Real Intercontinental Metrocentro Managua, an IHG Hotel

The One Managua Night Worth Getting Right

Nicaragua rarely begins in Managua by choice. It begins there because the flights land there, and the question is only how much of the day the capital is allowed to take. The Real InterContinental answers that question by removing the friction: it sits directly against the Metrocentro shopping centre, with an internal door into it, and the airport road runs about ten kilometres to the north east. Behind the glass it is a large, orderly, five star house of a hundred and fifty seven rooms, with a pool on a renovated terrace, four restaurants and a Club floor. Nobody comes to Nicaragua for this hotel. Plenty of good trips depend on it.

Why It Works

Two reasons, and both are about time. The first is the mall door: pharmacy, cash machines, phone cards, a supermarket and a food court are a two minute walk from your room, which is worth more on arrival than any view. The second is the room engineering. Soundproofed windows and blackout curtains in a city that starts early are not a luxury feature, they are the difference between landing tired and starting the trip tired. Add a check out at one in the afternoon, unusually late, and the last day stops being a scramble. This is a hotel selected on function, and we would rather say so.

Why This Location

Metrocentro is the hinge of modern Managua. The commercial district around it holds the embassies, the airline offices and the restaurants of the Los Robles side, which is where you eat if you want more than a hotel dining room. Augusto Cesar Sandino international airport is roughly ten kilometres away, close enough for an early departure without a night transfer. What the address does not give you is old Managua or the lakefront, which are a drive away; this is the business quarter, and it is chosen for the connections rather than the scenery.

Fast Facts

• Price: Luxe

• Vibe: international, efficient, business first

• Rooms: one hundred and fifty seven, from Classic rooms to one bedroom and Presidential suites

• Best For: arrival and departure nights, business travellers, families breaking a long journey

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: the internal door into Metrocentro, which turns the first hour in Nicaragua into a short walk

• Dining: four restaurants on site, including The Market, and the Blu bar set around the pool

• Amenities: outdoor pool with terrace service, fitness centre, meeting and event space, Club InterContinental floor with private check in, breakfast, afternoon tea and evening drinks, Egyptian cotton bedding, soundproofed windows

• Attractions: Metrocentro shopping centre, directly connected; the Los Robles restaurant district; Augusto Cesar Sandino international airport, about ten kilometres

Classic Rooms, Suites and the Club Floor

The room ladder is the familiar one: Classic rooms for a night or two, one bedroom suites when the stay stretches, Presidential suites at the top. What is worth paying attention to is the Club InterContinental tier, because in a hotel this size it changes the experience more than the square metres do. It brings a separate check in, breakfast away from the main dining room, afternoon tea and an evening hour with drinks and something to eat. On a single night between flights, that combination often replaces dinner altogether.

Four Restaurants and a Bar at the Pool

The pool sits on a terrace that has been redone recently, with loungers and service to the chair, and the Blu bar runs alongside it. That is where the hotel is at its best in the late afternoon, once the heat drops. Four restaurants operate on the property, which in practice means you can eat at almost any hour, a real advantage when a flight has put you five hours out of step. For a proper dinner, the streets on the Los Robles side are the better call.

Arriving and Leaving

Check in from three in the afternoon, check out at one the next day. Staff work in Spanish and English, and in a handful of other languages besides. Airport transfers are straightforward to arrange at the desk, and the ten kilometre run means an early flight does not require a five o clock start. Book the Club floor if the stay is short and the schedule is tight; book a Classic room if the hotel is only a bed between two better places.