Casa Maya Eco Lodge — Hotel in San Juan del Sur (Municipio)

Picture this; after all the surf schools have dispersed back to SJDS, you and a handful of others sit on your boards watching a fiery sunset and dolphins passing by. Grab a beer or delicious fresh fish dinner in slaudys or mosey back to base in Casa Maya to use the well equipped and immaculate kitchen to make your own meals. Hang out with the other guests or simply take your book and sit in one of the many hammocks and let the stars roll in. You wake up naturally to the sunlight peeping through your window and the magical sounds of the surrounding jungle.

Casa Maya and the surrounding areas has a great mix of locals and tourists from all over which harmoniously share smiles and great vibes. The area has beautiful wildlife such as howler monkeys, semi wild horses, the cutest dog Suzie & co. (she likes to check in on casa Maya guests regularly) birds and more! The facilities at casa Maya are awesome too; free water that doesn’t taste like it was pulled out of a pond, good WiFi, sharp knifes and quality kitchen appliances and a fan in your room. Come prepared if you intend on cooking your own meals tho as there are no shops in the area.

El remanzo beach is great for beginner and intermediate surfers, and the next beach over is suitable for those looking for a more intricate wave! The hike to playa hermosa is also a beautiful and only takes about 45 minutes from casa Maya!

Casa Maya is putting great emphasis on being a quality eco lodge which is always great to see! You really do get bang for your buck when you go there, and it’s a very (very) nice break away away from the madness of...

I thought hard about this review, but I have to be honest. Staying in this property honestly made me feel horrible inside. Firstly, it’s called Eco lodge, yet it’s been placed right in the middle of a pack of howler monkeys home (likely cutting down trees to make this high rise building) and there was no access to filtered water meaning that you’d have to buy plastic water bottles. With this property being so close to the ocean, I think the owners have a duty to protect the ocean and environment.

Secondly, the name of the place is highly misleading. I stayed here because I thought that it was Nicaraguan owned. To find out on arrival that it’s just a place for Americans to profit from tourism was extremely disappointing. The Nicaraguan economy is suffering, particularly after Covid and air bnbs and properties like this do not help the situation. I got the impression that the owners want long term rentals and to build a community of westerners, but I didn’t see any effort of the owners interacting with Nicaraguans apart from the cleaner (who is lovely).

The location of this property is great and I feel sad to have to write this review. But I care about the Latin American community and we need to be more conscious of where we are...

We are enjoying our stay at Casa Maya so much that we have extended our stay!!! The rooms have industrial fans, so air conditioning is not needed. In fact, we actually turned the fan off one night. The water pressure from the shower is freaking amazing. The containers are very soundproof. There is some construction going on, and with the door closed, you can barely hear it. The windows have been open every day, and when the door is open, there is a great breeze. We enjoy the tables and chairs outside the kitchen in the evening to play cards Location to Remanso beach and Tacos Bar is less than 100m. The road to playa remanso has been paved, and if you visit Renta Nica, you can get a very inexpensive motorcycle and travel to san juan in 10 minutes or playa Hermosa in the same amount of time. We met the owner who was very hospitable. Eliz the caretaker is so friendly. They both attended to our needs in a very timely fashion. The kitchen is great if you want to cook; we have opted mostly to eat out! On our first day, we were lucky to see monkeys in the trees behind the Eco Lodge. If you want somewhere to base yourself out of, we highly recommend Casa Maya. We will stay here when we return...