The Shop at Maderas Village, Nicaragua
Tucked off to one side of the main house at Maderas Village is a small room full of treasures. When sitting at the long table in the main dining room, or lounging in one of the wooden chairs out in the garden, the neatly arranged surfboards and brightly patterned blankets seem to beckon from their spots beyond the store's open door. They lure you from afar, prompting you to abandon your eggs or your paperback and peek your head in for a closer look — even if it was only yesterday that you last swung by.
That's not to say that the selection offered by the Maderas Village General Store is large. Not by any means. This is the kind of tightly curated offering that feels entirely personal, as if one of the staff members forgot to put their favorite belongings away or some well-traveled guest left a few lovely things behind. And in a way, that's exactly what's happened: Nearly every piece — from the pastel-colored Sabah slippers to the Union surfboards to the trio of handwoven bags that dangle from the wall — was created by friends of the village exclusively for its tiny store. And everything that wasn't — wood cutting boards, woven towels, rustic bowls — was handcrafted in Nicaragua via the hotel's sustainable manufacturing company itself.
These are pieces with stories, for sure — pieces you'll want to turn over in your hands, give away, take home. But lest you find yourself in need of more mundane goods over the course of your stay, never fear: The General Store sells toothpaste, deodorant, and Q-tips as well.