Hotel Casa Santa Clara, Guatemala City

Advantages: Historic sights, cheaper than more touristy places, fewer hustlers
Disadvantages: Some facilities a little under-developed

...into a cone shape. Many of the city's famous buildings look onto the square. One such is the Hotel Santa Clara Libre, the tallest building in the city; its facade still bears bullet marks from the fighting in 1958, one of the defining moments of the revolution. Having read that the hotel had a rooftop bar we decided to have a look for ourselves. The first step was to see a lady whose official job seemed to be to take money from people (hotel guests included) wishing to use the reeking toilets on the ground floor of the hotel. We had to show our passports and sign two forms before we were given a ticket which we took to the main reception desk and handed over with a Convertible Peso. We then waited an eternity for the lift to come back to the ground floor and were ushered into the lift by a man speaking poor English and who claimed to be a guide... Read review

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Advantages: Charming and unique hotel with wonderful Gautemalan artifacts and ambiance (a home away from home) run by delightful people.
Disadvantages: None

...experience when I stayed there! Last, the Posada Belen is very reasonably priced (a fraction of what I would have paid if I stayed in a major chain hotel). When booking the Posada Belen, I mentioned in an email that I wanted to take a tour around Guatemala. Francesca and René responded that they could arrange a week's tour for me (the Guatemala Classic Tour), which was truly wonderful. It was a comprehensive tour of Lake Atitlan, Antigua and Tikal. The tour was very flexible and was arranged according to my schedule and my needs, and it was always with small groups of people. The hotels on the tour were all excellent. I am very grateful to Francesca and René since they arranged a truly marvelous tour for me. Additionally, they arranged airport transfers and for a taxi to take me to the 2 best museums in Guatemala City. I will definitely... Read review

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Advantages: Amazing place, excellent wildlife
Disadvantages: Busses could be better

...Guatemala is an excellent destination for anyone who enjoys adventure. I have recently returned from a 3 month travelling expedition with my girlfriend through Mexico, Belize, Honduras and Guatemala. Guatemala is a beautiful country, covered in dense jungle, with mountains, lakes, volcanos and ancient ruins, From Belize city we caught a bus to the border of Guatemala, where another bus took us to lake Piten Itza. Busses are frequent and very cheap, although slightly uncomforatble. We had decided to stay in a small area by the lake called El Cruce, which meant getting of the bus before it arrives at its main destination, Flores. We stayed in one of the many guest houses - Casa Del Don Douglas. Douglas is a great host, the rooms are very basic, but Douglas is happy to cook, serve beer, arrange trips, give you lifts around the area etc... Read review

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