Iglesia El Calvario Tours and Activities

The beach, facilites and overall the staff.

Pros: beautiful property in the middle of the jungle, private beach, and delicious food at the restaurant. They were very kind to upgrade our room close to the beach. It was a beautiful 2-story villa with a kitchen, private pool, a balcony, and AC in the bedroom. Cons: lack of honesty and services Leading up to the trip, we received a few emails telling us about all the activities and services available in the resort. They offered complementary hiking and snorkeling, and we could pay for yoga classes, spa treatments, romantic packages, and activities such as surfing, hikes on Mombacho and Omepete island, etc. None of that was available once we got there. We asked the reception to book activities and they said they would call amd organize them. They never did. After a few days, we decided to book them ourselves through tour websites. We even asked them to call a nearby golfing course and they said they would. After 3 days, they said the golf course hadn't answered yet. My partner emailed the golf course and we got a response within 5 minutes. The staff at the reception were very kind, but not helpful and the lack of honestly from the management really disappointed us. The restaurant staff were always great and the service was excellent. The reception even gave us the wrong opening hours for the restaurant so we showed up late one evening. The staff were still there and were so extremely kind to prepare us a meal even after closing.

This is the best hotel we have ever been to. It is designed, built, and operated by the owner JC Espinoza, an accomplished architect for his clients. The view is simply phenomenal overlooking volcano Masaya which had a minor eruption on Dec 22, 2024. The hotel also overlooks lake Masaya, an old volcano crater. During our 4 night stay, we were practically the only guests there. So, we had the whole villa and staff to ourselves. Road access to this hotel is rural. Best to have a local guide or ask hotel for pick up. Food is simple and local not fine dining. No buffets. Activities include star grazing at night and playing with the pet cow. Side trip to the historical city Granada is highly recommended. This hotel is simply superior to the $650 CDN per night one we stayed in Costa Rica.