Crowne Plaza Managua, an IHG Hotel — Hotel in Managua

Back in January I wrote a blazing review about the Crowne Plaza Managua. The negative parts of that review centered around the restaurant staff, their bigotry, and even racism. Some of the negative remarks were also centered around a mix up of how many people were allowed in a "1 Bedroom Suite". The "1 Bedroom Suite" doesn't exist. Not at the Crowne Plaza Managua. The website says it does, but it's not a "1 Bedroom" It's 1 big room with a king bed, sofa, chair, and workstation. The website allows 5 people per suite but what they don't tell you is the bed situation. To accommodate the 5 people, they must bring in 3 single beds. The website passes off the "1 Bedroom Suite" as having the ability to accommodate 5 people and sleeping arrangements. This was part of a giant kerfuffle last time I stayed there with my family and we were mistreated by the restaurant and the front desk. My family is Nicaraguan, and they treated my family like they were less than me - a white American. They also tried to charge us for the free breakfasts' that were included. They made a HUGE deal of it. This time around, the restaurant was super nice, there was never a mention of paying for breakfast and never a mention of anything unkind. The entire staff was more than accommodating and friendly. They were sweet to my wife and friendly to my 5-year-old daughter. They were also kind to my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law, and my wife's sister-in-law. The Restaurant redeemed themselves. The front desk, however, is another story. Since January and the ugly incident that happened to my family in this hotel -- the front desk reached out to us and offered us a special deal on 2 suites for as many nights as we wished to book. It was a fair and generous offer and there was no time limit. In the meantime, I stayed at the hotel on my way back from a business trip to the United States. We were looking for the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the special offer. We never could find the right time so we decided to go last week. I emailed the front desk manager, (we knew each other on a personal basis by this time) and she did not email me back. It turns out she is no longer with the company, there is a new front desk manager. I wrote to him and advised him of the deal that had been offered to me. He wrote back with a bit of a bad attitude and was in general 'unfriendly'. Finally, I asked him to forget the suites and the special offer that was coming to us - just forget it, and that I would like to reserve two rooms and pay with my points, -- the only thing I asked for was 2 adjoining rooms with a lake view, 2 rooms with 2 double beds that were adjoined and a lake view, and free breakfast for 8 people, for 1 night. I was willing to trade my "suite special" away for this. He told me that was fine but made a nasty remark about "already giving away free breakfast" - it was a rude remark and I ignored it with an email reply that said "thanks, see you on Saturday". When we arrived on Saturday the 6th, the front desk had no knowledge of the deal (the request), they tried to put us in completely different rooms than had been agreed upon. She was not rude but not very accommodating either. After arguing for a few minutes she called the front desk manager and she told me she had two lake view rooms but not connected - just side by side. I said that's fine... When we went to the rooms, only one was on the lake view side, and the other was on the opposite side with a mountain view. The "lake view" room was not really a lake view. This room was on the third floor and looked directly onto "Plaza Inter" the shopping center in front of the hotel. We could only see just a tiny portion of the lake from the far left side of the window. It wasn't a lake view at all. So, the suites that I agreed to trade for lake view rooms/adjoining rooms, were neither lake view or adjoining. The front desk manager lied to me and the hotel screwed us once again. I am sick, sick, sick to death of the Crowne Plaza Managua. The management is in complete disarray and they will lie to your face. The restaurant redeemed themselves and were very nice, we all deeply appreciated that. The Crowne Plaza Managua needs to get their act together. They are liars and they do not want to help you in any way possible. What a sad state of affairs in that hotel. There are many other better options in Managua, and within the IHG family. How sad this new front desk manager bold faced lied to me, -- and I can prove this...

When I stay at ihg properties I prefer the Intercontinental Brand followed by Crowne Plaza and finally, when I absolutely must, the Holiday Inn. We didn’t agree on the value of the Intercon this time so I selected the CP.

The positives: The personnel. Without exception all were polite, professional & courteous. Couldn’t ask for more. The restaurant at night (buffet) was perfectly fine. About $24 US (incl tax & servicio) for a very good selection of very tasty options. Breakfast was included in the price and again the selections and quality were fine (though the omelet options were quite limited). Location is okay. Hotel taxi prices are higher that regular taxis but not horrible.

The negatives: The building and virtually everything inside. My room (515) was like a mini-suite but only so they could cram the room into an odd-shaped space. (I had no issues with the size or shape of the room) It’s necessary to put your card key in a switch to turn on your lights & AC. I understand this is typical in many Latin American countries but it really irritates me & I always use a business card or something else as a workaround. The carpet was either dirty or worn out. Clearly. Ditto the sofas. One lamp by the bed did not work (the one nearest the bathroom, naturally). One toilet paper dispenser was so worn out the rod would only fit by a tenth of an inch or so. Impossible to use without rolling the paper on the floor. The drapes are such that you need a few binder clips (I always carry them) if you want to keep the sun out in the morning.

The bed! Okay, I’m used to the soft beds at another brand (can't use the name or the post is deleted). But this thing was so hard I woke up sore every morning. If really firm beds are your thing this won’t be an issue. It was for me.

And the internet!! Yes, I got 54 Mbs on the wifi but the internet got me at best 1.02 Mbs and typically only 760 – 784 Kbs. My problem was that I had some work to do that involved downloading videos, testing on those videos and printing my CEUs. It simply wasn’t possible. Therefore – MUCH time in the toilet. For some reason the management at this hotel does not understand that quality, fast internet for business customers is no longer an option but a requirement.

Bottom line – I would not stay at this property again but it may well meet the needs of a more casual traveler.

And as a postscript – posting this review was ridiculously difficult. No record of my stay but I could call Managua and ask the hotel staff for the correct information (I put in the correct information). And no points credited to my account. When calling the US number, I was put on hold then transferred then put on hold because of “high call volume” – translated: “low staffing”. It’s clear why I typically use this brand as a last resort.

I'll be returning to Managua in a week & staying at a...

As a Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Member and Ambassador, I had no Bonvoy options in Managua, so I opted for the CROWNE PLAZA MANAGUA. I have always been under the impression that Crowne Plaza is considered a full service, upscale hotel chain. ||I purposely booked a QUEEN ROOM WITH LAKE VIEW via Booking.com. Upon check-in, I was being assigned a standard/regular room which I refused to accept. The check-in agent was being adamant that I had not paid for such a lake view room although I showed her my confirmation in my APP. She said that they do not have any lake view room types available. I immediately checked online availability on the hotel's website and there were plenty of lake view rooms on offer including a Junior Suite. We fought for about 30 minutes until I insisted on having a better room. She finally ended up assigning me to Junior Suite #329 with a view of nothing! As we had been travelling all day and it was nearly 11PM, we just accepted the suite. No real apology was offered nor an adjustment to the rate. ||I was also surprised to be informed that the hotel restaurant closes at 10PM and that they have NO ROOM SERVICE available after that time. Is this not a full-service hotel? ||Upon arrival to the suite, there was only 1 SMALL BOTTLE OF WATER (nice cheap cost cut?) and 1 hand towel plus 2 bath towels. Why would any suite not have 2 of everything? Either poor training or managements way of reducing costs! ||As I chose not to have my suite freshened up, I called one evening to get additional towels (2 full sets) and they were promptly delivered HOWEVER they showed up with only ONE SET of TOWELS and said that they did not have any more available as housekeeping was closed until 8AM! I stay in luxury hotels nearly 250 nights a year and Nicaragua was my 166th country - I have never heard of such a terrible excuse!!! ||Once in the suite, the lighting was horrible - very dim. No bright ceiling lights whatsoever in the bedroom area...only these cheap LED desktop nightstand lights and a floor lamp. Also, no fridge in the room. Bathroom was very small/tiny and had to also call for a hair dryer! ||Sorry...not my style of property and would NEVER stay again at a CROWNE PLAZA if that is what is on offer! The hotel is definitely dated, needs some TLC and would only...