Hotel Cafe del Sol

The restaurant staff were lovely, especially one man who always greeted me warmly, even when I ran into him in town on his day off. The wait staff were excellent, the food was good, and prices were better than on the Main Street. But I wouldn’t recommend this hotel after what happened at the front desk. A large man with glasses there overcharged us by about Q800 for a supposed tour and lied about what it was. It turned out to be a ride with someone’s uncle. The woman at the desk turned away and said nothing when I called out the rip-off. It felt like the two people at the front desk were in on it. Tourists may be finding their way around, but we’re not stupid. They got our money by deception, and I hope it costs them twice as much in lost business. For context, there’s a turtle sanctuary about a 5-10 minute drive away. Releasing a turtle costs Q10, plus a small amount for transport. The man with glasses charged us Q875 and described the tour very dishonestly, claiming it wasn’t black market and was official. Instead, we got a 10-minute ride from someone’s uncle. For boat tours, the actual guide gets about Q150. You can probably walk to the end of the Main Street where the boats are and negotiate yourself. If someone arranges it for you, don’t overpay. After the first scam, we cancelled the boat tour. The hotel man had tried to charge us another Q800+ for it. The night turtle tours involve walking along the beach with a guide and flashlight to look for turtles. I’m not sure what the guides are paid, and the quality can vary. People like the man and woman at this front desk will drive tourists away. Be careful, there are thieves out there.

We had a great weekend here after coming from Antigua. You get fantastic views from just about anywhere, including the restaurant, since it’s right on the beach. Across the street there’s a nice pool area with hammocks and chairs. The staff were helpful and accommodating, and suggested things for us to eat. Both meals at the restaurant were great, especially the Pacifico fish dish, their house special. I’d definitely recommend Cafe del Sol for a quick getaway.

What made our stay was the service. Every staff member was cheerful, welcoming, and ready to help. The pool and grounds are amazing too. I can’t recommend the place highly enough.

We stopped at Cafe DEL Sol just for lunch. The beachside spot has an unbeatable ocean view, and the staff were attentive and helpful. The bathrooms were clean. Our dishes came out in 15 minutes, but the food was only okay, and the taste varied. We’d hoped it would be delicious. We tried banana crepes, ceviche, seafood soup, a cheese quesadilla, chicken soup, and steak rice.