Casa Soma

It’s a beautiful, cozy, quiet place, and the price was decent. We liked the pool and outdoor area. The hill was brutal to walk or drive a car up, and the shower pressure was just so-so.

We came with the whole family and will definitely be back. The villa is incredibly beautiful, looking out over the ocean in San Juan del Sur. It’s well managed, beautifully designed, and has super comfortable beds.

The biggest problems were the utilities, cleanliness, and how checkout was handled. On Saturday morning, the power and water were out. I knew outages happen in Nicaragua, but I booked because the listing said there was a generator. I told Harry I couldn’t start the backup generator. About 30 minutes later he sent a rude guy, who said we had to wait because people were fixing the power at the source and he couldn’t start the generator. I was left thinking this was a nightmare that had cost me $840. Once power came back, the backup water system started, but it had no hydraulic pump to give decent pressure. The showers and faucets had barely any flow, like a cat’s pee. There were five showers and ten of us, and we had to search around for a spot with better pressure. None was better. Taking a shower at home became a dreadful chore. If you rent a place in a country with frequent municipal power and water outages, it should have a proper backup system so guests don’t have to go through such an unpleasant stay. We also found a scorpion in the house Saturday night, which worried me because I had three kids who could have been bitten. On Sunday morning, I saw a cockroach on the bathroom mirror while putting on makeup. There were smashed dead cockroaches on the upstairs wall too. To me, scorpions and cockroaches are hygiene problems, not just nature bugs. The check-in was confusing as well. Harry gave me the wrong location, so I had to call him, and then he sent me directly to the house. A lady came to check us in at around 4:30pm. There was no TV in the house. I’ve traveled for years and never thought to ask whether a rental would have one, since I considered it an obvious basic. There were two small TVs in the small houses, but the system was archaic and they didn’t work. On Sunday, while we were still packing, the same lady arrived exactly at 11:00am and started inspecting the house, collecting towels, and tidying up around us. She was in the middle of everything like an unwanted piece of furniture. I had checked in two and a half hours later than that, so this felt like being harassed out of the house. The towels were so stiff they felt like daggers against my skin. They should use fabric softener and not dry them directly in the sun. The dishes were very old, like the same ones they’d had since they started renting the house. I booked based on the great reviews, but I felt they misrepresented the place for me and future guests. After I posted a review, the host said he would issue a refund if I assured him I wouldn’t leave a negative review. I agreed, but had forgotten I’d already posted one and sent the same message to Airbnb staff and Ryan. When I followed up with Ryan about the refund status, he said he’d take it back because I had already left a negative review. Airbnb staff asked him to refund me, but Ryan told them he would follow Airbnb policy. I decided to stick to my ethics and use my freedom of speech to warn people about the rental and its host. I hope this helps future guests do their homework beyond Airbnb’s site.

I booked through Airbnb for my whole family, then messaged the host right away on Friday afternoon about our party size. Fourteen days before the reservation, I asked to cancel after he replied with a higher rate based on group size. I hadn’t realized from the listing that the price changed by party size. I’d also picked a date when the property wasn’t available, and the party size I entered was larger than the one I was reserving for, so there were signs of confusion on my end. Still, the host confirmed the booking. He offered only a 40% refund, which I felt was unacceptable. An honest host would have rejected the booking after explaining the fees and availability, since I’d requested an unavailable date. Airbnb told me the host could choose to refund me and suggested I try to work it out with him. I did, but he kept evading me and sending me back to Airbnb, then refused a full refund. I would even have understood a refund minus Airbnb fees, but he wouldn’t work with me. I booked somewhere else and chose not to leave a negative review about the experience. They later left one about me as if I had stayed there, claiming I threatened them and hadn’t communicated. That was false and against Airbnb policy. Airbnb has since removed it. My experience may not be yours, but please be aware.