Hotel Playa Paraiso — Hotel in Santa Rosa

TL;DR version: I don't recommend this hotel. Full review follows.

I have spent the last month traveling all over Guatemala and Monterrico is easily my favorite place but I didn't have a great experience at this hotel.

Be advised that no one speaks English here. I speak some spanish but even with a translator app, they didn't often understand me. During check-in they attempted to extort an extra fee from me but I had already paid in advance through an online site and successfully rebutted their attempt.

First, the good: Their pool/bar area is gorgeous. Everything seems well maintained and they are right on the beach. When they shut off the waterfalls at night, you fall asleep to the sounds of the ocean which was awesome to me. They turn off all the lights around 11pm and with no light pollution, stargazing is perfection here. There are no set pool hours, so be prepared to be awoken at 6am with music from the bar stereo and not to sleep until everyone else does.

Then, the bad: I paid a discounted price that ended up being around $52/night including taxes for what turned out to be a room about the size of a modern US jail cell and just as equipped. It had room for a bed and a very small stand. The bathroom was tiny as well. The shower had no hot water and barely trickled. I couldn't even shower the three days I was there and I tried twice. The first day I was there, people would randomly try to walk in my room without knocking and then act like it was a mistake when I exclaimed. The second day the maid just walked in without knocking and caught me drying off from the pool. I was pretty annoyed by the lack of security.

The food is priced at high-end American pricing. Q110 ($14) is an average price for an entree, and the food was good for dinner, I was less impressed with breakfast...but Guatemala is one of those countries where food isn't terribly expensive so I was pretty insulted by the prices when you consider that's about what I paid for a 3 course meal for two on Lake Atitlan. Their drinks are mostly overpriced, but try the Jamaica (Hibiscus tea) because it's only Q15 and was delicious.

I walked down the road a couple hundred feet to Hotel El Delfin to their restaurant, and they have much better food and much better prices so I ate there. It's also not very far, maybe a quarter mile to the main street in town where I bought pupusas from a local street vendor 4 for Q25. The people there were also much more attentive. They gave me a tour of the hotel and the rooms are MUCH better. I almost moved there for my last day. See my review of them on their Google Maps page.

I don't know where Playa Paraiso gets off charging so much unless they're just that predatory. Therefore, I DO NOT recommend this hotel at all.

Last thing that ended up being a nightmare: they required me to give them my US driver's license when I checked in but forgot to give it back when I checked out. Sure, I should have remembered but they should have had a procedure to return things, and I sat there for 45 minutes waiting for my ride to Escuintla while they walked by me several times so it isn't like they couldn't have thought about it. It was a nightmare getting it back and they acted like they...

Decidí pasar el año nuevo en ese hotel y todo lo hablado por chat para la reservación me lo pintaron excelente la realidad fue otra , de llegada a esperar a que me dieran la habitación, la señorita si se le puede llamar así mal encarada desde el comienzo me cambió todo lo que hablé con el dueño o encargado , no aceptaron transferencia bancaria pero cuando reserve si , ok a pagar con tarjeta y un recargo ridículo y caro , la comida de lo peor y a precios de hotel de 5 estrellas, se suponía que por se año nuevo habría algo de especial y nada y para colmo se fue la luz más de 3 horas mientras que en hoteles aledaños una gran fiesta, por lo de la luz todo el personal se fue no había nadie ni un cuidador para el vehículo, en el reglamento decía nada de mascotas y lleno de perritos y demás bastante molesto, las piscinas sucias, el jacuzzi es comunal y estaba de un color blanquecino desagradable , arreglaron la luz y no había nada de nada ni una triste radio, la playa ni siquiera era privada cualquiera estaba ahí , y sobrevendieron las reservaciones ya que me solicitaron la habitación antes del check out porque llegaron buses con gente ya se imaginarán esa piscina, y encima ni una compensación por la luz nada de celebración por el año nuevo cosa que ofrecieron y después ya no y por eso cobraron más , no volvería a ese lugar ni aunque fuera gratis , los recargos a tarjeta de crédito exorbitantes, borrachos en las piscinas cuando uno está en familia , una experiencia en serio horrible, no había ni seguridad y al no funcionar las cámaras de seguridad ya andaban tratando de abrir las habitaciones en fin no tiren su dinero en ese lugar, según la página web las fotos pintan un lugar muy bonito y no es así , encima están construyendo al lado del hotel con un ruido de la fregada, gente teniendo sexo en las piscinas y en el jacuzzi que por cierto no servía y habiendo niños es algo que jamás repetiría , ni lo piensen no vayan a ese lugar , lo único digamos positivo fue la amabilidad del mesero que nos atendió para el si 100 puntos pero el resto no tiene ni idea de cómo atender turistas locales mucho menos extranjeros. Me arrepiento tanto de haber gastado en algo así pero gracias a la publicidad engañosa pues muchos caímos en eso espero esta reseña crítica les sirva a futuros veraneantes, para concluir asumo que a algún desgraciado le hacía falta una pieza de la lodera que es de fábrica y cuesta conseguirla ya que cuando salí ya no la tenía mi auto y nadie supo nadie sabía y como se fue la luz pues ganancia de...

We came to eat for lunch and was first told we needed to register (pay) to eat. THEN the wait time was over an hour for any meal. Not only that but we were told there was a shortage of alcohol….. we immediately left to the hotel right next door called Café de sol. We were attended right away and guess what… NO WAIT TIME AND NO SHORTAGE. Head on over to cafe de sol if you don’t want to be...