

I only stayed for one drink. It was well made but I left after finishing it. I might have stayed for more but the owner made me feel very uncomfortable. I arrived in the evening and the owner who is a woman from El Salvador recognized me from a brief visit to the bar earlier that day when I inquired about using one of their beach chairs. She invited me to sit down with her and her 2 friends who were having drinks. At first everything was fine but then out of nowhere she starts to get a bit hostile in her tone and asks me “why did you come back here?”. I told her I came back because I heard this was a nice place to come have drinks. She asked why I would choose her bar since it’s the most expensive one along the beach (odd that you would brag about your business being overpriced in a country where many are living in poverty but whatever). I told her that compared to the United States where I’m from her bar is not expensive. I don’t think she liked that. She then proceeds to tell me that the bar doesn’t like outsiders very much and that she thought I should leave. I asked her what she meant by outsiders. That’s when she made things very plain. She said “You’re black. In El Salvador we are very proud and racist. We don’t like black people.” She even talked about how she used to live in California with her teenage son and she found out that he had black friends and made him stop being friends with them because she told him “you’re not black like them”. Just to be clear these were all the words of one woman. I’ve had a very favorable visit in El Salvador overall. Sambo Mambo was a rare unfortunate encounter in my over a month of being here. Most Salvadorians have been very friendly and helpful from my experience here in general. I hardly ever write reviews but I’d be remiss if I didn’t share my encounter with this establishment. I wouldn’t want another black person to have to find out what the owner thinks about them the way I had to. Yes she appeared drunk during our conversation but that doesn’t excuse anything. These were her unfiltered views unfortunately. But the great thing is there are plenty of bars, restaurants, and hotels up and down the beach of El Cuco.