I just returned from a two day stay at Casa Ariki in San Juan del Sur. The accomodations were comfortable and the staff is wonderful. Great food and great coffie. The highlight of our stay was a rapelling tour by the owner, Baldo. We started with an historical tour of an old fort, then rapelled down a 360 foot cliff followed by a swim in the ocean and finally an ice-cold Tona beer to top off the experience. Thank you Baldo and Sarah for your wonderful hospitality!

I chose this place based on its fabulous ratings from prior guests, and I have to say, I have no idea why they loved it so much. For $50, I got a place where the noise of the run down building kept me up all night and one of my coldest showers in Nicaragua. The "free filtered water" did not taste as if it had been filtered at all (and I had some stomach upset afterwards), AND there was only about a cup of water IN the filter. All in all, the place was ok. The people were extremely nice and it felt very secure (the gate was always locked and there was a security guy at night). However, a place of this caliber doesn't really deserve to be more than $20-30 for a room (even a private room). Oh, also, the toilet was broken.

We only stayed for a few days and unfort8unateluy didn’t get to go surfing…which is clearly the thing to be doing in San Juan. Although there’s plenty to keep you occupied in a nice (if a bit touristy) beach town with loads of bars and restaurants.
The owners were very friendly and available if you needed to ask questions etc.. The room was adequate with a shared bathroom. It did seem a little steep in comparison to other places in Nicaragua but not crazy prices.
One negative point, when it rained (and it rains hard!) the ceiling leaked a bit…nothing dramatic but did mean we had to move our bed in the middle of the night to avoid drips!
Certainly a good place to stay in San Juan

We stayed two nights in november 2012. The owners both speak English very well and are tremendously helpful, especially if you Spanish isn't so good. The location is right in town, and a short walk to the beach or anywhere, yet it is not noisy. The bars with all the parties are far enough away so that you won't be bothered. The room was clean with a nice ceiling fan and a/c was available. Very safe place, and they also have a night watchman who will let you in and out. An added bonus is that the owner's father has a coffee farm and you get to drink coffee from it for free in the morning. Highly recommended.