Corn Islands, Nicaragua

Yemaya Reefs

Price per night from$89.18

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD89.18), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Yemaya Reefs Photos

Style

Castaway casitas

Setting

Ama(i)zing tropical isle

Explore

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A low-tempo rhythm thrums through Yemaya Reefs, but the mood at this Caribbean island retreat is upbeat. Toes-in-sand sundowners are soundtracked by lapping waves; birdsong accompanies jungle workouts and open-air yoga, and convivial chatter is the score to the Afro-Caribbean restaurant. Beachfront casitas harmonize local materials and artwork with nature-ogling views — some also flaunt private plunge pools — but it’s at the luxuriant spa cabins where you’ll find the sweetest melody…

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

A free yoga class per guest

Facilities

Photos Yemaya Reefs facilities

Need to know

Rooms

17, including five suites.

Check–Out

11am. Check-in, 3pm; both are flexible, subject to availability.

More details

Rates at Yemaya Reefs don’t include breakfast (US$17).

Also

Unfortunately, this barefoot luxury retreat is not suitable if you have reduced mobility.

At the hotel

Outdoor gym, kayaks and snorkels to borrow, and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: air-conditioning, tea- and coffee-making kit, minibar, free bottled water, bathrobes and organic bath products.

Our favourite rooms

You’ll find island-inspired interiors with local artwork and furnishings made from Little Corn-sourced wood in each casita at Yemaya Reefs. Private plunge pools adorn the sea-facing terraces in the Luxury Casitas, or anchor down in a Boat Room, a nautical-nodding cabin that’s perched over a traditional ‘velero’ boat and set steps from the shore.

Poolside

You’ll get a taste for the tropics at the outdoor pool: its infinity edge blends with the blue of the Caribbean Sea beyond, turquoise sunloungers are canopied by palm trees, and mosaic-like tiles and a floral mural adorn the upper-level terrace (there’s a second furnished deck just below the pool, with uninterrupted views over playa dos below). It’s open for dips from 10am to 7pm, and those later in the day are graced with sunset-washed vistas.

Spa

The two treatment cabins are peaceful, plant-framed retreats, and they each come with a private, leafy terrace with a big-enough-for-two soaking tub and a cold-water shower, designed to prolong your post-ritual bubble. Holistic therapies are as soothing as the setting: opt for a restorative massage or a transcendental cacao rub.

Packing tips

You’ll want to save some room in your suitcase — next to your swimwear and sarongs — for a colourful souvenir: pieces from Corn Islands artists decorate the resort and are available to buy.

Also

Let out your wild side in the jungle gym, an outdoor fitness area with kit made from local wood and stone; movement and meditation classes at the open-air yoga shala might inspire a similar release.

Children

This island paradise welcomes adults only.

Sustainability efforts

Yemaya Reefs uses its nature-swathed surroundings as inspiration for a host of green-minded initiatives: the restaurant grows its own produce; waste is composted, and the casitas showcase local artwork and island-sourced wood furnishings.

Food and Drink

Photos Yemaya Reefs food and drink

Top Table

Bag a water-gazing table for two on Erizo’s terrace for sea-breeze-kissed dining.

Dress Code

Breezy beachwear is all the modesty you need at Erizo and Rumboat.

Hotel restaurant

Erizo is a celebration of island-grown produce and Afro-Caribbean flavours. Days start with a fresh smoothie whizzed up with garden-sourced fruits, such as bananas and oranges, and heartier healthy offerings include the Nica breakfast — a spread of gallo pinto (rice and beans), plantain, local cheese and made-to-order eggs. Later in the day, satiate post-snorkelling appetites with local favorites that are given a colorful, modern makeover — we’re eyeing the rondon, a traditional seafood soup; roast chicken with cassava, and sugar-dusted Caribbean buñuelos.

Hotel bar

Erizo’s deck makes for a scenic aperitivo spot, and just-picked herbs and fruit are the stars of the show in creative sundowners, such as a popcorn-infused Little Corn Daiquiri or spicy watermelon margarita. The name is a bit of a giveaway: at beachfront Rumboat, bartenders shake up rum-based tipples with a twist. It’s a laidback watering hole (barefoot meets the dress code) and you can toast to your days with a tamarind-laced rum punch, savoured alongside homemade pizzas or zingy ceviche.

Last orders

At Erizo, breakfast is 7am to 10am, lunch is served from 11am to 6pm, dinner is between 6pm and 8pm, and its bar pours from 7am to 9pm. Rumboat is open from 10am to 4.30pm, Wednesday to Sunday.

Location

Photos Yemaya Reefs location
Address
Yemaya Reefs
Northern End
Little Corn Island
Nicaragua

You’ll find Yemaya Reefs in the north of Little Corn Island, the smaller of the Corn Islands, off the east coast of Nicaragua in the Caribbean Sea.

Planes

Managua on the Nicaraguan mainland is the nearest international airport: from here, you’ll need a domestic connection to Corn Island (see below for details of onward transfers).

Automobiles

No need for wheels: Little Corn Island is car-free. It's a half-hour walk through the jungle to get to town or staff can drop you by water taxi.

Other

From Corn Island International Airport, staff will pick you up by boat and zip you to Little Corn Island in 30 minutes; round-trip sea transfers are US$69 a person (plus tax).

Worth getting out of bed for

Island life is laced with luxury at Yemaya Reefs. Instead of scaling palm trees for coconuts, limber up for yoga in the open-air studio or get pampered in a lush treatment cabin with a soothing, cacao-rub ritual. Local guides can take you on verdant hikes through the jungle or to secluded beaches. The hotel has two playas of its own: snorkel or dive among the coral reefs off the main beach where you can bob past sting rays and turtles, or kayak and paddleboard above them; settle in with a sundowner on the second sandy stretch. Golden hour is also a picturesque time to head on a boat cruise — plied with ceviche and cooling beers — and lucky romance-seekers might be greeted by a dolphin or two; you’ll have an equally twinkly-eyed time at a private candle-lit dinner on the beach.

Local restaurants

There’s a cluster of lively, local eateries in the south of the island, which is a jungle walk or water taxi away: we like all-day Tranquilo Cafe for its freshly brewed Nicaraguan coffee and catch-of-the-day fish tacos, and Italian-leaning Café Desideri for punchy cocktails and crispy pizzas.

Reviews

Photos Yemaya Reefs reviews

Anonymous review

By Mr & Mrs Smith

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this tropical hotel in Nicaragua and unpacked their local artwork and bottles of rum, a full account of their castaway break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Yemaya Reefs in the Corn Islands…

Yemaya is a mermaid-like goddess from the Afro-Caribbean religion, Santería, and around these parts, she’s widely regarded as the queen of the sea. She’s nurturing in spirit, just like her homage-paying hotel Yemaya Reefs, which perches panoramically on idyllic Little Corn Island. 

Palm-frond-framed spa cabins that soothe with soaking tubs and treatments for two; beachfront colourful casitas, and a jungle-swathed yoga shala are the island’s trio of temptations set to lure you ashore. But Yemaya’s ocean kingdom also stars: Caribbean Sea views are the resort’s soul-stirring backdrop, and goddess-approved adventures snorkelling and diving over sealife-rich coral reefs feel suitably devout. 

Typical offerings to this deity include flowers, coconuts and watermelon: you’ll find the first two in abundance in the lush gardens; the latter flavours spicy margaritas and refreshing gazpachos at the resort’s Caribbean-inspired restaurant. You may not convert to Santería, but you’ll be under Yemaya Reefs’ spell in no time.

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Price per night from $89.18