My husband , daughter, and I stayed at Piedras y Olas June 14-16, 2008 and loved every minute of it! It is one of the nicest townhomes we have ever rented. I highly recommend this place to almost everyone and can't wait to return.

The villa: Casa Fantasia--in phase II--1 bedroom/ 2 bathrooms.
Lots of beautiful lighting. Plenty of room and supplies to eat in the villa. Beautiful views of the mountains, valley, and ocean. Air conditioning worked wonderfully. Coffee maker ready to go (complete with coffee, creamer, & sugar). Housekeeping everyday from 2-4 as scheduled.

This is the part of the property that is under construction so, although our villa was immaculate, all around us were areas being built. I can't wait to go back and see the finished result.

Also, phase II is high on the hill which means lots of walking and the gravel is loose so it can be dangerous, especially when walking downhill. Because of the high location, we ate our breakfast (included in the price and awesome!) at the restaurant close to the infinity and family pools. It was never crowded and the staff where always wonderful.

The bad: Not much except for the stairs--lots and lots of stairs! The staff will help with the luggage because some of the rooms are only accessible after twisting through many stairs--no parking lot close by. Casa Fantasia was perfect because we were able to park directly outside (the staff still carried our luggage for us).
The stairs you have to take to walk to the town and the beach would be WAY TOO much for anyone who has difficulty walking and climbing stairs. There is no way around them. You get awesome views and great exercise but some people will not be able to use the stairs--I did see several people having this problem while we were there.

The sunset sailing trip--it was GREAT! Highly recommended! Captain Jim makes you feel very comfortable. The staff speaks only Spanish and Captain Jim only English (mostly). We had plenty of food and drinks and the ceviche was the first I had ever tried and I"m glad I did--even my daughter who doesn't like seafood loved it. The secluded beach we spent time at was beautiful! If at all possible--go sailing on the Pelican Eyes sailboat with Captain Jim!

Food--breakfast at Piedras y Olas was included but I would have paid for it anyway--it was excellent and the prices were not bad ($5-$12). DInner is more expensive but we never ate there--we always walked down to the town and ate in the restaurants there. I do not recommend the pizza place across the street from the church (at the bottom of the hill directly in front of the resort). There were lots of people there (mostly speaking English) but the pizza was not very good (it was only $6). The ocean front restaurants were both good and the fresh catch of the day always a good choice. And save room for some Eskimo Rum Raisin ice cream from the Eskimo ice cream store right on the beach.

I loved this place and can't wait to go back--I just hope my knees hold up so I can survive the stairs!

i was in p/o from june 8 through the 15,2008 with my husband and my two childrens of 3 and 6. we were impress w/ this hotel if you can call it like that, but every villa is so big and beautiful. we had a blast, the service was excellent except the frontdesk. i had different situations w/the crew. first when we got there i request if i can paid $20 extra for my cousin because he was driving us the next day, which in there website it said that for any extra person you paid $20 at day, they told me no because the villa it was only for 4 people. imaging ours it was a casita w/a private pool, so who ever stay in that hotel knows how big it is. well they make me paid $167 for one night. they just didn't want to help. on top of that they lost the copy of the room i rent and got mad because i through my copy on the trash, is not my responsability that they don't have any organization or may be everyone wants to be a boss. when i went to checkout they were charging me extra phone calls and a dinner for $78 that we never had. some of the ladys not all of them had an atittude problem in the frontdesk, they need to keep in mind that they are working w/the public and they should had a better training how to treat people. the rest of crew in the rest were excellent willing to help and w/a smile always. specially bayron was always possitive and helpful. i want to said thank you to jean brugger and her association to help my country to get better with a hotel like this one that shows the beauty that we have in nic and also will change peoples mind when they visit because is very safe. thanks ones again p.s.we saw matthew mcconnehy in the hotel also. very impress!

We stayed at Pelican Eyes from June 5th to June 12th, 2008 and had a fantastic time. The place is an absolute fantasy land. The rooms are fabulous with all sorts of crazy curves and finishes. Opposite our room was the monkey habitat. All sorts of animals and birds are present on the property, as it is also an animal sanctuary. Food in the restaurants was wonderful and varied.
Views are fantastic from it's hillside overlooking the Pacific. We recommend it to anyone looking for a restful stay, with beautiful swimming pools, jungle walks and lots of roaming animals.

If you are a surfer, there is great surfing nearby. Day trips to nearby Granada, Katerina, and Masaya are easy and interesting.

P.S. During our stay Matthew McConnehy was in residence at the Hotel.

San Juan del Sur is an incredible part of Nic and Pelican Eyes makes for a very nice resort complex. As other have noted, the food is very good, the pools are beautiful and our casa was new and spacious. The views from all around Pelican Eyes are stunning. I think people's expectations need to be clear, so will point out a few things I think one needs to clearly understand up front. I don't intend these as negatives, perhaps just more of a reality check - 1) The resort is about a 10-15 minute walk from the beach. We had no problem with getting up and down the hill, but could understand how some that are less mobile might. 2) Given the locale, some bugs will likely find their way into your accommodations. Not a big deal to us, but they were there. 3) Hot water comes and goes, as it does across Nic. 4) The last 10 miles or so of the road into town is quite bad. It is either very bumpy, under construction or not there at all (especially during heavy rain). I'm sure this will improve in time, but something to be aware of if, especially you are driving yourself. The only other issue is that some of the front desk staff seemed kind of indifferent and not real eager to help with arrangements. All of the other resort staff were terrific, so not sure what the issue was with the front desk. Overall, this was a generally favorable, four star Nicaragua experience, but important to have appropriate expectations.