Socialtel Atitlan — Hotel in Panajachel

Let’s start with the good things: we really enjoyed the pool, the place has a beautiful bar and the overall look-and-feel is great. In addition, the bunk beds were comfortable and solid, meaning you wouldn’t wake up if your ‘upstairs neighbour’ climbs in his/her bed. The reason why I only give 2/5 is not the result of one big issue but more of a multitude of small ones. the room was lacking a litter bin, which was a tiny annoyance. In addition, the lock to the bathroom was broken and had been for some time according to roommates. In the shower, the knob got cold water was broken so only the hot water worked.. I can handle only cold water but not only hot .. We’ve notified the personnel so hopefully it gets fixed in a timely manner. the hostel didn’t have any taps for drinking water. This is weird to say the least, because in Guatemala they are literally everywhere, from hairdressers to coffee shops to restaurants and hotels (the ‘ecofiltro’ ones). The only available place was behind the bar which didn’t open up until 07:30 every morning. the service at the reception varied from unhelpful to simply rude. We were told the laundry service was not available because there were too many guests in the hostel, so they needed the laundry machines for bedsheets etc.. a simple fix would be an external laundry service for guests’ needs which is quite standard in more upscale ho(s)tels. Also, I received a friendly email from Selina that I could collect a voucher for a welcome drink at the reception. When I showed the email the receptionist looked at it like it came from Mars, the only way to get a welcome drink she told me, was to download a Selina app, create an account and fill out all of my personal data.. so we just ordered one and paid for it which was less of a hassle.

All in all, I think many of these points can be easily fixed, so I hope these points will be seen as...

Really disappointed with this location, unsure how other Selina locations work but definitely wont be visiting this one ever again (nor did it leave me with temptation to know other selina locations if they manage themselves anything like this… 3 main complaints amongst several…

1). We did not ask for cleaning services (nor was the sign put up on our door that we requested the cleaning service) we went out for a bit to grab breakfast and when we came back to our room the door was completely open for anyone to be able to go in and no staff in nor around our room! Our computers/phones/cameras along with other items were at view and easily could have been taken by anyone passing by! Unsure how long it was open before our arrival and we still waited in the room for an additional 5-10 mins before the staff came back! (Attaching pics for reference)

2. The internet was not that great… for them to claim to be the “most reliable” when it comes to wifi that was not the case here, I am a digital nomad and am constantly on calls, the wifi kept dropping, the signal was not strong whatsoever and I had a lot of issues with my call connections… tried their cowork area and same issues…. (We later stayed at a different location further out in the lake where reception is spotty and they had the best/speediest connection- 1000x better than at Selina)

3. Most importantly THEY made a mistake on our reservation, originally apologized and PROMISED us a “partial refund” although they were the ones who messed up, and later they brush off responsibility and say there wont be any refund, there was lack of communication and professionalism with this location I am 1000% disappointed with their service (bar staff was great no complaints there, but the office team…)

Will i ever choose their locations again? Not likely, the sky would need to be falling for me to reconsider them! Left a nasty taste...

I’m very sad to give a bad review to this Selina because I have stayed in the past years in several Selinas and they used to be wonderful so I used to love the brand. Unfortunately all the reasons I booked this Selina for, were not available. Their Selina pictures are very misleading, the property is not by the lake, it’s a separate beach bar that is always closed. I wanted to do yoga by the lake but don’t have yoga teachers anymore and didn’t even let me grab a mat and take it there to practice because the bar has been closed. When we planned our trip we planned to take part on their salsa lessons, their Halloween party and all of this was cancelled. There was also no salsa instructor which is why they canceled.

We had breakfast included and it was not like I had remembered at other Selinas. It was veeery small portions which were very overpriced. If you stay here, don’t include breakfast and instead eat breakfast locally. Plus, the kitchen takes a very long time and you will lose tourist time.

We got the Suite room and the bedroom was very nice but the bathroom looked very run down. The showers need some upgrading.

I follow the stock market and Selina has some serious cash problems and are focusing on profitability instead of growth. Which might make sense why they’re bumping up the prices and reducing their staff and offers. This won’t be sustainable because it makes so sense to pay for overpriced stay and services for services that are not offered. Let’s see how Selina Antigua is, otherwise I might no longer stay at Selinas although I was a hard lover of the brand after staying in total of 10 properties...