Obviously I agree with the other reviewers that Playa el Coco is a staggeringly beautiful beach, a fact which the owners of this establishment have clearly been dining out on for some considerable time, whilst completely ignoring the other elements which constitute quality accommodation worthy of the price they charge. For $170 a night it was no better in standard than a budget hostel. I doubt the place - especially the god-awful bathroom & separate toilet - has been updated in the last 25 years and was basic, dated and tatty. You had to duck under some piping and low concrete ceilings under the room to reach the stairs up to the room. No proper paving, unkempt grounds, chipped tiles on stairs. It was just a mess. There was nothing pleasant or charming about the place whatsoever except for the view of the sea & beach location. Plonk the room in a hostel in Managua, say, and it’s $15 a night. Having arrived I read on TA that some people staying in our apartment a while ago had things stolen during the night whilst they slept. This of course concerned me as the locks on the door were utterly rubbish & I went out at 9pm for a walk round the site with a torch, only for it to become apparent the place was seemingly deserted and no security whatsoever was evident. It was eerie and needless to say I did not have a good nights sleep. I jumped at every sound, of which there were many as the windows rattled badly in the wind. I’m incredulous at the cost for the very poor standard. They insisted we pay cash upfront before we even saw the room (funny that). There is no way on earth I’d have spent that money on that low standard of accommodation. We were given a ticket for breakfast which clearly stated breakfast was served from 7 a.m yet on arrival at the restaurant at 7.30 a.m we were ignored. I asked if we could order breakfast and I was told; ‘maybe in half an hour’. I asked in that case whether some coffee was available and I was informed the coffee machine was ‘cold’. We left after one night & money was refunded as a result. The place obviously has potential because of the location but without some serious investment and improvement in quality & approach it’s a business going down the pan as far as I can ascertain & I cannot recommend it because it represents perhaps the worst value for money in terms of accommodation standards I have ever seen.
