Surf Ranch Hotel & Resort

HIDES TERRIBLE SERVICE BEHIND NO-REFUND POLICY - no food, waterpark switched off, no climbing, rude absent manager, incapable staff. We checked in, put our bags into the room and immediately went to the pool. We checked the vegetarian menu beforehand online. We were told no pizza. Last option, veggie tacos, came after 1hr with meat. We were told - no vegetables. This is a higher end resort in Nicaragua, that could not get any vegetables - San Juan town is 10 minutes away. They said they’ll sort it. The entire resort seemed to be run by 2 staff. After two hours more, seriously hungry by then, still nothing. After more waiting and chasing the always absent receptionist, I was finally told that they cannot get vegetables, even by the next day. We are not talking rocket science; we’re talking a carrot. Unbelievable. I speak fluent Spanish and understood perfectly, even when I was told to order take-away!! I asked for the manager. We waited again forever. We were then again told, no, nothing can be done. I asked for the absent managers number, no reply. By that time, I was seriously disappointed and upset, adding the fact that half the waterpark was switched off in the afternoon, the climbing wall we were excited about was closed (staff supposedly leaves at 2pm - which is not mentioned on-line, and I had not seen any staff/harnesses/equipment there all day), the neglected accommodation, the sink was half falling off the wall, the shower walls were dirty, and the AC remote battery cover kept falling off. Instead of enjoying my time there, I was trying to sort out the basics that we paid for. We decided to leave. We had consumed $10, which I asked the staff to please deduct off the refund that I expected to receive. Late that night, we received a rude and dismissive and plainly patronizing message from the manager late. Threatening us with legal action for the 10$ not paid (wow)- the staff clearly had not passed on our message. No other comments. I explained the issues a second time. The manager took hours, sometimes days to respond to a message, refusing a phone call. He was so short, rude and unhelpful that I can hardly believe that this resort is still in business. He said that veggie food was available, and that all facilities were perfect and available, even though I had sent him photos of that not being the case. He said that I was obviously just complaining to complain. I should have checked the online menu, and they are not obliged to provide any extras. I explained that we had done that, and that we were not asking for extras. There was no acknowledgement of the issues, no apology even. They have a no-refund policy and that was that. He literally denied everything, basically called me a liar. I’m not even sure if the manager was even in Nicaragua, the telephone number was a US one. His responses show clearly that he had no idea what is going on in his resort. I am not a complainy person but this was too much. We waited patiently f

Very cool hotel! I booked as I am travelling with my family and saw the water slide and skate park in the photos. Upon arrival, we were greeted my family staff, especially the guy in the bar, I think his name was Felix. During our 4 night stay, we felt it became home. We saw many guests come and go and got to meet many people at the skatepark, especially around 5pm, when locals and expats come to skate. We rented a condo, which I believe is a few dollars more than the rest but are the best rooms, we have no complaints about the room and it overlooked the skatepark. The waterslide, rock wall, water park, were all great, but I think even better is their river in the back, it has some small waterfalls and seating areas where you can chill and be in nature. We highly recommend the hotel, and Lucas was a great help assisting us with any questions that we had.

DO NOT STAY HERE!! The owners are not friendly. The service is terrible. I traveled with my girlfriend who invested in the surf ranch and we were greeted by very unfriendly staff that didn't care that my girlfriend helped build this place. I've also been told that the owners are canadian. I had no idea that's how they would treat us. Would not come out to settle legal disputes. Very cowardly people. The staff didn't care to hear us out or even serve us drinks if we paid cash. They also charged my credit card without authorization by me. Which I'm pretty sure is illegal. This place could be so much more than it currently is. The owners need to acknowledge that they have investors on their property and not treat them like criminals. I highly suggest everyone and anyone to stay away from this so called "resort" you will be over charged and nickel and dimed every step of the way. The cooks do not offer and vegetarian/ vegan options. The servers look at you like we are some sort of disgusting people. When in fact we are paying customers and owners. The maintenance of each room is sub par at best the website we booked with stated there would be hot water. Upon arrival we quickly wanted to have a shower before dinner and to our surprise there was no hot water. There was no maintenance for the hot water situation. The skatepark. Very poorly built and the lights didn't work at night. Clearly this place is not what it is made to look like on the internet. DO NOT BE FOOLED!! I highly recommend everyone to stay away from here.

We had a great 3 days/2 night stay at the Surf Ranch! Very beautiful resort. We enjoyed the pool with the slide, the breakfast, the beds were heavenly, the staff was friendly (waiters, parking guards, housekeeping, the maintenance guy who was getting the leaves out of the pool, the reception girls who gave me first aid when I had fallen,...), the food was good (off course pricier than in a small local restaurant). We haven't used the climbing wall, the skate park and the children's water playground, so we cannot say anything about those. The road to the Ranch is not very comfortable, but it's not too bad either.

My friends and I booked a few night stay here at the Surf Ranch. Overall great experience. The staff were very attentive and super friendly. The waterslide and pool were great, although one day we were planning on relaxing, but it filled up with probably 40 people and kids, which I am not complaining, but once it got busy, it wasn't what we were planning to do for the day. The rooms were great, we stayed in a condo, it had a smart TV, comfy beds, and view of the skatepark. We rented some boards and goofed around, we are not skateboarders so really can't give input on it, but the skatepark was big and many people skating it. Oh ya they also have a skateboard shop. What else? basically you will need your own car, or their reception can book a taxi for you. Town is only a quick 5 min drive away, and overall, great trip and we will definitely stay here again.

This place has great potential, but needs a ton of work which could have been totally overseen if the service was good. I recently stayed here for 4 nights and it won't let me leave a review on any other site. Convenient for them huh. - the only reason I give the rooms a 1 is because of their false advertisement of big fluffy pillows and comfy duvet, when actually it'd a plastic covered pillow with a linen cover and the smallest sheet you could imagine for the whole bed, and if anyone is aware that you don't flush toilet paper in Nicaragua, they didn't come into room once to clean, also not only can you be locked out of your room, you can be locked in... otherwise the bed was comfy and air conditioning is nice. - service was an absolute 0, as I mentioned the room cleaning. Every breakfast took at least 30 minutes after sitting down to be acknowledged unless I called them over. And this was basically for everything during my stay. Getting a drink, getting food. I love tipping but the workers there just seem like they don't even want to be working there period. 4 nights stay shows it all. Even got eye rolls from some of them and noticed a few extra charges when leaving ( which they corrected, gotta give credit where it's due ) - With some awesome staff and good service, this place could be fantastic, the location isn't far from town and the stream you have to pass to get there isn't the hotels fault. It's a shame such a good spot is absolutely ruined by the staff that just don't care. My girlfriend and 2 kids sat at a table one of the evenings for 35 mins (timed) watching the 2 guys behind bar on their phones laughing together before I went up and grabbed my own menu and told them we are ready some drinks.