Originally Posted by
md125
This is genuinely disappointing to hear.
We were there last December, exactly a year ago. No issue with bugs, although it was a bit windy and that might have helped. Mrs. md125 is a bug magnet and did not get bitten, at least not more than maybe a bite or two, nothing memorable. The food was fantastic. Wifi was reliable the entire time we were there. We didn't get sick. Claudia reviewed our checkout privately (although there was only one other couple at the time, and aside from that final evening we were the only ones on the island). If I recall correctly, we tipped around $150. Agree that the socialization might not be for everyone. We enjoyed it, but again, it was mostly having a few drinks with Leon and Claudia before dinner except for the final evening, and we really had a nice conversation with the one other couple who arrived that day.
Agree about using Nestor. We started our stay in Granada and had already gone to Masaya, the volcano at night and toured around before going to Calala, but we did use him to take us around Managua for a day and he was excellent.
We did not bring any Cordoba and not too many dollars. Just used ATMs in Granada for local tours, and restaurants all took credit cards.
Yeah...our food looked (and sounds like, tasted) nothing like your pictures. That looks excellent.
Dinner was very simple seafood and meat usually, which would've been fine if it was prepared and cooked well, but it often wasn't. If you're expecting a foodie haven right now with great presentation and taste, then Calala is going to be very disappointing. One of the nights, there was a buffet with plain overcooked shrimp skewers and fish, crabs that had practically no meat in them, coconut milk seafood stew, Nicaraguan chicken, and plantains and plain bean dip. It left a lot to be desired.
Getting sick could've just been bad luck, but I thought it was notable with njvandy's experience.