Hotel Caleta

The owners were so kind and helpful, and the area felt safe to walk around. Roberto even took us to the bus station and made sure we got on the right bus all the way to El Amarillo, the border with Honduras. Earlier, her husband had given us a note explaining how to cross the border from Honduras to Nicaragua by local bus, and we had no trouble crossing. It all went smoothly. We stayed two days, and the location worked well for everything we needed. The Wi-Fi was patchy in the rooms, though it worked fine where it reached. Our room was near reception, with bunk beds, a double bed, our own shower, and AC. The beds were comfortable and clean. The room was cleaned daily and the sheets changed, though don't expect the sheets to be bright white like in a Western hotel. You're in Central America. The owner's wife also gave us helpful suggestions for places to eat. It was affordable, we loved El Salvador, and we'd definitely come back. Thanks for taking such good care of us! 💜

Don't book here. This was one of the most unpleasant stays I've had in all my travels. I booked through Booking.com that afternoon, but when I arrived that evening, the man at the desk said there was no room for me because I'd booked too late. He then tried to sell me a different room without A/C. I explained that I'd already paid on Booking.com, but he wouldn't listen and became aggressive.

I was physically assaulted here. When I arrived yesterday, I spoke to a man about not having a reservation, and he quoted me a price. I asked to see the room before paying, but he said COVID prevention rules meant I couldn't. That didn't make sense to me. I then asked for the Wi-Fi password so I could at least look at photos online, and he smugly refused. I said it would be hard to commit without seeing the room, and that his behavior wasn't good customer service. He went ballistic, yelling at me to leave and pushing me out. When I took out my phone to record him, he got more aggressive, swung at me, and tried to grab it. He then went inside. A few minutes later, a woman came out yelling at me to leave too. I tried to explain what had happened, but she wouldn't hear me out. In all my years of travel, I've never seen business owners act so aggressively. I hope other guests don't have to go through this. I'm reporting the establishment to the local police. Please take your money somewhere you'll be treated with respect.

My girlfriend and I were in the room right beside the washing machine on the terrace, which anyone could access. We started a load of laundry, and the man reacted as if we'd done something serious. He told us not to touch what wasn't ours and demanded an outrageous fee that hadn't been posted anywhere. We apologized and said we'd stop the machine right away, which we did, but they stayed close by treating us like criminals. It was very unpleasant. I asked if what we'd done was really so serious, then sarcastically asked whether he wanted to call the police. He got worked up and a bit aggressive, though he also seemed very stressed, and said yes, he would call them. I told him it was ridiculous. He left, pretended to call in front of us, then said the police were coming. He also told me, "you are not your country!" His reaction was so out of proportion that the whole thing felt comical and ridiculous. I wasn't afraid because there was no reason for the police to come, but he stayed nervous and somewhat aggressive. He told us to leave the hotel, which we were going to do anyway after his angry, unprofessional behavior. While we packed, they waited outside the bedroom as if we were criminals and they were police. We'd been there less than an hour, but they immediately inspected the room. He filmed our departure and our faces on his personal phone. Why? What right did he have to record our faces without permission? I think he was trying to intimidate us. The hotel already had security cameras, so there was no need to film us up close with his own phone. He returned our money and we left. This man seems to have a behavioral problem and can get aggressive for no reason. I think he may have had trouble with customers before, given how he acted. We've traveled a lot and stayed in many hotels across many countries, and this was the first time we'd experienced such a crazy situation.