Jungle Lodge Hostel — Hotel in Flores

Beautiful hotel, but lacking in many areas. Aesthetically it gets a 5/5. But with everything else considered, I’d rate it more a 3/5. Elvis was the standout employee here - I want to personally praise him as he was great. “

Getting there. First, trying to communicate with them ahead of time was very hard. Jade responds to emails - we never directly got our questions answered - Jade either partially responds to some questions while ignoring others or responds in l unintelligibly. When we arrived in Flores, we went to their sister hotel to catch shuttle. We honestly thought the shuttle was included - we had premium room. Had we known, we would have taken the shared collectivo which is about $15 total (that’s what we did on way back). Pre-arrival communication was a 1/5.

Location. So the close proximity to Tikal park was the reason we stayed here. It’s a 3-5 min walk from hotel to entrance. You pay for the convenience factor. We knew we wanted to do a night time stars tour, and didn’t want to commute back and forth from Flores. to Note, there are no power lines here - everything runs on a generator. They have hours where they turn off the generator and you only have partial electricity. During the “off” hours, the ceiling fan, ceiling fan light, and hot water in shower work. But the electrical outlets, lamps, hot tub, etc do not. We understand why they do this, but it’s definitely an inconvenience. We stayed in one of the premium rooms that had glass windows (most of the rooms are more like hostels, and have nets to keep bugs out, but no closed glass windows, no a/c, no bathroom). We pay extra for luxury of a/c and our own private bathroom. The wifi is intermittent. You can ONLY get internet when wifi works. No cellular access using data of phone plan.

Rooms. We arrived around 8am. Check-in went fine. This is where we first met Elvis, who spoke good English. They stored our bags until our room was ready. We visited Tikal from about 9a-2p while we waited. We had a premium room with private hot tub, outdoor shower, indoor tub, indoor shower, toilet, king size bed, dresser, couch, coffee table, end table. Note no mini refrigerator (likely as they turn off generator at certain times), no coffee maker, no microwave. When we checked in, our hot water was not working, had to wait about 45 minutes for maintenance to fix it. By the time they did that, it was “no electricity” hour and the generators were off. We were able to talk to the manager who turned it back on for us due to the inconvenience. The shower temperature was very sensitive - too hot or too cold. Given we were paying $200 USD a night to stay here, we would have hoped for better quality and better service. (When we walked around to explore other rooms, we noticed all of the hostal type rooms came with 2 bottled waters. Our luxury room did not come with any water, which seems backwards. Wish we were given 2 free bottled waters). Also, if n out first FSR,, track. Also, on the first day they gave us a bucket with ice. The second day they would not offer this. Bartender finally to gave us a bucket of ice after we bought three beers. Since no frig in luxury room, they should be more willing to give out ice so we can keep things cool. We appreciate how hard it is to get things out to such a remote place, however, when paying this much per night, would hope for better functionality.

Staff. On our first day, I noticed that 15 hours after we checked in, it was all the same staff working the front desk and restaurant. I asked a few workers how long they worked - I was told they are required to work 24 hour shifts (since it’s so remote). They do get lodging from about 11p-6am. In America this would be illegal. The problem with 24 hour shifts is no one can function well without sleep for that long - thus the poorer customer service. It’d be better if they had 12 hours on, let them sleep, then another 12 hours - would likely result in better customer service. None of the staff were rude or mean- they tried their best. Just a lot of communication...

We stayed here for two nights. The grounds and buildings are beautiful! The cobble stone pathways look good but are a pain to walk on. The hotel is steps from the entrance to Tikal, so it is very convenient. My wife and I speak very limited spanish, but try our hardest. Even so, the staff at the front desk was very rude. Tried to get change from the front desk and the bar so I could tip our waitress, and was told at both places that they don't do that here. The rooms are nice, and as stated before, they have no air conditioning. The bathtub is huge, and the bed was comfortable. The power gets turned off at certain hours of the day, but it's not really that inconvenient. What is inconvenient is the ants on the towels (yes, we know it's the jungle), and when we ask for new ones, we were charged. Also, the cold water tap handle came off, and it took them three tries to not fix it. My wife was told not to use it. Every meal in the restaurant had something on the menu that they were out of. That's not really a big issue. Service IS the big issue. It took a half hour to get service even though the dining room was less than a quarter full. The wait staff never came to check on things and would have to be searched for small things, more water, a new napkin. The food was edible if not exactly palatable. The ingredients were fresh, just not assembled well. When I asked my wife if she'd come back, she said, "Um... well... no, well, maybe if I brought my own food... no. I mean, it's beautiful and close to Tikal, and I like the room, but no." By the way, I wrote this review while waiting for a refill on my coffee...

The location is absolutely incredible - just a five minute walk to the park entrance! Visually, it is stunning, but it's evident that the staff are overwhelmed and overworked. It's heartbreaking to see the front desk team working such long hours from 8am to 11pm - something needs to change, and management must step in.

Unfortunately, due to maintenance issues, the overall experience was subpar. The rooms were dirty, shared bathrooms lacked toilet paper, and empty bottles littered the pool area. The broken shower by the pool was just another disappointment. Even the highly anticipated Maya documentary was cancelled due to technical difficulties!

On top of that, the food was mediocre at best considering the prices guests were paying. Steaks were overcooked, cocktails were diluted, and items on the menu seemed to constantly run out. To make matters worse, the desserts were a letdown, with a particularly soggy cheesecake that missed the mark completely.

Despite these setbacks, the location itself is breathtaking, with an incredible vibe and aesthetic. The front desk staff are doing their best, but the toll of being overworked is apparent.

Lastly, the ticketing system seemed disorganized, with mandatory guides for sunset and sunrise tours causing confusion. Why not provide guests with all the necessary information up front?

Tikal is a marvel that should be experienced by everyone, but this establishment falls short of doing justice to the incredible Maya culture. It's a place that should showcase the wonders of the region, but unfortunately, it...