“Nicaragua? Wow. Why?”
That was most people’s reaction upon hearing my family’s latest travel plan. The answer was simple. Why not? Nicaragua may not be an obvious choice for some travelers, but from what I had heard, those who make the trip are justly rewarded, and were we ever.
I can’t speak to the experience of traveling the country, because I didn’t. I can’t speak to the political climate, because there’s a lot I don’t know. What I can speak to is the beauty, warmth and natural wonder that is Rancho Santana – a 2,700 acre ranch nestled along the country’s southwestern Pacific coast. My family spent five days there surfing, swimming, horseback riding and sliding down sand dunes. While you can do these activities elsewhere, at Rancho Santana, there’s a distinct feeling of discovery and wonder. It is, in all senses a hotel, but at times feels more like a utopian community we happened upon, which is kind of the point.
“Rancho Santana is a remote, unique, true resort community,” says Luke Maish, chief executive officer at Rancho Santana. “It’s not just a hub for tourism, hospitality and for welcoming vacationers, but many people live here as well. They retire here. Families come down here seasonally and spend a few months in the winter or summer. With people living here on site, it creates a foundation for a true social dynamic, where they make connections and friendships year after year.”
“Rancho,” as the locals call it, was founded in 1997 by a group of American surfing enthusiasts drawn to the region’s incredible waves, wide beaches and curving trails that line its dramatic coastal bluffs. In partnership with the Nicaraguan family that owned the land, they forged a self-sustaining community that would marry its earthly beauty with a surfer’s way of life.
But a rustic retreat, it is not. Rancho Santana is steeped in luxury, from its white Spanish Colonial buildings with arched doorways, wrought iron details and colorful tile-work, to the manicured courtyards that offer ocean views from every perch. Since its inception, Rancho Santana has added accommodations, restaurants and recreational facilities, but its development is guided by a mission of sustainability and community. Its founders invested in local education, healthcare and economic development to ensure that the ranch’s benefits extend to local Nicaraguans, as well.
In that spirit, Rancho Santana employees nearly 800 people, making it the second largest tax payer in the province of Rivas. It operates a property management company that cares for more than 100 homes, 45 condominiums and 17 casitas. There’s a team dedicated to its four restaurants, plus countless nature guides and surf and wellness instructors. It operates its own electrical and water infrastructure and an on-site construction company, Santana Madera. Then there’s the actual ranch with 30 horses, and the working farm that provides the resort’s food.
“Sustainability is a trendy thing now, but it’s been a long term initiative for us,” says Maish. “We started a farm because we needed good ingredients to have healthy food. We started a construction company so that we could attain the quality of construction that didn’t exist in this country before. We like to hire people who live close by, and we’ve had a positive, longstanding relationship with the surrounding communities.”
Last month, the resort brought on a new general manager and executive chef. The goal is to bridge each of the four restaurants with an overarching philosophy, as well as offer culinary weekends, tastings and private chef experiences. Other endeavors include cementing the adventure programming at Playa Los Perros, the beginner surf beach on the Northern end of the ranch. This centralized activity hub would compliment the refined nature of the main hotel, which is home to the sophisticated La Finca y El Mar restaurant and El Cafe, the breakfast and lunch outpost where we ate each morning.
But amidst the understated elegance, Rancho Santana is a flipflop and shorts place at its core, with a built-in community that’s proud of this little corner of the world. Stop by the main surfing beach at dusk and you’ll find Australian, French and Argentinian expats from nearby Playa Popoyo. They’re hanging out with their babies and dogs, or in the water looking to catch a wave. There’s a kinship here, a feeling of unity among those who made the trip to this slice of heaven. I guess that’s really the reward – to be a part of this little utopia, even for a few days.
“We’re a community but we’re not a club,” says Maish. “We don’t have ‘members.’ We’re not overly structured and refined. It’s just organic, and that’s what everyone loves about this place.”
Caroline Tell:
I’m a lifestyle writer covering everything from style, to travel, to social trends and luxury wellness. My work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Condé Nast Traveler, W, Travel Leisure, Robb Report and more. I’ve held staff positions at Time magazine and Women’s Wear Daily and, from 2012 to 2016, served as the senior style contributor to The Observer. I live in New York with my husband and two young children