Dear Readers,
We stayed at Secret Garden for three nights on our honeymoon in early March. This is a wonderful find and run by a man John Fernardes (and Roxy!). Its close to the falls - but we also liked that we were not captive at the Sheraton which seems like the most common option. There are several nice restaurants in the town, whilst John runs drinks caprinihas at 7.30. The rooms are well sized and are surrouned by beautiful ferns. Its was a great find and we had a wonderful time! Keep up the great work John. A

John Fernandes is one interesting dude. He’s smart, engaging and altogether unique. Just like his B&B. What separates this from so many other B&Bs is John’s unique approach. Every night, around 7:30, the guests gather on the back porch for Happy Hour and drink his homemade Caipirinhas. And it’s not some cheap booze designed to get his tired guests drunk, this is really good booze designed to get his tired guests drunk.
He and his staff make sure everyone is having a good time and as the Caipirinhas flow, so does the conversation. It’s a great way to get guests to interact with each other and for John to get to know the people staying with him. As for the B&B itself, it’s very charming with a tropical garden in the back and cute rooms with comfortable beds and nice touches everywhere. Situated off a side street, right in the center of town, it’s very convenient to walk around Iguazu town or to catch the local bus to the Falls.
The Secret Garden is a fun, relaxed place to stay. Based on what we have seen in our limited stay in Iguazu, it beats any of the hotels we had seen, which tended to look run down and a bit depressing. John Fernandes has a great thing going – book early as there are only 3 rooms!

Mr John's garden hideaway was the perfect companion to our days touring Iguazu. The Inn is private, quiet and clean. John arranged all of our travel between town, the airport, and the Falls and, on arrival, narrated a thoughtful and informative tour of the area.

This was a high quality experience in a special place. John was a superlative host - he is interesting, disarming, and accommodating and I'm thankful to have met him and his coterie of kind associates.

Happy hour was delightful, Roxy is a kick in the pants and Oh, yes, the Falls are also lovely. I have no complaints, but I am a little sorry the breakfast jams were so tasty because I'm afraid I ate more than my share. I only hope I didn't leave the table sticky.

Thanks, John, for the intrigue. If I find a blue parrot, I will hold it for you until you make it to Alaska. Cheers!

My daughter and I stayed here for two nights in Feb. of 2008. There are only a few rooms but they are spacious, clean, comfortable and bright. There are many "extras" with this place including a nice breakfast, a happy hour with drinks and snacks, a terrific laundry service that is incredibly inexpensive and as little or as much help as you need getting to and from the falls and the airport. The first day we hired a driver which was rather expensive (seventy-five pesos plus tip) and the second day we took the bus which was only four pesos each way. The falls are incredible--make sure you go to Isla San Martin and take the boat trip. The Secret Garden is a great base for seeing the falls and a great value. It was a lot of fun talking to the staff and our fellow travellers. You will feel like you are visiting a friend's house although there is the privacy of a hotel if you want it.