We stayed at Aqua with our family. My parents bucked up and got a beach front place and we saved our money and stayed up the hill. We are athletic and the stairs up and down were still a bit of a challenge. I am home now, and feel like I am in better shape than when I left. The resort does not have a gym, so it is kind of nice that you can get a sufficient cardio workout on the stairs. Also, all of the stairs in the resort make for amazing views from every villa.

The beach front def has perks though. My parents had a kitchen in their villa and would take cocktail breaks easily with only a few stairs to their kitchen from the beach.

The food at the resort is good, but the service is slower than I would prefer. I recomend taking a book, or playing cards if you have lunch by the beach bar. The view from the bar is amazing, so just relax instead of letting the slow service get to you.

I cannot think of a better place to do yoga than at Aqua, the view is amazing from the yoga platform. The yoga itself is taught for many levels, so do not be scared to try it out even if you have never done yoga before.

Do not leave without venturing out of the resort to Playa Gigante. The walk is not difficult and it takes only about 20 minutes. You will be able to experience Nicaraguan cuisine and see the culture in this nearby fishing village. Also, the store over there has almost everything that you could possibly need. From Playa Gigante there are two more walkable beaches, that are worth visiting if you have the energy. On the last beach, called Colorado, you can get water and have a snack at the Iguana private beach club. Don't be scared of it being called private, they served us a few times without any questions asked.

this place is super cool...essentially you're staying in private treehouses and couldn't be more removed from society. you're surrounded by the sound of lapping waves, crazy loud howler monkeys and crickets--all of which i loved.

the food was great. all fresh ingredients, locally sourced. get the ceviche. but they were out of alot of items too much of the time. we wanted the fish curry so many nights and FINALLY on the last night they had it. it was worth the wait.

beach is very nice...some days the water was pretty rough...but great for sunbathing. and you're almost always alone. considering the place is so far removed, we kept wondering where everyone was?!

the BUT part of the review...some of which i'm willing to overlook because of its eco-stance:
- no electricity during the day; weird wine cooler in the room but no mini fridge (seemed so incongruous--who's storing 6 bottles of wine and what good is it if the electricity is turned off during the day??)
- it's a trek from the rooms to the restaurant and beach; be prepared for steep steps, and lots of them
- the yoga class was a joke; while i'm no yogi, it felt like an hour of mild stretching at best
- since the place is so small, you get to know the management (or were they owners?), yoga instructor, etc because they're hanging out like they're resort guests. i'm all for friendly service, but pulling up chairs and having drinks with guests seems like it's taking it too far. the impression we left with was they were enjoying the lifestyle of beach living more than managing a resort

if you're willing to overlook the nits i've outlined above, then it's a nice stay.

I really struggled with this review. On one hand, Aqua is lovely. Its location in the canopy is unreal, and the villas are beautiful. The beach is pristine. The spa was outstanding (I was suprised by how much I enjoyed the spa after reading some of the reviews, actually).

On the other, it fell short of meeting our expectations. The overall attenton to detail and service level was lacking. We noticed this immediately upon arrival. The "welcome" at reception was very businesslike... not warm at all (in fact, we felt like we were interrupting the woman who checked us in, she seemed annoyed when we showed up). We did not recieve any explanation or map of the property (which is a bit confusing at first), and we did not receive any literature about the spa or activities (I wrongly assumed that they'd provide this in the rooms). They did not provide cushions on the wood slat deck furniture, so enjoying the beautiful deck and outstanding view proved to be very uncomfortable.

The beach furniture was similarily poor. The chase lounges didn't have cushions and were almost unbearably uncomfortable... and there were very few of them to begin with. Several hammocks had huge holes, making them impossible to use. And many of the other seats (made of rope) had holes or were frayed. I of course realize that Aqua is not a 5-star retreat in a developed nation, so I don't expect service that you'd get at a Aman Resort or a Four Seasons... but for the money we paid, I do expect furniture that is comfortable and usable.

As for the restaurant and bar, we thought it was good. We didn't experience poor service like other reviewers seemed to have. The restaurant and bar staff we had were fine and attentive. The food was also fine -- not outstanding but certainly not bad.

The bottom line is that we did enjoy our time at Aqua. It's a beautiful spot. But, we wouldn't recommend it to others unless some of the issues are addressed. Not to sound strange, but it felt like Aqua was missing a "soul" or is suffering from an identity crisis.

First of all, name is deceiving as this is no resort and pictures on their website paint a much nicer picture. After 4 nights in Granada we decided to spend 3 relaxing nights in Aqua. It was an adventure just getting there and not in a fun way. Half of the road from Granada to Aqua doesn't exist and we felt bad for our driver's car. Upon requesting a hair dryer on our first night, I was told that one of the other guests already has it and they can try and get it for me the next day. There is only 1 hairdryer in the whole "resort"!?! After I complained that I needed one now, not tomorrow, they were able to find me one somewhere. There is a wine cooler (?) instead of a little fridge in the room so you can't properly cool off anything in it except of course if you want wine but then again there are no wine glasses in the room. There is a coffee maker in the room but no coffee cups. Two of the lights (one in the room and one on the little balcony) were missing bulbs. It was pretty dark in the room and especially outside after the sunset so bring a flashlight. The food at the restaurant was tasty most of the time and portions were big but every day they were out of something on the menu (like white rice or salad!?!). Prices in the restaurant are high as you have no other options but to eat there. Service depended on who you get, most were nice, lacking in english though but some waiters seemed annoyed. We were prepared for the many steps and when I called to see where our room was located after booking thru expedia, they were unable to tell me on the phone, and of course we were put in one furthest from the beach (182 steps). The beach is beautiful and that was the highlight of our whole experience at Aqua. We are not planning on returning there again.