Grand Hotel Panajachel — Hotel in Panajachel

We had to leave this hotel after one night. The owner seemed like a nice man but the hotel is in a terrible state of disrepair. It's in a very bad area and my son and I felt unsafe. Our male guide walked us back to the hotel at night and said, "my room is nicer for 50Q a night" ($6). There is no A/C and no screens on windows so when we opened them for a short time because the room was sweltering, we got eaten alive and felt unsafe. We could not have slept with windows open since we were on first floor and anyone could have walked right in. The sheets were threadbare and no mattress cover, there was mold everywhere, holes in the tile, electrical wires taped together, and a terrible breakfast - worst I've ever had in Guatemala and I am here all the time (I have a travel company). I needed wifi because I had clients traveling (it is guaranteed in every room) and it never worked in our room. After 4 attempts to have this mitigated by management I gave up and sat outside to connect. We spoke with the manager at length time and again. He felt terrible and tried to give us a nicer room but even the nicer rooms were terrible and still no decent wifi connection. When we told him we needed to find a hotel with better wifi in a better location he apologized and promised us he would contact Orbitz to request a refund on our behalf. I am an avid traveler, own my own travel company, have been to 80+ countries (many numerous times) and this is in my top five worst hotels/experiences. We checked out and found a much nicer hotel in a better location for the exact same price. I was a sucker to believe the owner because he denied my refund and Orbitz let us down by not fighting harder for us. I'll never book with Orbitz again and if you value your vacation time, you should never stay at this hotel. Worst decision I've ever made. The pictures on every site I've seen are in no way accurate! Our room was filthy - and the owner now claims he upgraded us. If that was an upgrade, I wish I'd gotten pictures of the room that we were supposed to stay in. I'm out $440 and now writing bad reviews - both a first for me. Do yourself a favor, don't stay at this hotel and don't book your hotels through Orbitz - they won't go to bat for you when it counts. Clearly it's about the money, not...

We had to leave this hotel after one night. The owner seemed like a nice man but the hotel is in a terrible state of disrepair. It's in a very bad area and my son and I felt unsafe. Our male guide walked us back to the hotel at night and said, "my room is nicer for 50Q a night" ($6). There is no A/C and no screens on windows so when we opened them for a short time because the room was sweltering, we got eaten alive and felt unsafe. We could not have slept with windows open since we were on first floor and anyone could have walked right in. The sheets were threadbare and no mattress cover, there was mold everywhere, holes in the tile, electrical wires taped together, and a terrible breakfast - worst I've ever had in Guatemala and I am here all the time (I have a travel company). I needed wifi because I had clients traveling (it is guaranteed in every room) and it never worked in our room. After 4 attempts to have this mitigated by management I gave up and sat outside to connect. We spoke with the manager at length time and again. He felt terrible and tried to give us a nicer room but even the nicer rooms were terrible and still no decent wifi connection. When we told him we needed to find a hotel with better wifi in a better location he apologized and promised us he would contact Orbitz to request a refund on our behalf. I am an avid traveler, own my own travel company, have been to 80+ countries (many numerous times) and this is in my top five worst hotels/experiences. We checked out and found a much nicer hotel in a better location for the exact same price. I was a sucker to believe the owner because he denied my refund and Orbitz let us down by not fighting harder for us. I'll never book with Orbitz again and if you value your vacation time, you should never stay at this hotel. Worst decision I've ever made. The pictures on every site I've seen are in no way accurate! Our room was filthy - and the owner now claims he upgraded us. If that was an upgrade, I wish I'd gotten pictures of the room that we were supposed to stay in. I'm out $440 and now writing bad reviews - both a first for me. Do yourself a favor, don't stay at this hotel and don't book your hotels through Orbitz - they won't go to bat for you when it counts. Clearly it's about the money, not...

My 13 year old son and I had to leave this hotel last summer because of the conditions. We are seasoned travelers and this is the first time I have ever felt unsafe at a hotel. I've stayed in hotels in over 80 countries and this now counts as my worst experience. Not the worst room (although it was bad) but the customer service has been the worst I have ever encountered. The owner was very nice in the beginning and promised that if we felt like we needed to leave, he understood and assured us that he would talk to Orbitz to get our money back. Orbitz has repeatedly told me that he refuses to give us a refund for the unused portion of the stay (5 nights) - their hands are tied. I've contacted the owner, Elio, on numerous occasions now and he too has promised to return my money but it's been almost a year and nothing. Now he doesn't even respond to my emails. Do yourself a favor and don't stay here. There are so many other hotels in a much better location, nicer atmosphere, quality rooms and good customer service in Panajachel that there is no need to put yourself through what I've been through this year. If you'd like pictures of our room or copies of our correspondence, feel free to PM me. I'm so disheartened. And again, I am a seasoned traveler and a very kind person. I felt bad leaving the hotel but we just didn't feel safe. He assured me we'd get a refund, and he promised that at a minimum, he would refund us the part he took from Orbitz. He's made promise after promise and a year later, still no refund. I'm super disappointed in this man. Nothing like this has EVER happened to me in all my travels all...