Hotel Casa Blanca

We had four rooms for our family group of 12, including two elderly relatives, and the place was lovely. The pool, shared kitchen, and several tables gave us places to have coffee and spend time together. Trees and forest surround the property, and the living room has Christmas lights and trees. There’s no restaurant, so you need to drive to El Coco. Breakfast runs from 7 to 9 am, so get up early; it was delicious, with gallo pinto and scrambled eggs. Pez Vela and Ocotal are both nice nearby beaches, but they aren’t suitable for swimming or for children. You can walk along them and explore the rocks. The rooms were comfortable, with soft, wide pillows, air conditioning, a fan, and a closet. The bathroom had hand soap and shower soap. Lovely place, we’ll come back.

We had a great time here. The place has new owners and is now called Siwo Art Guesthouse, and they’re upgrading it bit by bit. It’s not a five-star place yet, but give them time and it will be.

The staff were kind, but we didn’t have a good experience. The pool was dirty, everything looked outdated, and there were ants everywhere. We could hear a dog howling loudly outside the window. On arrival, the toilet was topped with dirt; it looked like someone had just arranged the toilet paper in origami to make it seem nice. There were no towels in the room, so the owner or staff brought some, but they were still dirty even after we said the first batch was dirty.

I only stayed two weeks and wish it could’ve been longer. When I was there, it was a B&B, and the owners’ parrot eating my toast was a nice touch. The pools weren’t open, and breakfast was just toast and coffee, but the hospitality more than made up for the limited amenities. Skunks came to visit every night. Their spray doesn’t smell, and they don’t spray people; they’re more like cats.