Review of Contadora Island Inn 3*

Arrival/Check-In/Reception: We took a ferry to the island and were met by Tony, the innkeeper. He had golf carts ready for us and provided a nice tour of the island. We were very early so our room wasn’t ready, but Tony provided a room we could change in and offered us a ride to a beach as well. He took care of payment first thing and let us know the house rules. Room: We had a double bed and single bed, with French doors opening to the back deck with a great view of a small green valley. The bathroom had a nice size shower, hot water fluctuated a bit, but all you had to do was get wet, turn it off, soap up, turn it back on and rinse off. It’s an island, so why waste water anyway. The sink faucet’s water stream wasn’t that great, My husband didn’t shave the two days we were there because of it (wouldn’t have rinsed the hairs off his razor very well). There was an A/C and ceiling fan, but we only used the ceiling fan as we’re not big A/C fans. One thing that would have been nice is screen doors/windows as we always opened up the doors to allow some air/breeze to come in and it would have been even better to allow some cool night-time air in as well (in addition to hearing the sounds of the night). There’s also a stocked mini-bar with a few snacks as well as beer, pop, and of course rum. Dining and Common Area: Breakfast didn’t start until 8am, which is usually time for breakfast for us. We also received the exact same breakfast each of the two mornings: starter of watermelon and pineapple followed by scrambled eggs and one large pancake. It was filling, but it’s nice to have some variety. Maybe two pancakes one day, then the next do scrambled eggs and toast. This isn’t to say it wasn’t a good meal. The common area is a good size. There’s a couch to watch TV on, and another couch to sit and look at pamphlets of excursions/day-trips, and the kitchen dining table seated at least 8 people. Location: It’s on an island where you drive around in a golf-cart, the location is perfect! If you don’t want to rent a golf cart there’s one restaurant around the corner, Casa Tortuga. He does pizza take-out and set menu dinners (he posts the daily menu on a stationary bike outside his house). See our review on that too. The closest beach is probably Romantica, which is a really nice beach and is where we spent our one full day. Check-out: Settled our bar bill with Tony and he drove us to the “airport”. He even stayed with us to wait for our flight because it was pouring rain and we still had to drive over to the other side of the runway. Overall: Probably one of best places to stay on Contadora Island. It says a lot that Tony picks you up at the ferry and drops you off for your flight. When the incoming flight came in the passengers were going to two other hotels on the island, neither had anyone from the hotel there to pick them up so Tony called the hotels for their guests. We would give this place a 5 star if not for the lack of screens and the bathroom faucet, otherwise it was a great place to stay.