Review of Hotel California at Playa el Yaque, Margarita Island

by Funda
(Turkey )

My friend and I booked Panoramic Suite in Hotel California on el Yaque Beach in Maragarita. I found the suite really nice, and the view absolutely beautiful. Yet a word of warning - it's rather suitable for a family with young kids, or younger people, since the second room is very narrow, and with bunk beds. Further, it was rather old. We were flooded once due to heavy rain, and once due to broken air-conditioning. But the personnel was extremely helpful, and the breakfast quite fine. Unfortunately, we had hardly any wind during the 2 weeks of our Christmas holidays. And while El Yaque is great for kitesurfing, without the wind the options are quite limited.
I believe the place is more suitable for advanced kitesurfers due to sideshore and offshore winds - since rescue takes quite a while. Coche is really beautiful for kiting, and easily accessible with the ferry.
One definite thing to warn travelers are to carry sufficient cash with them. You don't want to use the credit card, since the conversion is done with the official rate of 2,4 whereas at the black market you get about 4 bolivar for $1US.