The 'Eyes' have it in
hillside San Juan del Sur
By Jason George | Chicago
Tribune
The list of places claiming to
be "The Next Costa Rica" is as
long as it is suspicious.
Few spots in the world can truly
compete with Costa Rica's
natural beauty, charm and ease
for the American traveler.
Yet San Juan del Sur, a
once-sleepy beach backwater on
Nicaragua's Pacific Coast, is
now giving a run to its neighbor
whose border sits only 20 miles
to the south.
No mention of (or visit to) San
Juan is complete without a stay
at Pelican Eyes (officially
Piedras y Olas), which opened in
2004. The positive buzz has been
deafening, not bad when you
consider the hotel's not on the
water — it's on a hill
overlooking the town and the
ocean — nor is it the most
expensive place in town — that's
Morgan's Rock Hacienda and
Ecolodge.
What Pelican Eyes does have is
great food, spacious rooms and a
fantastic vibe.
The check-in desk had us worried
upon arrival. With employees
yelling to each other, tossing
paper around and ignoring the
rings of countless telephones,
we feared that we had magically
stumbled back into Nicaragua's
manic capital of Managua.
But the process was fast, and
within a few minutes we were
headed toward our room.
Pelican Eyes is built on a very
steep hill, so any attempts to
carry one's own bags is not only
foolhardy, but could qualify as
mountaineering depending on your
room's location. For your sake,
use — and tip — the porters.
The room replaced any doubts we
had about the place at check-in,
and we began to see why this
place is considered one of the
hottest hotels in all of Central
America.
Lodging at Pelican Eyes is
divided into three increasingly
large property types:
habitaciones, casitas and
villas. We stayed in one of the
eight habitaciones, the smallest
and simplest of the options, but
the space still featured two
queen beds, a large bathroom, a
kitchenette and a private
terrace that comfortably
accommodated six sunset watchers
— newly acquired friends at the
resort.
TVs broadcast 35 channels,
including HBO and Cinemax, and
there's a DVD player.
Each room is unique at Pelican
Eyes, but all sport sizable
stone-floor bathrooms with
walk-in showers stocked with
scented soaps that claim to
reduce insect appeal.
Hotel staff can arrange canopy
tours, surfing lessons, visits
to a local sea turtle refuge
(July through December), fishing
trips and cruises on their own
boat.
Every kid we saw at least got a
kick out of the hotel's little
zoo, filled with animals that
could not be returned to the
wild after treatment at the
hotel's veterinary clinic.
Room service features a mix of
food from the hotel's two
restaurants: the poolside bar
restaurant, Bistro La Canoa,
offering light sandwiches and
seviche, and Restaurant La
Cascada, a fantastic gem,
specializing in entrees like a
lobster curry, rack of lamb and
a seafood penne. The room
service charge is about $5.
A real, made-to-order breakfast
is included. We also enjoyed the
fact that even though the hotel
sells properties on site,
essentially fractional
ownership, we never heard about
it.
The hotel is also closely
aligned with a local charitable
foundation, meaning that dollars
spent at Pelican Eyes help
educate Nicaraguan
schoolchildren.
Another perk: wi-fi access via
the resort's laptops — or your
own — in the bar/restaurant.
The biggest peeve is that
physically disabled travelers
could have a very hard time
getting around the property
given its steep incline. Chris
Berry, the hotel's owner, said
some accommodations could be
made, but calling ahead is
highly recommended.
Our room cost $130 a night ($120
with no ocean view), based on
double occupancy. Up to two more
adults or children are allowed
in the room at $15 or $5,
apiece, respectively. Private
casitas and villas run from $175
to $225. All year-round rates
nearly double around Christmas
and the week before Easter.
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