Surf Ranch Hotel & Resort

10/10

Exceptional

02 Mar 2026

Daphne

Note: it is far from the beach. You will need a taxi to take you to and from the beach. Which is around $20 round trip. All the restaurants and stores are at the beach.

BUT other than that, the resort is amazing. I’d say spend a day at the beach because that’s all you really need. The resort has a nice pool, bar, skatepark, gym and restaurant.

The room is comfortable. Nice shower, cozy bed. AC. No bugs or dirt.

10/10

Exceptional

24 Jan 2026

Gessner

Amazing customer service

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

23 Jan 2026

Frida

The staff was super sweet, room was nice and it was very calm. Food vad super!

4/10

Poor

13 Jan 2026

Karina

1st. The road access is very bad condition. Hotel owner should advise travelers there bridge to cross very deep down.
2nd. For the price they charged for the Villas a minimum unlimited coffee should be available.
3rd. No cable and poor wifi connection
4th. No hot water.
5th. Front desk very helpful lady but had no back up help or support for maintenance.
6th. To little staff to take care of this resort specially on weekends or buzy days.

4/10

Poor

12 Jan 2026

Karina

1st. The road access is very bad condition. Hotel owner should advise travelers there bridge to cross very deep down.
2nd. For the price they charged for the Villas a minimum unlimited coffee should be available.
3rd. No cable and poor wifi connection
4th. No hot water.
5th. Front desk very helpful lady but had no back up help or support for maintenance.
6th. To little staff to take care of this resort specially on weekends or buzy days.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

12 Jan 2026

Cesar

Nice place away from all noise very recommended

Business Partner

2/10

Poor

31 Dec 2025

Henry

They didn’t clean the room. No hot water. You have to cross a river by car to reach the hotel.

4/10

Poor

27 Dec 2025

oscar

Pool is dirty with algae and tree bark, also not operable unless they see guest using it. I believe this doesn’t save money because the cleanliness of the pool depends on motors running at all times. I was there for the Christmas break, they should’ve cleaned the pool throughly.
The walls on the building need repair and paint, again sad sight to see during Christmas/new years break.
No decor of the season. I know that’s not mandatory but people do go there for “the holidays”
WiFi is basically non existent in the rooms and it’s important because of work and obviously no cellular services reaches because of the rural area, only (3G) at times. At least on the back end of the property.
The doors are in decay and the locks make me think anyone can just bust through the entrance.
Little to no furniture in the rooms more than a night stand so it sucks that we have to live out of a backpack 🎒 lounges (we are here for 4 days)
No furniture in the shower so nowhere to store your hygiene supplies. Again living out of bags and backpacks although we were there 4 days is extremely inconvenient.
The sole TV is in the living room and it’s 20” (table size) but mounted high on the wall.
The only amazing this about this place is the Mini Split Air Conditioners, they made our sleep schedule like babies.

Leisure Family_with_children

2/10

Poor

19 Dec 2025

Kimberling

Dirty. There's no amenities

Leisure Family

2/10

Poor

19 Dec 2025

Kimberling

The Room and entire place was dirty. There's no amenities.

Leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

14 Dec 2025

Kasey

Looks better on the pictures than what it is. Facilities looks deteriorated like an old hotel.
In one word: overrated

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

24 Nov 2025

Yongpil

Kund staff, entertainment - water slide, pool, etc.., breakfast was good also.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

09 Nov 2025

Felix

Yes excellent

6/10

Pleasant

10 Sep 2025

Martin

A very negative point. The internet was not available in the rooms and there was a strong smell of damp. On the positive side, the staff was very friendly and the breakfast was very good.

Business_and_leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

27 Jul 2025

Lindsay

This hotel is tucked away from the town but feels like a little resort. The wading pool was refreshing with views of monkeys above in the trees. The food was quite good.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

21 Jul 2025

Arlen

Good Stay

The stay was great, I had a blast with my family and the rooms were comfy, although I do have to point out that my Villa had an issue with one of the doors, the lock that should've kept one of the doors close was broken or something, thing is, it was open. Thankfully the villa had 2 bedrooms that coud be locked from the inside, but it is a downside.

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

13 Jul 2025

Edward

Front desk lady is too much.

2/10

Poor

19 Jun 2025

Eduardo

Very nice but note that you have to cross a river to get there specially when it rains recomend to have a 4x4, it’s close to the town in car too far to go walking. and if you’re an early bird you won’t be able to drink coffee or anything before 8 Am which was an inconvenience for us since we were awake early. Also if you want to check out or leave before 7:30 AM you have to let them know ahead of time because there’s only the security guard and he’s not allowed to let anybody go before the receptionist gets there to make sure you don’t have any bills pending at the restaurant or any charges pending. The beds are very uncomfortable and sounds like it’s going to break but it’s affordable price the pool was clean and it’s not that deep perfect for kids

10/10

Exceptional

26 Mar 2025

Angy

Plenty of activities for kids

2/10

Poor

03 Mar 2025

Jesus

They have bugs in the rooms. Very scary. My room was upgraded but bugs in the rooms. Spiders, ants and even a centipede.
Staff is really nice though.
But try avoiding staying here due to bugs..

Leisure Friends

8/10

Excellent

02 Feb 2025

Sandra

Everything was good except the shower, hardly any flow and expensive extras, like $3 water, but they're trying to make a living too!

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

06 Jan 2025

Heiling

Excellent resort!! I really loved it. It is very relaxing and enjoyable. Great place to spend time with your family and friends ❤️

Leisure Family

4/10

Poor

09 Dec 2024

Keydy

This hotel need deep clean I don’t have good experience at this hotel .

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

26 Aug 2024

Jose

Nice place....!!

10/10

Exceptional

19 Jul 2024

Amy

It was really nice. It’s quite

Business Family

2/10

Poor

01 Apr 2024

Yamil

I paid $150 a night, and the room didn’t have towels, soap, shampoo, and the TV cable didn’t work. The parking space was limited, and they knocked on my door at 7 am to move my car so other people could get out.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

12 Mar 2024

Marvelly

Our stay at Surf Ranch was nice, my family and I enjoyed it.

Friends_and_family Family

2/10

Poor

16 Jan 2024

Luis R

Nothing

2/10

Poor

02 Dec 2023

Matt

This property ad was deceptive. The drone shot shows a \"water park\". It was one average sized pool with water. What appeared in the picture to be other pools was cement painted blue but dry (not joking).

Worst of all is that it advertises to be in San Juan del Sur. SJDS is five actually miles away, and the last 1 mile is down a long dirt road crossing a river (no bridge). Since it rains nearly every day in SJDS, this \"road\" is continually a muddy jeep trail. We almost didn't get there to check in and we damaged our rental car trying and we were nearly stranded at night on a muddy road since there was no night receptionist.

Of course, it is nearly impossible to book a room last minute in SJDS so this made matters worse. Fortunately, my paid guide was able to use his influence to first get us access via the security guard to our room after we arrived, and then get us a room at another hotel for our second night.

Bottom line: If you want an off-road adventure and you have a high clearance 4x4 mud rig, this might be the right hotel for you. For people who want a nice hotel in San Juan Del Sur, avoid this hotel at all cost.

Although the hotel promised to refund my second day since we could not access the hotel due to their muddy road and 20' river crossing, it has not refunded the money thus far and it has been five days. Sadly, the staff was very pleasant and seem to be victims of dishonest and unscrupulous ownership/management.

AVOID THIS HOTEL AT ALL COST.

Business_and_leisure Family

2/10

Poor

26 Dec 2022

Lindsey

Never Again

The roads are hard to access parts are flooded, there’s a small river you have to cross. When we arrived we were told they do not offer 6beds as shown on their description- we ended up having to get a third room. The main room a scorpion inside when we arrived and later throughout the night ended up flooding. Very disappointed in the overall stay.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

25 Dec 2022

Carlos

The access road to the property is horrible. We had a hard time getting taxis to make that trip because of that.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

10 Oct 2022

Ubaldo

The facility is not too bad. Quite and pleasant. It’s just a bit too far from the city. Also, you have to cross a river and there is no bridge. If you take a taxi it may not take you all the way to the ranch if it rains or rained days before and the river water is too high. Not bad for the cost value per night of stay.
Friendly staff.

Leisure Partner

4/10

Poor

07 Jun 2022

Martin

The location hard to access, roads conditions plus misleading information about transportation prices, not much to do and faraway from town.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

04 Apr 2022

Arsenio

I found this place to be very clean, comfortable, and perfectly sized for one to two people. The bathroom and shower was excellent.

Partner

2/10

Poor

04 Jan 2022

Julio

Bed was concrete base and a lot mosquitoes I Left please Credit my money back I did sta there

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

25 Nov 2021

CARY

I love surf ranch, unless it rains a lot making the creek crossing hard for low cars. LOVELY property

Leisure Pet

4/10

Poor

21 Aug 2019

Verified traveler

There was no water to shower, very far from everything, run down, very poor service, the food was great

Leisure Family

4/10

Poor

17 Jun 2019

Verified traveler

The highlight of the ranch is the staff. They were excellent, but the owners have let the place run down and the main reason we went was so he could skate the park and it was a mess....it was full of debris and water and not what he had hoped for. The internet didn't work in our room and we were told we would have high speed internet and Netflix to watch, but it didn't work either. The staff was really excellent but they can't fix all of the problems.....the owners need to put some resources into fixing the place.

Leisure Partner

2/10

Poor

08 Apr 2018

Alain

Miserable

I've got better things to do than write more than the following comment:
Unpleasent personel, cheap on meals, don't respect the menu, very dirty pool, ..., one young man was ok - Joseph.

10/10

Exceptional

05 Feb 2018

alfredo

Nice vacations

Overall everything was good service personal was excellent especially the girl name Katherine she has great customer service.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

12 Jan 2018

Verified traveler

Resort was secluded and unique. We were treated like VIP customers. Can't wait to return!

4/10

Poor

10 Dec 2017

Stewart

No Bueno

The skatepark has gotten worse every year. They need to acctually repair some things on it. The Main quarter pipe is so bad with chunks of cement missing. There's cracks everywhere on it. Four years ago it wasn't to bad but I won't waste my time skating it again. The door on my room was very annoying it literally takes two hands to unlock and open it. When it closes it doesn't close all the way allowing the room to fill with bugs. I had an about 50 giant flying ants In my room I had to kill that were swarming me as I tried to sleep turned the light on to see my bed was filled with them. The staff is great but the owners need to acctually spend some money and address these problems before I would ever go back.

2/10

Poor

16 Nov 2017

Mark

Don’t waste your time or money.

Despite the reviews, we thought it might be a welcome respite from the main town.
It was not.

Partner

4/10

Poor

28 Aug 2017

Danilo

I don't recomend all inclusive opción.

I advice you to check all the comments about this hotel before you start your reservación. There are some issues with. I think the owner needs more experience. Definitly is not a resort.

2/10

Poor

11 Aug 2017

jose

Worst hotel experience

We arrived on Saturday evening , we got to the front desk and found the clerk as well as the resort manager who told us that they had to check the room to make sure it was ready, she left and came back a few minutes later and told us the room was ready and were given the keys, during all this time there was no welcome, no help to get the bags to the room, no one showed us the room features, and how to operate them.
After we manage to slide the room door open, We entered the room and shortly after we started to get settled we started noticing the dirty sink in the room, the cracks where the floor meets the wall, the ceiling fan wobbling so bad we had to turn it off.

The wood on the bottom half of the door to the bathroom was warped, the bathroom sink was dirty, there were fire ants crawling all over, we also saw a few centipeds crawling around.

My wife found a scorpion in the only towel in the shower, which happened to have several rips, the shower head was clogged to the point that only a few streams were coming out of it, all this happened past 11:00 pm and the reception was already closed, no phone in the room.
We decided to get in the bed and find a way to get out the next morning, when we moved the comforter, we fount that the sheets were stained.

It rained that night , in the morning I noticed the ceiling had several water leaks.

I had a four night non refundable reservation I preferred to lose the money And took my family to another hotel and salvage the vacation.

4/10

Poor

14 May 2017

Ivan

Worst hotel ever.

These people lie to costumers, because they don't offer any \"WELCOME DRINKS\" We asked for the drinks and they told us that they give anymore welcome drinks, just simple as that.
The hotel doesn't have any professional staff it;s managed who ever come to the front desk.
The pool is very small and shallow, in the picture looks huge but is not.
We definitely don't recommend this place.

Family

2/10

Poor

17 Apr 2017

Verified traveler

Worst hotel ever

Resort location was horrible, hard to find it's in the middle of nowhere, not an easy road access and far from main attractions. Hotel doesn't have television, mini refrigerator or coffee maker. Breakfast is supposed to start at 7:00am and it didn't start until 8:00am. We pay for 2 nights and only stay 1 night we check-out next day and money is not refundable.
I reserve 1 room and 1 villa they don't give u the villa and don't return the extra money u pay for it they have rules like any other resort but they have a white dog with skin problems but he can sleep over the sofas or chair

8/10

Excellent

25 Jan 2017

Julia

Pleasant small resort in lovely setting

Lovely small resort in peaceful country side location. All Inc.option good but limited. Great cocktails. Food not always hot enough. Useful shuttle into San Juan

Partner

2/10

Poor

17 Jan 2017

Verified traveler

Poor customer service, hotel is in need of cleaning and maintenance.

2/10

Poor

11 Jan 2017

Patricia

Dirty and horrible servide

Unfortunately I do not have anything good to tell about this stay. We got there and they didn't have any room. After 5 hours of waiting they gave us a room and it was filthy. the bathroom was not even cleaned. Disgusting.
They did even gave us sheets for the bed. I had to go and as for them.
It says 'breakfast included\" - don't even try. One day there was almost nothing to eat and the second day the staff was not up yet to make the breakfast.

Partner

4/10

Poor

29 Nov 2016

Verified traveler

Poor to average

We stayed here for 3 nights. First experience was them offering to pick us up from town for US$15 - taxi fare is US$5. Our room was small, air conditioner worked but leaked constantly. Toilet blocked & shower sometimes worked but never well.
The pool and bar area was cool - basically the only positive. 100% overpriced & in need of a serious facelift.

6/10

Pleasant

14 Nov 2016

Ernesto A

Clean self contained hotel with nice pool

Relaxed get away that was quiet compared to surfer town in downtown.

Partner

4/10

Poor

13 Nov 2016

Harley

Not worth the price in my opinion. Many hostels on par for much less.

4/10

Poor

27 Oct 2016

Verified traveler

Too pricey for the location, not enough amenities

2/10

Poor

23 Aug 2016

roxxy

Not close tobeach.15 minutes drive. Just ok

Understaff, not welcoming. I did not get my \"welcome drink\". Food not to good. For you to use the rock climbing wall, you need to reserve a day ahead. Had to request for manager, in order for me to get 2 beds! No tv in room. Not able to play volleyball. No balls available, the lights were not working at night. For the price of this hotel you can stay at a hotel at the beach.

6/10

Pleasant

26 Jul 2016

Verified traveler

Good pool!

It was a nice hotel for the price, nice pool and place.

Family

4/10

Poor

19 Feb 2016

Verified traveler

Okay

Would not go again, staff was okay. It is not in front of the beach, and wasnt much clean

4/10

Poor

19 Sep 2015

Verified traveler

I don't recommend it

If you want air conditioner,you have to pay an extra charge

4/10

Poor

13 Sep 2015

Sam

Scorpions in the room

The hotel is really very far from town, very hard to locate and road is terrible. When we checked in our room I found a scorpion on the floor, we changed room, but with fan only, the night was terrible, water in shower is drop by drop. We moved to the deluxe building and paid the difference for AC, which was ok, but in the morning when my wife was packing, she was hit by another scorpion in her hand. it was a real scare but we were told that they are not poisonous, but the damage was done and never ever back to this hotel or area again.

8/10

Excellent

11 Aug 2015

MIRNA

Repeated Customer

I've stayed a few times at this hotel and it doesn't ever disappoint. Although it's meant for sporting, I go there to simply relax. It's away from all the car noises and it is its own little paradise. My only concern was that the water pressure was light, aside from that, it was great!

Family

10/10

Exceptional

14 May 2015

matt aus

Surf ranch is perfect to relax

My partner and i stayed for 8 nights, it was very peaceful we didn't no any Spanish and Maria a employee taught us new words with breakfast every morning I would recommended surf ranch to anyone who wants to relax and wants good value for money we will be back.

10/10

Exceptional

27 Apr 2015

wcole

great little spot for beginner surfers

A little off the beaten path, but they have a pretty convienent shuttle that runs many times per day to the center of town. You can book excursions directly Through them for fair prices. Breakfast is good and other meals are very rreasonably priced! Would definitely recommend

Family

8/10

Excellent

22 Mar 2015

Verified traveler

Great one

Nice place. Away enough fron town noice. Close enough from beaches. Great service and good food.

Family

2/10

Poor

20 Mar 2015

Grace

Bed bugs and MORE

BED BUG BITES: I have bites on my legs, butt and abdomen. My boyfriend has them on his face (I'd like to send the photos). This by far tops my list of complaints, but nevertheless, here's the rest of it...Excursions are all on a \"maybe\" basis. I emailed the hotel the week prior to our arrival giving them a heads up as to the excursions we wanted to do, each day, and providing them with the time slot for each. Their response: 'No problem, just sign up when you arrive.'NOT TRUE. There was a problem each day. The first day, despite arriving to the hotel almost two hours prior to the 2 p.m. check in, the concierge was hesitant he could book us for the sailing excursion. We showed him the email and he did what he could and got us on the sail boat excursion. The driver didn't know exactly where to drop us off, there was not clarity as to where he'd pick us up, but many phone calls to the hotel later, we figured things out.
Next day, we wake up early and let the concierge know we would like to go surfing to Remanso Beach, one of the three beaches they offer for surfing excursions, this one being the beginner's beach and so the cheapest at $25/per person

Family

2/10

Poor

12 Jan 2015

Dalia M.

Horrible

Losted our reservation. Asked to talk to manager was told to email him and we were already on the vacation at the location. If manager thinks he so important not to help a customer that's not a good thing. The pool was I can't even describe it but you wouldn't want to swim in it.The bunkbeds when even secured to the walls shaky.The fan was way too loud with little to no air.The amenities that they offered such as the jumper the Rockwall not even working.you'd like to stay in a hotel or a ranch this is not the place to stay.please think twice about this please don't go.can you believe it they got this thing you recommend this to a friend. if I didn't like the friend

Family

2/10

Poor

21 Nov 2014

Keith L.

Look elsewhere

Couldn't even get water after 11PM ARIVAL. Had to walk through weeds to get to our room. Breakfast was served late in the morning and food bad I have photos to prove One investor was their but did not want to hear the problems. Very incovience for acces to anywere

Partner

4/10

Poor

20 Oct 2014

hedsouth13

Should be better even in off season!

Booked one night online instead of the three we would be in Nicaragua after reading online reviews but decided to keep an open mind ... big mistake!!

Asked for a well ventilated room, was told #7 was end unit, groundfloor with three opening windows for breeze and ceiling and floor fans. True fans worked well but never got a breeze going with the other windows. Small one up high in bathroom and one in main room had a bamboo blind which offered no cross draft or breeze. The third option was the front tinted glass sliding doors which could not be left open when we weren't in the room. Result = no cool room.

We were offered a room with a/c for extra $20 but for one night's sleep it didn't seem warranted and we had already paid $60 for the room. They did provide us each with a free 'welcome' drink (beer or rum) which we chose to have with our dinner and it was good.

Then there are the ANTS ... EVERYWHERE!! When they started crawling on the bed we complained to the front desk staff who said he would spray the room while we had dinner. He did spray it, with Raid, and it was so strong that we couldn't go back in the room for an hour after dinner. So now we have dead ant bodies crunching under our feet, a hot room, and little ants still coming in around the window in the bathroom.

Also the shower ... although I was assured on check in that it worked well, we had to take the head off the shower to get any flow of water at all. The next day we moved on ...

2/10

Poor

22 Sep 2014

never again

Must have been a nice hotel long time ago.

Stayed two nights three days. No running water and when they had, it was only a little stream. No internet access in the rooms. Had to go to the lobby and I barely had signal. Water in the pool was green. My vehicle was always blocked in the parking lot. too small. The room was given to me with no towels and a pond of water in the bathroom. land scape needed maintenance. ohh. and the flies were everywhere.

2/10

Poor

02 Sep 2014

Alexandria

Pictures can be deceiving

Nothing was convenient, free shuttle but only during certain times. Rooms with A /C were much more than fans which rooms felt like sauna.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

19 Aug 2014

Mirna

Amazing hotel

I went on a romantic getaway here and even though there were families there. The hotel was still very peaceful. Very clean. And the food is the best around!

8/10

Excellent

13 Jul 2014

Verified traveler

Great hotel at this price point

We were three generations on a surf vacation. The surf ranch was a great location for the kids and adults. Shuttles to town were convenient and the remote location gave us dozens of treetop monkeys to view nearby.

4/10

Poor

20 Jun 2014

Mayjoe

No as expected

The location so far away from the beach about 6 km.
The pool was totally green, no clean at all..
The hotel has no air conditioned.
The road Ito the hotel has no pavement is just dirt and is too dangerous.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

15 Jun 2014

Verified traveler

Beware of this Hotel!

This was the worst hotel I've ever been in a long time. I have a high tolerance, but this hotel and its staff were terrible. We arrived early evening (at about 6 p.m.) and the staff was unaware of our reservation. THen it took about 1 hour before we were finally shown the rooms available (we were 8 and had reserved four rooms). Only one of the rooms had a working air conditioner. All other rooms had no air and the temperature inside the rooms exceeded 80 degrees! We were given alternate rooms with air conditioning, but were charged double for those rooms (beyond what we had paid already through HOtels.com). All of us slept with bugs in our beds (big ants with wings). Also, two rooms had no towels and very poorly working air units. Overall, we were very dissatisfied with the terrible service and lack of comfort of the rooms. AND on top of all this, we were charged double! RIDICULOUS. Avoid this hotel!

Family

2/10

Poor

01 Sep 2013

Adam

terrible, no running water and power out for 12 hr

Terrible, they have a free shuttle from sjds which isgreat but arrived to a hotel full of young skaters. Pool full of locals and slashingchildren. No running water in room couldn't wash hands or shower. Power went out at 6pm didn't come on until 4am no Windows in room terribly hot. They had a generator which they used to play flashing lights and pounding party music. Paid for two nights left after one

Family

2/10

Poor

05 Jan 2026

Carmen

Las chicas d la resección bien pero el tipo del desayuno muy grosero. Y el desayuno no lo consumo los huevos quemados y el gallo pinto seco tostado muy pésima atención

Family_with_children