Buena Onda Backpackers

You go here for that view on the relaxing balcony, and its fantastic. Sandra, Jimmy and Elvin, who run it are all great and happy to answer any questions. And they'd just opened up the pool area when i got there for sunbathing

Its kind of expensive for a room with no AC or fridge but that seems to be the norm in Nicaragua. But that view from the hammock though..... 😍

Location. The kitchen is well-equipped, which we appreciated. The wife of the owner was nice.

I stayed at Buena Onda with my sister and unfortunately, our experience was far from what we hoped. On our very first night, we encountered cockroaches—first in the bathroom and then in our room. One even fell on my hand while I was sleeping. We ended up spending that night on the terrace because we couldn’t get any response from the owners from around 9 PM until late the next morning. When they finally did respond, the reaction was shockingly dismissive. The owner (the husband, who handles the WhatsApp communication) basically shrugged it off, saying, “you know where you came, it’s a warm climate.” No apology, no concern, nothing. He was generally rude and uninterested in helping. The wife, on the other hand, was kind and did try to be helpful, but she wasn’t the one handling guest issues online, which made things frustrating. The rooms aren’t cleaned unless you specifically ask, and even then it doesn’t seem to be a priority. The place is also very noisy, which made it hard to sleep, but on the plus side, we did spot birds and monkeys in the trees nearby—that was actually really lovely. The kitchen is well-equipped, which we appreciated, but there’s no free filtered water. There’s some in the fridge, but you have to pay extra for it, which feels a bit stingy for a hostel. All in all, it’s just not worth the price. Between the pests, lack of response from management, and overall poor value, I wouldn’t stay here again unless I had no other choice.

Genoten van mijn verblijf. Een plek om tot rust te komen.

Lovely comfortable, friendly well equipped Hostal. Fabulous views of bay. Saw birds and squirrels from terrace. Staff helpful. Bed comfortable and big. 2 fans in room. Optional a/c.

Couldn’t control temperature of shower (I found too hot!) Hill up to property and lots of steps up to rooms. Toilet very cramped.

Das Buena Onda war ein tolles Hostel. Sehr sauber, die Küche top ausgestattet und es war sehr ruhig und entspannt. Da Samana Santa war etwas teurer. Leider gab es zu der Zeit kein Frühstück was wir sehr schade fanden, aber es gab genügend alternativen.

Very friendly and helpfull people! The place itself is beautifull, the facilities and rooms are great. Would recommend anybody to stay here.

Better then expected. We liked everything.

Great common areas (hammock, pool, sofa) Lovely view over San Juan Very tasty coffee Big room Helpful hosts (arranged our airport shuttle) Friendly guests Good local recommendations

Few cobwebs we had to clean in our room Exposed nails in the wall behind our bed (the hosts did say they will be cutting these) Very thin walls so not much privacy