Hotel Villa Paraiso (Ometepe Island, Nicaragua)

Reputed to be the best place to say on the island we found the accommodation sub-standard for $58 a night. Good views, fresh breezes and an open-air restaurant are the high points. Hygiene, service and exorbitant prices (a cheap bottle of Chilean plonk fetches US $25) are the lows. I’m sure one could do better renting reasonable accommodation nearby and eating at Paraiso’s restaurant, as long as the stray dogs, begging cats and birds (which at first seem attractive but whose appeal diminishes in proportion to the excrement deposited on the tables) don’t put you off.