Hotel Paredon Surf House — Hotel in Escuintla

Stayed two nights. Booked five days before my arrival. Only a bungalow and female dorm available. I booked the female dorm. The shuttle was arranged at $750 Qz. Private drive. Driver was very kind. Waiting outside the airport with a sign.

Zero COVID measures in place. Room was up some narrow stairs above the reception and kitchen. For $150 QZ/night (includes tax) it wasn’t a bad deal for what I needed. However, my bed - a full was right next to the street which was adjacent to the hostel next door and they played music well into the night. Sundays were especially busy. I assume the weekend is a party. Thankful for the Sunday-Tuesday stay. The mosquito nets worked fine for my bed. The bed was firm yet comfortable. Two pillows and the bed was made daily. The room endured severe heat until approximately 2 am as heat rises and cooled down over the suite. In addition, as a vegetarian all of the wonderful smells invaded the dorm space as well but somehow it didn’t bother me too much. Also, the open hatch and open windows also causes huge whiffs of the burning trash in the neighborhood.

I should have been concerned about strangers potentially entering open spaces but it seemed pretty secure. I didn’t find anything missing or touched with in my space. Most of the females kept to themselves. We didn’t make loud noises. Once the dorm cooled down, the fans picked up the morning air and sometimes it got a little bit cold but it wasn’t bad.

The bathrooms were about 30-40 feet or so away from the dorm room. I slept in a sarong to help with the heat and late not bathroom use. The bathrooms were spacious for shower and dressing. Even though it was only 4, I never had an issue day or night finding a bathroom to us. The hostel seemed at capacity. The bathroom was airy.

I tried to eat off site one day and the venue recommended wasn’t opened so I ventured back to the hostel where I had most of my meals. The breakfast was sufficient. The coffee was so so - ants were in the creamer (which I shouldn’t have been drinking anyway). The shrimp tacos was horrible - ugh! The shrimp pasta was cooked in oil and had a decent taste to it. I did notice that other restaurants were a little cheaper and seemed more authentic in menu options but it did the job for me.

The grounds are simple yet beautiful. The pool was cleaned daily - use in the morning/afternoon before debris, etc enter. The beach is but a few feet away and I enjoyed the sun rises and sunsets daily. I use skin so soft and had no issues with mosquitoes. The staff was friendly with check-in and check-out. No one inquired about my stay. The cats and dogs are annoying. Particularly the cat which roams freely in just about any open space (including rooms) and sits on tables and chairs with little care.

I have no plans to return to El Paredon. I mean - it’s nice, I guess if you are into surfing. I can catch sunsets just as amazing in Africa and I have, but if you are traveling through Central America - it can be worth a stop through to see the Pacific side. It is much warmer than other parts of the country. The actual water is nothing to write home about as like the Caribbean side, Nile Valley River, or better yet Indian Ocean but to each it’s own, this isn’t the fault of the hostel. Some hotels in the area are very chic and it is a quaint town about 3 hours outside of Guatemala City and Antigua that you can just unplug and relax in.

The shared bus requires a switch to another shared bus in Antigua that will take an additional hour. Fortunately, I was able to use someone’s phone to ask my driver to pick me up in Antigua versus GC. I really wish I was told there was a stop in Antigua but you’ll find out in Guatemala what you don’t inquire - won’t be answered or given freely. I realized I paid more in transportation costs than I did for my meal and accommodations.

P.S. The wifi works great from the lobby. Fortunately sleeping above the lobby kept me plugged in 24/7.

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I hate to write bad reviews but I feel like I should warn people. Upon arriving, our room was infested with bed bugs on our mattresses and pillow cases. Not only that, the mattress was the dirtiest mattress I’ve ever seen. It looked like the mattress was picked up from a DTLA homeless encampment. We ended up having to call the manager after hours and thankfully they had another open room for the night but he wasn’t nice to us about it. They told us we had to leave all of our belongings in the old room incase the bedbugs transferred to bags or clothes. It’s important to note they have no locks on their rooms so anyone could have taken our entire luggage from our room when we were in another room. The manager then told us we could only wash two loads on laundry. Bed bugs need to be killed in a dryer for atleast 60 minutes and two loads wasn’t enough to do our whole luggage. We had purchased brand new delicate clothes as gifts for family that needed to be dried to kill bed bugs. Because he would only allow us two loads we ended up having to throw away over $500 worth of brand new gifts we purchased for family and delicate clothing that the manager refused to dry for us because we didn’t want to risk bringing bed bugs with us to our next stay and home with us. He didn’t act surprised or shocked about the bed bugs and simply mentioned ‘that’s what happens when you travel’. When I asked for a refund they told me that they could let us switch rooms which we already had a bad taste in our mouths or they would only give me a refund if they ‘sold the room’ meaning they were going to rent the room out to someone else infested with bed bugs!! The situation could have ended way better if the manager and staff were to have handled it appropriately but unfortunately we were treated terribly for a situation we did not cause. I wish I could warn everyone. Please do yourself a favor and book somewhere else because it ruined our last two days...

I spent all of march here and it was truly amazing! EVERYONE is SO kind, fun and welcoming. The maintenance guys even help me make a bottom out of some woods from the beach for a knitting project. Raúl is a true super star! Not only is he an great receptionist, he is an awesome person - This is something that goes for everyone working here there - they do an absolutely amazing job every single day, smiling, laughing and simply just being genuinely kindhearted. The girls in the kitchen and the receptionist even help me with my Spanish homework (THANK YOU!! It was needed….) And talking about the kitchen - they are cooking AMAZING food and the girls are SO sweet!! Another small thing that means a lot when you travel alone is to say good night and good morning to the night staff - they were so calm and kind, I really enjoyed that. The place in general is super clean and well maintained!! They are simply just the best. I was so lucky to get to talk with the management and the owners and the same goes for them - super kind people!! They just got a new bar and it’s has the best view of the ocean and great cocktails. The atmosphere at Surf House was so nice that I booked another week with them back in May to show my boyfriend the place and it was truly amazing to see everyone again and just spend some more time here. This place had my BIGGEST recommendation simply because of the staff, food, cleanness and because it’s well maintained. The location is great! Basically it’s located on the beach, so you just step out of the gate every morning and then you can enjoy the sunrise and in the end of the day you can bring the hotels beach chairs with you to see the sunset - it’s amazing and it’s a must. This is were you should stay when you visit el Paredon🌞 Thank you for everything I truly appreciate it💛 I absolutely love this place and everything about it, I will be back again one day - it’s just too...