We were here for 8 days and loved every moment. The food was awesome. We ate fresh everything; it was cooked to perfection. The hotel, bar and restaurant staff were really friendly. It wasn't a stuffy feel at all. Super relaxed and authentic. The Villas were comfortable and clean. The accommodations were perfect for resting after a day in the sun. We loved it and would recommend it to anyone wanting to get away from it all.

This hotel has a lot to recommend it. It has what most travelers looks for: central location, cleanliness and tranquility, Put all that together with great rates in the off-season and you've got a pretty nice place to stay.
However, there is an interesting story behind how this hotel got its start, helping to at least partly explain the mystery of why so many places are for sale. Each condo is individually owned, but the owners have to agree to the following: they must rent it out for most of the year and all condos share the proceeds! So, you are allowed to advertise your own property, but there is no incentive to do that.
There are also strict regulations about how each condo is furnished and what it can contain, so there is no real way to make your condo more comfortable. No little extras that turn a regular hotel into a luxury one (exactly two pillows per bed, 300 thread count sheets, etc).
It seemed to us that this hotel could be made a lot nicer than it is, if they could relax some of these rather strict ownership rules that they currently have.
The restaurant is actually pretty good, but glacially slow, so we ended up going into the town for meals most of the time. They have a cute little vehicle that leaves for town every hour, but even if it's just sitting there, they won't take guests into town unless it's the right time. At one point, they did agree to give us a ride into town in their van, stating that they would do it "just for us".
All in all, I'd stay here again, but probably not for more than a few days.

This is my second time staying at Villas Palermo and again came back with a smile. The beauty of this place is the stand alone villas that have the feel of coming home. The villas are rather modern and have all the luxuries. I appreciate that it is not in the heart of San Juan rather tucked up in the mountains with a wonderful view of the bay. You have the option of walking into town (about 20 minutes) or riding down in the tuk-tuk (compliments of the hotel). After eating at a few places in town, I kept coming back to Villas Palermo for the price and quality of food out ranked others. The lomito in chimichirri sauce is incredible, the caesar salad (although a bit small) is delicious. The shrimps in the chef's sauce also delicious.
Very pleased with the service, villas, and restaurant. Will definitely be back again.

My husband, son and I stayed here recently. We stayed for 4 nights using a Groupon Deal. The resort is up above the town of San Juan del Sur, about a 10-15 minute walk or easy shuttle ride. You have beautiful views of the ocean and surrounding green hills.

The condo had modern, comfortable furnishings. The bathrooms were clean and the kitchen had everything you might need to cook on your own. The beds were comfortable and the bedrooms spacious. The ground were beautiful and all was tranquil and quiet.

The condos are arranged on a switchback type road above the pool and restaraunt. If you stay in the units further up the hill you have to use the paved road to walk on to get to the restaraunt. There is no protected sidewalk. Traffic is just within the resort traffic, but cars do go up and down the road regularly. This was an area of concern for my husband and I with our 2 year old son. It ended up being fine but I just really wish they had put in a sidewalk.

The pool is a highlight! It is beautiful, clean and has a fun waterfall feature. My son loved the pool and we spent many hours there.

The food at the restaraunt was delicious and varied. The Nicaraguan breakfast was my favorite each AM. Prices were reasonable.

It was easy to arrange excursions, massages, rides into town from the main office. We loved our tour to see the turtles at night at the catamaran sailing trip.

The office never had change for large Cordobas and neither did the restaraunt. Keep this in mind for tipping (get smaller bills before you get to the resort for tips).

All in all a great place to stay. I would definitely return!