Isleta El Espino

An Island of Five Rooms, Minutes From Granada

Lake Nicaragua is scattered with small islands off the shore below Granada, thrown there when Mombacho lost a flank, and people have lived on them ever since. El Espino is one of them, privately owned, with five guest rooms and a restaurant on it and nothing else. You arrive by boat, which resets the day immediately. What waits is not a resort: treetop ranchos under mosquito nets, casitas at the water’s edge, a pool, a yoga deck, and furniture made by craftsmen from the area out of materials that came from nearby. The island runs on solar power.

Why It Works

Five rooms on a private island is about as clear an idea as hospitality gets. Nobody is in your way, the water is the horizon in every direction, and the whole property can be taken by one group, up to forty-five people for a wedding or a private event. The second reason is the standard of the build: an eco-lodge that has done the work, with solar power, local artisans, handmade furniture and ingredients bought from farmers on the shore. The third is proximity. Granada is minutes away, so you are never choosing between the city and the lake.

Why This Location

Las Isletas lie in the lake just south of Granada, a maze of channels between islands of every size, some with a single house on them, some with nothing but birds. The water is calm, which is why the kayaks are the right way to see it: you can paddle between islands in the early morning while everything is moving. Migratory species pass through the archipelago in numbers. Mombacho stands behind it all, and the city is close enough for an afternoon in the colonial grid before you are back on the boat. Very few places let you do both in one stay.

Fast Facts

• Price: Premium

• Vibe: Private island, barefoot, eco, quiet

• Rooms: 5, including treetop ranchos and a treetop suite, a bungalow and casitas with lake views, all in natural materials

• Best For: Couples who want isolation without distance, birdwatchers and kayakers, groups and weddings taking the whole island

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: The treetop rancho, a bed under a mosquito net with the lake underneath

• Dining: Open air restaurant cooking fresh local and often organic ingredients from nearby farmers

• Amenities: Swimming pool, yoga deck, massage service, kayaks, solar power throughout, full island buyout for up to forty-five guests

• Attractions: The channels of Las Isletas by kayak, migratory birds through the archipelago, Granada minutes away by boat, Mombacho behind the shore

Treetops, Casitas and the Full Island

The five rooms are deliberately unalike. The treetop rancho puts a bed under a mosquito net up among the branches, and the treetop suite does the same with more space around it. The casita has a four poster with its own net and the lake at the door. The bungalow opens through a sliding door onto the same view. Then there is the fifth option, which is the whole island: five rooms, the restaurant, the pool and the water, taken by one group. That is the one people remember.

Solar Power, Local Hands, Open Air Kitchen

The eco-lodge label gets used loosely and here it is earned in the details. Power comes from the sun. The furniture was made by craftsmen from the area rather than shipped in. The kitchen buys fresh, local and often organic, supporting farmers and artisans on the shore, and cooks in the open air, so dinner happens with the lake making its evening noise a few metres away. The general manager, Maria José Espinoza Carcache, runs it as a small operation, and it shows in how the island is kept.

Arriving by Boat

There is no road to the island, which is the point, so agree the transfer with the lodge when you book and allow the time. Bring what you need for two or three days rather than planning to pop out for it. The pool and the kayaks cover the middle of the day, the massage the end of it. Spanish and English are spoken, and the island suits adults and small groups.