Jungle Lodge Hotel — Hotel in Flores

We stayed at Jungle Lodge April 11-13. We booked our suite 6 months earlier. | |On April 7th, 5 days before our arrival, I received an email saying, Reservation Cancelled - Jungle Lodge Hotel - Cancellation #..... I responded within 5 minutes saying, "NO, this is a mistake; please don't cancel our reservation, we are arriving in 4 days!". | |I also went to the Jungle Lodge website and on the home page, there was a WhatsApp link and I sent them the same message. That link was to Groupo Anah, the parent company. They said to reach out to the reservations department, and gave me the number. | |I reached out to the reservations department, who said they sent me a payment link on March 28th and I didn't pay. I explained that the March 28th email said, " we'll be sending you the payment link shortly.", and I never received a follow up email until I receive the cancelation email. They responded that there was a payment link at the bottom of the March 28th email (below the signature line). I pointed out that clearly, nobody would look for a payment link in an email that said, " we'll be sending you the payment link shortly." | |They said, sorry, there is no rooms available.....I pointed out that I had made the reservation 6 months earlier, and did nothing wrong, and that it was their miss-communication that caused the problem, so they needed to find a solution. I further said, if that means that they had to reach out to the people that they just incorrectly gave my suite away to, and explain the mistake, that's what they needed to do. They responded, that it's too late, the other party had already paid. And they said, there as a payment link in the March 28th email.| |Clearly, I was messaging with someone who had challenges with basic reasoning so I reached back to the Groupo Anah and asked for support. They said they were sorry and were on it. | |The reservations department reached out, and said they could put us in a Jr. Suite for 1 night and Suite for the other, or just a Jr. Suite for 2 nights. We opted for the Jr. Suite for both nights so we didn't have to move each day. Then they got back to us and said, good news, we got you into a suite for both nights. Problem solved? Not so fast...| |We got there and found our suite (#4 or #5, 2 suites in one building next to the open kitichen, I can't remember which is which), was right next to the open air restaurant kitchen, which is next to the open air games room (pool table, foosball, etc.). When we went to bed around 9:30 pm, and were kept awake by constant banging of pots and who knows what, for about an hour. Also yelling from the games room and kitchen staff. Then around 5:30am, the kitchen staff returned and we were again woken up and kept awake until we left for the restaurant around 8:30am.| |I explained this to the front desk, who said sorry, we are sold out. I said I'm looking at dozens of people checking out so there are clearly rooms available, and to put us in one of those departing suites. I suggested, putting a new arrival guest in our suite and give us their suite. She replied sorry, we're sold out. I asked for the manager please....She said, well, we can put you in a suite connected to your current suite (#4 or #5). I said it is still next to the kitchen so not really helping. She said she can put us in a standard room away from the kitchen. I asked for the Manager please.| |After breakfast, the manager was available. I explained our situation and asked him if he thought this was OK? He said no. So I said, OK, we'll go on our tour, and I'll leave it in your hands to get us in a suite that is not next to the open kitchen. He said, no problem. | |We returned from our tour and were given a standard room that had no AC, no wifi, and no conditioner. The reception didn't say anything about refunding us the difference between the suite price paid and the new room. Or about any compensation for the fact that we didn't sleep for half the night.. Or compensation for having to move. Or any compensation for new room with no AC, no wifi, and the conditioner dispenser was empty. | |The next morning I saw the manager and asked him why he didn't sort out the issue and get us in a suite. He said the head office said I was offered the other suite (#4 or #5) connected to our initial suite, and I said it was still next to the kitchen, so it wasn't a helpful solution. I asked if we would be refunded for the first night because we were kept awake for half the night, and asked that we were provided a credit for the difference between the suite price we paid, and the standard room we slept in, and compensation for no wifi, an he said he'd ask the head office. When I checked out, I was told I needed to write to the head office.| |Regarding the dining experience, a vast majority of the guests are non-spanishing speaking tourists, and only 1 server that we me spoke english. But that's just the beginning. | |I ordered soup, which was cold. | |I ordered a second juice at breakfast, and she said, no. No? I want another juice. She replied, you only get 1 juice. I said I'll pay for a second juice. She reluctantly got one for me. | |My wife asked for a pitcher of water after a run? No, only a glass. OK, then 3 glasses of water. No, only one glass. Water?| |My wife ordered coffee. Food came, no coffee. I asked someone for coffee and they said Ok. Still no coffee. More than half way through her meal, I asked for coffee for a third time over 20 mins, and finally she got it....| |I ordered nachos, and the description said it included cheese. But it wasn't real melted cheese, it was cheese spread, which is kind of gross. | |On a positive note, the location is ideal, and the rooms and pool are nicer than you would expect for a...

I am fascinated by the service, the facilities are second to none. I had the opportunity to compare the hotel/hostel with other facilities of nearby hotels (jaguar inn and Tikal inn) honestly the price is not very different but the service, cleanliness and the fact that they have Internet, electric light (stable) mosquito net and these literally in the national park ( you do not necessarily need to pass the ticket booth to enter and stand in line ) makes your experience unique . Elvis (the guard), Leisley Lopez (at the reception) and Johanna (waitress in the restaurant) make your stay magical, they always talk with you and transmit their love for their country, in addition to always looking for your comfort and safety. I lost the key to my room and they did not hesitate to help me find it and they were very helpful in helping me open the door to my room. one day I was very tired/relaxed and literally spent the whole day and part of the night in the pool and Johanna realized that it was almost 9 pm (the time the restaurant closes) and Johanna went to ask me if I didn't want to order something before the restaurant closed. These types of gestures are what make the difference.

The only bad experience (not everything can be perfect) was the guide with whom I took the sunrise and sunset tour (too bad he was the only guide (César) available with the hotel (I regret not having taken some of the local guides who are in the palapa at the main entrance) I can rate Cesar as the worst tour guide I have had in all my 3 weeks in Guatemala my reasons are as follows: 1) he never wants to take pictures of you 2 ) he wants to do everything extremely fast, he is always rushing you and does not let you enjoy the moment an external guide (lower the light, hurry up, basically he almost scolds you if you breathe) 4) He is very arrogant, he is always doing less (with attitudes and comments to the local people) Cesar thinks he is superior to others simply because he lived many times in NY and his English is very good and in his words he has had multiple collaborations with influencers and photographers.

(Possibly if you only speak English and want a guide with perfect English, Cesar is the ideal option).

Really the only reason why I do not give 5 stars and only 4 stars is because of the attitude of the guide and why they are not clear at first that if the afternoon tour and the morning tour are taken on different days you must pay, apart from the entrance ticket at sunrise or sunset, the day ticket for each sunrise or sunset you take and you must buy it in advance at the BanRural bank Additionally, they can be purchased at the CHN Bank agency of the World International Airport Maya de Flores, Peten or at the mobile agency of Banco CHN at the entrance of the park. The internet connection is very slow in this last location, so it is better to buy it in advance (every ticket is valid for one month).

The following days I was smarter and hired the services of a local guide to explain a little more about the richness of the flora, fauna and construction Tikal processes (I was specially focus in that ) I highly recommend it (he speaks English but with a very strong accent and is not fluent ) . I leave you the number of the local guide in Tikal + 502 51839742 (Jeremías Antonio Valles Pérez) or for night walks ( to see local animals ) outside the park with Edwin National Park Guard: +502 31632028. If you are staying at the hostel and want to save a bit and eat food with a local touch, I can also recommend going out to eat Pacaya next to the camping area in Tikal. the beans are very tasty and the chicken is...

The location is amazing and the hotel is beautiful. The room was clean and very comfortable. The location alone makes this hotel worth it. I would recommend staying in Flores your first night and finishing your stay at the Jungle Hotel.

It is the middle of the jungle so there are bugs but I don’t care about them so it doesn’t bother me. We had zero issues with mosquitos or flies.

BUT… There are things you should be aware of. No filtered water except very expensive bottled water. No snacks. I recommend you bring both with you. The hotel shuts the electricity off at night from 11pm - 6am. The website says you will have enough for a fan, night light and an outlet for charging but we didn’t. The fan did not work. And in the times it did, you couldn’t feel any air flow. We were there in extremely hot temps (40-44c) so it would be hot/uncomfortable no matter what but the lack of a fan is absolutely insanity. And you’re basically wide awake in the dark with no way to read or use your phone since there is also no internet in the cabins. (Lobby and pool area only) take note and download any entertainment you might want. Because of our inconvenient travel schedule we asked for a late check out which was completely refused despite the hotel being near empty and the website saying they’d accommodate up to 3pm. In the end we checked out and put our bags in storage and in the afternoon we used the facilities until our transport arrived. And it worked out fine but a proper shower after being in the 40 degree jungle all day would have been nice.

In our cabin there was no hot water and extremely poor water pressure in the shower. We also had the jacuzzi tub but it would have taken half a day to fill the tub.

The restaurant was okay but certainly not great. Staff - the restaurant staff were lovely. The front reception (one woman in particular) was terrible. Pool is due for some maintenance. Pool bar was never open. The bar is okay tho they were missing ingredients for a lot of cocktails.

Apparently you can request coffee in your room but know it’s not standard. And when I asked in the morning, they initially refused to serve me coffee without ordering breakfast.

To be at the entrance to Tikal, in the jungle is amazing. So convenient. But the cost of this hotel does not justify the lack of amenities and poor service.

In the future I will choose to either stay in a hotel in el remate for the convenience or in Flores for the abundance of cute hotels, restaurants and things to fill your time with.

Jungle Lodge is lovely but be aware of these issues - especially if you’re travelling during extreme...