City Express by Marriott Esteli

The staff were nice, especially the doorman, who was really helpful. The room was clean, but the safe didn’t work, and there was no coffee at 7:30 this morning, which was a drag. It was decent otherwise, though I’d expect more for the money. Bring your own pillow.

The water pressure was low, and neither the TV nor the phone in the room worked. They removed the towels, so I had to go to the front lobby to ask for service. Housekeeping was very slow to bring the things I requested.

Small rooms, with even smaller bathrooms, but it’s fine for one night. Basic but clean, and the Wi-Fi was good. There’s street parking with a guard on-site and a little mall with a fast-food court next door. I wouldn’t plan a two-week holiday here.

We’ve lived in Nicaragua for six years and travel a lot, so we’re not easily rattled. This looked like one of the nicer hotels in Estelí. We came in October because some of the eco lodges were closed. We had two connecting rooms. Around 9 pm someone tried the doorknobs on both rooms, then we heard them trying other doors down the hall. At 2 am I woke up to two men entering our room while we were asleep. I screamed in terror, half naked. The hotel denies it happened, but I’ve never experienced anything like that, and it’s hard to believe someone could make it up. In the morning, several men were outside our third-floor window, painting the sills and looking into the room. There was zero privacy. The hotel said the 2 am entry wasn’t possible because the rooms use key cards, so it must have been staff coming in, but they refused to admit it. They said the painters had to work outside our windows all morning because rain makes afternoon work impossible. The hotel was basically empty, so I don’t understand why they couldn’t paint outside unoccupied rooms. After people came into our room in the middle of the night, I felt unsafe. The window didn’t lock, and there’s a roof right beside it, so it wasn’t secure. We got no resolution. They basically told us we’d imagined everything and hoped we’d come back soon. If the hotel had admitted staff came in by accident, we would have understood, but being told it never happened was offensive. Please avoid this hotel. I’ve never felt so unsafe at one.