Cozy, ocean view villa set in the jungle canopy in SJDS

My husband and I had an amazing stay here! Cozy, clean, and had all the amenities we could ask for.My husband loves to cook, and the property had everything we needed for our nice dinners with the sound and view of nature.I enjoyed my coffees in the morning listening to all different types of bird songs, and even the howler monkeys was an exotic nice experience.I highly recommend this place.

If you want to commune with nature and don't need close proximity to shopping, restaurants, action etc, this is a perfect place. The kitchen is very well stocked with appliances and gadgets making this a great spot for preparing gourmet meals. We particularly liked the fact that there's both a front porch and a back porch giving us the option to sit in the sun or not at our whim.

The area is peaceful and relaxing. Butterflies were everywhere. The kitchen is SUPER well equipped (although the listing says that there is a microwave, while in fact there is not one.) The property has both a north and south facing view, which are both amazing. We will return.

Our stay at this property was wonderful. We loved the views and the beach here, although you had to drive to access, was amazing! We did see howler monkeys on property by the pool one morning, which was magical! That said, I would point out a few things to future travellers which the listing does not make clear. Although you have your own house, these cabins are side by side in a development row with other cabins. If you are looking for complete privacy, this would not be for you. Also, the cabana living room and deck sits off the main property access road so it is also not secluded. Lastly, the pool is not next to the cabana but down the access road by a 1 minute walk. None of the above points negatively impacted our stay, but I would like to mention them as I think pointing them out would help better set expectations for future visitors. Thank you for hosting us! Les Balcones is a unique and gorgeous location.

It was a real cool fun place to stay. Definitely need a 4x4.

We loved our Stay here. Beautifully designed and lovely warm solar heated showers. Nice touch to have shampoo and conditioner in each bathroom. Book here if you can. We also had surf lessons from Elsie, who checked us in. She taught our children 5-7 then my husband and I. It was so much fun. Thanks for a lovely stay

In the words of Axle Rose, Welcome to the jungle! Except the only screaming we heard was from the howler monkeys that came right up to the back balcony of the house and hung out with us over dinner (this seriously happened on night three)! Our two young girls (ages 5 and 7) were overjoyed when the monkeys just watched us as they munched on leaves and crashed around on the branches! This place may be in the jungle, but it's an idyllic getaway for young families, or couples. We were a short walk to the common pool (100 yards away) where our kids loved to swim while overlooking the jungle canopy down the hillside! Don't believe the exaggerated reviews of the bugs in the pool. We were staying there a couple weeks later than one reviewer and had a blast in the pool. The ground-keeping guy was excellent and cleaned the pool every day (despite bugs in the jungle, it was super-clean)! The pool is long enough for some laps, while the kids were able to work on their swimming skills (the deepest part is only four feet)! In general, we were so impressed with how clean and well-maintained the grounds were. The house itself is gorgeous! The design is incredibly well adapted to the environment in which it's situated. Coming to Nicaragua from a cooler North American climate, we were expecting to be hot at night in a place that doesn't have air conditioning (the house is made up of an open screen system). However, much to our surprise, the cool evening breezes combined with some well placed fans kept us very comfortable each evening! The fully-functional kitchen was excellent, and we were able to make use of the bbq to grill fresh seafood we bought from the SJDS fish market! Each evening we ate while watching the beautiful Nicaraguan sun set on the ocean horizon below the jungle-covered mountains! The beach was a short drive away, but go at low tide. The Balcones property manager, Gabby, was so helpful when we arrived and frequently checked in on us! She warned us that sometimes we might see scorpions or tarantulas in the house, but we quickly realized that the reason for this is they are often looking for an open door. We just made sure the sliding doors were closed and we never had anything to worry about! Don't get me wrong, you'll see these cool creatures around the property (after all, you are in the jungle baby!), but there's nothing to worry about! The most interesting insect we saw in the house was a six-inch long Praying Mantis on the bug net. Cool!

The house was lovely as picture and was well stocked. Everything worked well, and the place was clean. The layout is open which is really nice. The breeze was wonderful and we were only warm inside the house during the day. Evenings were cool and pleasant. The house requires a 4x4 rental. Check this out carefully before deciding to drive. You do not need to rent a vehicle to get to most of the beaches, there are shuttles and the taxi drivers will take you as well. Hiring a car and driver for the day doesn't cost much more that the rental with full insurance. The maximum third party liability limit for Dollar is $10,000, Budget $15,000 and Alamo $20,000. Visa does not cover liability and you cannot purchase more coverage for the rental car company. The cars cost the same down here or more.... so don't be at fault in an accident because you don't have a lot of insurance. You can check your personal insurance policy but it probably does not extent outside the U.S. Don't count on using the pool, there are so many bugs that the pool was filled with dead mosquitos. The staff cleaned the pool, but the kids were done at that point. It's mentioned in other posts, your in the jungle there are lots of bugs. The cutter ants are awesome, the mosquitos were not. Although we never saw a scorpion inside the house the warning we received on arrival scared the kids a bit. We did kill 10 or more wasps inside the house. Given the remote location and the need for 4x4 you would perhaps expect privacy. However, there are two neighboring houses that are remarkably close especially since the houses are so open. At night you can listen to your neighbors movie or crying baby as you drift off to sleep. Also, Casa Colina sits pretty close and just above Casa Selva so they have a nice view into your shower.... The local beach Playa Maragual was absolutely beautiful but a little rough for young kids. After we arrived in Nicaragua we asked about beaches for kids and families, most of the recommended beaches were to the south - Playa Hermosa, Playa Coco and Playa La Flor making them over an hour away from this house and closer to San Juan Del Sur.

What an fabulous time we had at Casa Selva. We were so thankful that we chose this place, and ended up outside and above the city. The house itself is an incredible design and there are elements of it that we are talking about incorporating into our own new build. The view is amazing. We loved having our morning coffee and a good book on the terrace with the walls open, overlooking the jungle and the ocean beyond. The kids woke up to some howler monkeys one morning and had a game of Risk before breakfast. The kitchen had everything we needed, including different coffee makers and bodums. Oh and the beach! My son says, the fabulous, amazing, private, gorgeous sand, beach? ? Ya, that one. The owners were great and very easy to communicate with. We would love to return to Casa Selva again some day. Thanks Laura and Joel!

We had a fantastic 10 night stay at Casa Selva. Wonderful views, a fully equipped kitchen, a choice of beaches (Majagual was our fave...local beach with excellent food and cheap beer at the little shack). Even a great choice of films and PlayStation games. The security and cleaning staff were all very friendly, as indeed nearly all of the Nicaraguans we encountered were. The Howler monkeys and their babies were delightful, as were the lizards, spiders, iguanas, snakes and hermit crabs. A great time, a great location. It was extremely windy on some nights, but the house was still standing in the morning! A lovely cool oasis to return to...the pool included...at the end of a hot day.