Name: Hotel Roca de la Cumbre
Address: De la Biblioteca del Banco Central 1 1/2 Cuadras al Este, Matagalpa, Matagalpa, Matagalpa, 61000, Nicaragua
Rating: 8

Air conditioning

24-hour reception

Smoke-free property

Ticket assistance

Garden

Terrace

Private check-in/check-out

All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)

Outdoor furniture

General

Bridal suite

Non-smoking rooms

Soundproof rooms

Room service

Cable TV

Shower/Bathtub

Shower

Wardrobe/Closet

Linens

Rooms

Accessibility features

Accessibility

Ironing

Laundry

Concierge services

Wake-up service

Iron

Services and amenities

Restaurant

Vending machine

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Airport transportation

Car rental

Transfer services

Transfer

Spanish

English

Languages Spoken

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Sun Deck

Recreation

Swimming pool

Beach/pool towels

Pool and beach

Fax and copy machine

Meeting and presentation facilities

Business

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the hotel

Room amenities

Hotel Roca de la Cumbre

Matagalpa

The front desk staff were very friendly and accommodating, especially a young man named Byron, who did his best to help put. But the place overall has an air of neglect and pending decrepitude. It was not particularly clean, the restaurant and bar are both closed, and the place was practically empty. Also very annoying was the fact that we booked a room "with bathtub," knowing that matagalpas's cool weather would make it nice to take a bath. But mysteriously, although there seemed to be ample hot water in the sink, the bathtub spewed forth only water that could best be described as "not really cold." So we switched rooms, only to find that the second room had exactly the same problem. What? The bathtubs were both also quite dirty and did not drain, so even taking a shower involved standing in a pool of water. Gross! And we paid extra for that. Overall, this hotel is an ok place to lay your head, but avoid the bathtub rooms. 

Nice people, but...

We came to this place because from the list of the hotels we presented to our taxi driver he decided that this hotel was right for us. It was already late afternoon so we decide take a room. We had their printed price from Booking.com but the receptionist asked for more money. He showed us a small, smelly room without windows on the main floor and said the the booking.com price was for that room. Any room better of quality or with windows was more. We chose a room on the second floor with three beds, windows and a private bathroom. The hotel was almost empty. The room was overcrowded with huge pieces of furniture. The only source of light was a ceiling lamp. It had a modern TV set and the Wi-Fi was pretty fast. The bathroom was of a decent size and the shower had hot water although it had a very noisy fan that came on when you turned on the bathroom light; the noise was really terrible. The room had a wall of glass windows (upper and lower section of the wall) facing the interior hallway. Only the lower windows had blinds. The upper windows let the light in from the hallway at night. The second wall had two big windows that faced the outside of the building (a view of the walls). The external patio was used by staff and they walked just in front of the room windows so we had to keep the the blinds closed for privacy and at night we had to keep the window closed for safety, which did not allow us to enjoy the fresh mountain breeze in Matagalpa.The "swimming pool" is a joke - just a plastic area filled with murky water. The next morning we changed hotels because we were planning to stay for more days but refused to do so at this place. The hotel was clean but for what it offers it seems to be overpriced.

Not for us

We only spent one night at the hotel. The hotel and the room were clean except for the sticky floor going up the stairs and second floor corridor. The size of the room was  so small that the double/queen bed had to be against the wall. Nice windows on the 2 sides above the bed since we were on a corner room but the vertical blinds mechanism was broken so it was hard to close good. The shower in the Bathroom was nice and spacious and had good pressure. The main feature of the hotel would be the balcony on the third floor with a very nice view on the city and on the mountains around. We had been told dad to breakfast was very good value but although two tables had been set up no one was there to serve anything so we went to a restaurant. There was free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel but somehow during the night it stopped working and  we had no more internet in the morning which was really crapy cause we missed a mail concerning a house we were supposed to visit... The batteries in the TV remote were dead so we couldn't watch anything.  The parking lot on the side of the hotel looked more like a junkyard and had room for maybe six or seven vehicles. The price being very low don't expect too much. The bed was comfortable the pillows as well so you will sleep good but that's it. 

Was "ok"

Hotel Roca de la Cumbre is cleaner than other hostel & hotels, although the wall next to the bed is cross with grime as are the edges of the floor to the floor boards.    Offers WiFi, TV, AC, ceiling fan, hot water, shower door, real mattress that’s comfortable. Request a local breakfast of eggs, plantains, gallopinto, and bacon $4.

Better than other hotels we looked at

The parking was a secured side area that was cramped and littered with garbage and rusted auto parts. The lobby had no lights on and mid day it was dark like a cave, could hardly see the clerk standing behind the counter. The room door lock would not work and they had to take it apart to replace the batteries. The room was very small, cramped and smelled moldy trying to be covered with air freshener. The tv did not work properly. The wifi worked for the first hour but then stopped and never worked for the rest of our stay. They had a non functioning lounge, and had set two tables for what appeared to be a buffet breakfast, but no food ever arrived. The only thing they got right was the staff where very polite and courteous. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone.

Disappointed

At $35.00 a night, and having had the better room in the hotel, I give it 4 stars just for the value, but.....there are some significant challenges in front of this hotel, most are easily fixed.

Here is a list of the simple fixes, and I really aim this review toward the hotel, as much as to the traveler:

A blanket - Is it too much to ask for?  Instead of just sheets, give each room a decent blanket.

Internet is weak - not sure if it's the provider or what, but that can improve.  It wasn't strong enough to use Netflix consistently.  

A lamp in each room - Along with the strong overhead lights in the fan, allow for a softer light via a lamp.

Bathroom could be cleaner - Just needs a heavy scrubbing, and it would be so much better.

A trash receptacle - along with the one in the bathroom, should be one in the room.

Soap and shampoo - more than periodic checking, each day there should be replacement with the ones that are used.

Same with Towels - make sure a small towel is replaced with the larger ones each day.

Happy Staff - Most of the staff are very friendly and happy, but the one guy with the goatee could be a little happier, and smile more.

------ The next 2 are personal likes, but not essential for a great stay --------

In room coffee - Not sure how much this would cost the hotel, but it definitely would be a giant advantage over other hotels.

Refrigerator -  Just a tiny one would be nice.

Nice furniture but...- there is a large wooden wardrobe, nice, but I noticed in the next room, you really couldn't move much.  It's a great piece of furniture, but just a bit too much for some of the smaller rooms. 

On a good note:  The best shower, with great hot water, that I've had in all my stays in Nicaragua.  The staff was very responsive to my requests.        

Nice views of the cross, and caught some great sunsets from my room.

Walk easily to the center of the city, banks and stores are very accessible from this location.

I hope this review is met with the intended constructive criticism.

Hotel Roca de la Cumbre

Main amenities of the hotel

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Description of the hotel

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