Hotel Casa Maya — Hotel in Sololá

My husband and I stayed a week at El Arbol in San Marcos Atitlan and loved our little haven close to everything but quiet and tucked away between the trees. ||||El Arbol is one of the only budget choices in a town that is quickly becoming more expensive as the tourists flock here. It is not a full-service hotel (no reception, restaurant or bar), but it is ideal for independent travellers looking for a place to stay while they explore the lake. There are 3 rooms with adjoining covered porch, and a little separate bungalow with its own porch available. Rooms are basic with double bed and a shelf, but clean and very quiet - almost no noise from the dogs and evangelical churches reaches you inside. The shared bathroom and kitchen were always spotless, and the yard is lush and tidy. The only faults we could find was that you had to supply your own toilet paper and that the pillows were lumpy and not very good.||||The hotel has no restaurants or bars immediately surrounding the property so it was very quiet at night. However, the grooviest cafes and restaurants (some with live music) are only a 2 minute walk away through the winding paths. We were travelling on a budget and having a kitchen was a huge bonus, since there is only one other place in town that offered kitchen facilities. There are ladies in town selling fresh fruits and veggies, and a few places sell fresh bread. Everything else you can get from the El Arbol shop (which labels its goods with the prices so that you know you're paying the same as the local people!)||||Owner Rigoberto and his family are lovely people, and will happily provide you with honest advice about how much transport and other things really cost, and where to find what you need. They are very warm, hard-working and honest people and we loved chatting to them about life in San Marcos. ||||I would recommend this place for independent travellers who are more interested in getting to know the local people and place itself rather than just their hotel. There is no website, but San Marcos is small so just ask around or follow the signs to the Kayak rental shop - it's...

Don't let the negative reviews discourage you. We had a good experience here.

There was an issue with our reservation when we went to check in. But the owner worked hard to make it right. We repeatedly observed the owner working hard to make sure all guests were satisfied. He seems to truly care about the guest experience. Others commented about the dogs. The dogs were mostly friendly to us and our two small children. They did run up on me barking a couple of times. Guests who has issues with the dogs likely did not make any effort to introduce themselves. If you show up late and under the influence of drugs/alcohol, without having introduced yourself, you deserve to get barked at. Any traveler to Guatemala needs to know how to handle dogs that will charge you from time to time. Running a business in this somewhat remote part of Guatemala is challenging for any owner.

The environment is tranquilo. The showers have very hot water. The included breakfast was delicious, and prepared to order. Location is central. Price was better than other hotels and included a great breakfast. We had a great stay and highly recommend. Don't forget to tip the muchachas!

Update: We ate breakfast here three times. When the owner was present, service was fast. On the day the owner was absent, we arrived at 730am for breakfast. The server took our order at 745. Two of three plates were delivered to the table at 815. The last plate was delivered at 845. Expect inconsistent service and you won't be...

I hate leaving negative reviews but this is such a waste of potential cause the location is SO ideal, the rooms are big, the place is actually quite nice but the rooms are just not well maintained which is so sad||||||+ : the girl at reception||location||breakfast (although no one told us anything and we were sent to another restaurant, where the lady who welcomed us was super rude and demanded a breakfast ticket which we didn't get because of the lack of staff in the morning)||||||- : ||no hot water (when it's 12 degrees outside, and even colder inside, it's not ideal)||nests of insects in bathroom||no functional light in bathroom||dirty||wifi does not work in the room and most of the night||a bit loud at night between dogs and neighbours (but solution was earplugs)||||||Would've stayed longer if there was at least hot water.. so much potential, please please do something this is so sad to see the place...