Hotel Jardín de Granada Nicaragua

Five Blocks From the Calzada, and That Is the Point

Granada concentrates its evenings on one street. La Calzada runs from the cathedral down towards the lake, loud and cheerful and lined with tables, which is wonderful for two hours and less wonderful at one in the morning. This hotel sits five blocks off it, in La Otra Banda, the quieter quarter by the old railway station. Ten rooms, a tropical garden with a pool in it, a terrace nobody hurries you off. Michael and Marcia own the place and run it, and the difference between an owner run house and a managed one is visible within an hour of checking in.

Why It Works

The arithmetic of Granada is simple: the closer you sleep to the Calzada, the less you sleep. Five blocks is the sweet spot, near enough to walk back from dinner, far enough that the garden is silent. The second reason is that garden, genuinely planted rather than decorative, with a pool guests actually use in the afternoon heat. The third is breakfast, included, homemade and Nicaraguan rather than a buffet: gallo pinto, bread out of the oven, fruit, eggs cooked to order. Small house, few rooms, no anonymity.

Why This Location

La Otra Banda is the eastern edge of the colonial grid, residential, low and calm. The Convento de San Francisco, with its cloister and its pre-Columbian statuary, is under ten minutes away on foot, and so is the old railway station. Parque Central and the cathedral follow a few blocks further west, and the Calzada delivers you to the lakefront if you keep walking. Granada’s day trips start from nearby too: the boat channels of Las Isletas, and the cloud forest on Mombacho above the city. You can do all of it without moving the car, which is the argument for sleeping inside the grid rather than out by the water.

Fast Facts

• Price: Premium

• Vibe: Garden, owner run, quiet, colonial Granada

• Rooms: 10, in three sizes, from a Comfort queen to a Deluxe double with balcony and city view and a quadruple with two queen beds facing the pool

• Best For: Couples who want a garden more than a lobby, small groups taking the quadruple, travellers using Granada as a base for Mombacho and Las Isletas

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: The breakfast table in the garden, with bread baked that morning

• Dining: Included homemade Nicaraguan breakfast, with the Calzada’s restaurants five blocks away for everything else

• Amenities: Outdoor pool in a planted tropical garden, terrace, on site parking, air conditioning in the rooms

• Attractions: Convento de San Francisco and the old railway station under ten minutes on foot, Parque Central and the cathedral a few blocks on, Calle La Calzada five blocks away, Las Isletas and Mombacho within a morning

Ten Rooms, and the One to Ask For

Three categories, all larger than the small hotel average in this city. The Comfort room is a queen at around thirty square metres, which is a lot of floor for the bracket. The Deluxe double adds a balcony and a view over the rooftops. The one to ask for, if there are more than two of you or if you intend to spend the afternoons horizontal, is the deluxe quadruple: two queen beds, a little over thirty-three square metres, and a view straight onto the pool. All have air conditioning, which between February and May is not a luxury.

Breakfast in the Garden

It is included, and it is the thing guests talk about. Tropical fruit, yoghurt with granola, toast and fresh bread, coffee and juice, then a hot plate: pancakes, eggs however you take them, or gallo pinto with sausage and cheese. It is served in the garden, which at eight in the morning is the coolest and best part of the property. The owners’ dogs and a cat have the run of the place and will join you if allowed.

Before You Book

Check in opens at two, check out is midday. Parking is on site, useful if you are driving the Granada, Masaya and Mombacho circuit rather than taking shuttles. Guests are asked not to bring their own animals, the resident ones having claimed the garden already. Spanish, English and German are spoken. With ten rooms, dry season dates go early.