Excellent place to stay in San Juan del Sur
Submitted: January 31, 2011
Stayed: January 2011
Villas de Palermo is a lovely place to stay to relax, and to enjoy San Juan del Sur -- a relaxed, quaint little beach town. The villas are excellent with 1 upstairs bedroom and bath, 1 downstairs bedroom and bath, a spacious kitchen and living area, and a sunny terrace (oh, and a balcony upstairs too!). Each villa is its own building, so you have your own private mini-condo to yourself!
If you want to save money, you can buy food inexpensively in town and cook.
The villa was very clean, with the exception of all of the drapes which hadn't been washed in at least a month or more -- filled with dead bugs and stained. You barely wanted to touch them to open or close. The rest of the villa was very clean! But wash those drapes!
The free transport by the hotel to town (between 7 am - 6 pm) is a great asset! To go into town for dinner in the evening, the hotel will arrange for a taxi, which is safe and reasonable. Our driver, Mario, even dropped us off for dinner and then picked us back up at the appointed hour and only charged us at the very end for both rides.
We took advantage of the Costa Rica visa-getaway package, which is a deal! Free transport to and from the border -- Guillermo is your guy! He even helps you with your passport stamping!
Our only downside experience was the service in the hotel's restaurant, which leaves much to be improved. Our waitress for lunch 2 days in a row would reluctantly come to serve us, disappear for long periods, enjoy chatting with other hotel staff instead of giving us any attention at all. One day the staff decided to turn the music up at full volume to have a little informal fun themselves at the bar, with no regard for us trying to have a relaxing lunch. It takes at least 30-40 minutes to receive any meal, and it usually comes part cold.
Some of the reception staff also need a customer service refresher training to remember that the client should not feel they are bothering the staff to ask simple questions.
We will recommend the hotel, and would like to visit again.
But we know now to avoid the restaurant at all costs.
Villas de Palermo is a 4-star resort, but gets 2 stars on its restaurant and very mixed reviews on staff customer service.
Recommended for:
Girls Getaway,
Tourists without a Car,
Sightseeing,
Families with Teenagers,
Romantic Getaway
Owner's Response: We are happy that you enjoyed your time at Villas de Palermo - and you can be assured that your drapes were changed after we read your comments. Too bad that we didn't realize that they were stained during the wood restoration that was completed in your villa - just before your arrival. We have piles of new drapes, so next time, please let us know what we can do to make your stay more comfortable.
We also appreciate your candid feedback about your waitress. In Nicaragua, part of the salary paid to each hotel employee funds "english-language and hospitality" training courses - available free to the employees. We'll make sure our staff that you mentioned will attend a refresher course!
We hope to see you again, soon.
Helpful votes: 1/1
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