Laguna Lodge Eco-Resort & Nature Reserve — Hotel in Sololá

Disappointing: much changed since the Conde Nast listing...

We stayed for 2 nights over New Year. Had been travelling through Belize and Guatemala for 2 weeks and wanted to stay somewhere nicer for a few days. We picked the hotel because of the Conde Nast listing, but realised (too late) the listing was over 10 years ago and the hotel is far from what it used to o be geek then.

The hotel is in a quiet location on the lake, which was great. The building itself is pleasant and the room was sizeable and comfortable.

However, we were very disappointed with service and facilities, which are not what you'd expect for a 4 star hotel and certainly not for the price we paid I Guatemala. We paid for an expensive transfer from the airport (US$165), and on arrival, the first (and only) words we got from the receptionist/manager Leslie were "I need your passports and credit card". No greetings or welcoming. We were not given any information about the hotel unless we asked for it. This was surprising as everyone else in Guatemala is so nice and welcoming. The rest of the staff was nice, they were trying their best, and we read in a 10 year old information booklet in the room that the hotel trains local people to work on hospitality. That's nice in principle, clearly they needed training (mainly the kitchen staff, eg we had to wait 1 hour to be served breakfast the first morning) but we never seen anyone supervising or training them. So I'm not sure this a social program or they are just employing cheaper staff or not enough staff.

Food was expensive (US$ 32 per dinner per person or US$ 80 for new year's eve) and unfortunately not great. It's all vegetarian (which is nice) but bland and not interesting. We ended up taking lanchas to go to nearby villages (San Marcos in particular) to have much, much better food (and cheaper).

Under the guise of being environmentally friendly, rooms only had hot water during short windows in morning and evening (could be another cost savings measure?).

On our last day, we took a short hike up behind the hotel (recommend in the original Conde Nast listing), following a map given to us by the receptionist. We were interested in seeing the coffee plantation and the double hammocks with a view of the volcanos. We were again disappointed to find out that they don't exist anymore (neither of them), the whole path was in disrepair, and the receptionist could not be bothered to tell us that before we went up...

They also charged for the use of the hot tub, which is outrageous.

To end our experience, we asked if we could replace the destination of the complementary lancha drop off from Pana to San Pedro (the same distance). Leslie told us we'd have to pay the difference in cost, which would end up being around US$ 42!!! We took a public lancha instead at the cost of US$ 6.

Overall, this was a disappointing experience. We relied on the Conde Nast listing, but realised this place changed a lot in 10 years, and nobody seems to care to maintain the area around the hotel (incl. It's pier), or to provide reasonable service. I feel bad for the staff that works there (waiters, kitchen, cleaning, etc.) who are trying their best and are super friendly, despite having orders barked at them constantly by the receptionist. Interacting with her was one then most unpleasant customers experiences I've ever had. The management of lodge does not seem to care about customers at all, they seem to want to extract as much money from customers as possible by providing as little...

This hotel is a complete disaster. The property is in utter disrepair, everything is old and worn out, and the pictures online are blatant false advertising from over a decade ago.

This is, at best, a 2-star hotel, a borderline luxury hostel.

Key Issues: Rodent Problem in the Room: We arrived to find rat droppings on the bed, which I had to clean and throw away. That same night, a mouse ran through my luggage. Management’s resolution was to move us to another room for two days and then back to the old room, causing extra inconvenience. Instead of offering a refund or something meaningful, they offered us a dinner, as if that would fix the issue.

Terrible Wi-Fi: The Wi-Fi was almost unusable. It only worked in one tiny corner of the room. If you want to watch something on Netflix, you’d better have strong legs to stand there long enough to finish an episode. For a hotel charging premium rates, this was unacceptable.

Dated and Falling Apart: Everything in the rooms and common areas—furniture, rugs, cushions, and bed comforters—felt like it was at least 15 years old. The power went out five times, and the lights constantly flickered, making the experience even worse. It’s clear this place hasn’t seen a renovation since its last good review in 2013.

Unreliable Showers: For two days, there was no hot water at all. On other days, the water was either scalding hot or freezing cold, making showering a miserable experience.

Overpriced Pool Access: The “pool” looks more like a decorative fountain. To use it, you must notify the staff 4 hours in advance, pay $26, and can only enjoy it for a maximum of 1 hour. Come on—I paid $250 per night, and you’re charging me to heat the pool for 1 hour? Are you that desperate to pinch every penny? How about offering at least some mediocre luxury service!

Mediocre Dining Options: The restaurant offers only a vegetarian menu, which we don’t mind, but the food was mediocre at best. Adding small meat options would provide much-needed variety, especially since you cannot walk anywhere for alternative dining.

Understaffed Service: At the old wooden "antique" restaurant, there was only one employee juggling roles as a busboy, waiter, and bartender. He was very accommodating considering he had to play so many roles.

Nonexistent Amenities: The hotel advertised a gym, but it was closed and empty, which was not disclosed during booking.

Unreasonable Refund Policy: Due to an emergency, I had to leave a day earlier and requested a refund or partial credit toward my bill. I was being reasonable—even a partial refund would have sufficed. Unsurprisingly, the owners refused and instead offered a credit for a future stay. Honestly, I’d rather sleep in a canoe in the middle of the freezing lake than step foot in this place again!

This property needs a total overhaul to live up to even basic standards. If you’re considering staying here, don’t. Look into alternatives like Casa Palopó or Casa Prana, even if it means changing your plans. I regret not staying elsewhere.

Avoid this place...

TLDR: Laguna Lodge is a wonderful vegetarian/vegan lodge with an incredible view, hiking trails right on property, and delightful staff.

We traveled to Laguna Lodge in late May/early June 2022. We specifically picked it because of the gorgeous location (on Lake Atitlán) and the fact that they cater to vegan and vegetarian diets.

Lake Atitlán is isolated, so getting there requires a two-and-a-half-hour drive and a ten-minute boat ride to the lodge (both available for a fee through the lodge, which we did). As soon as you arrive at the lake, the view is stunning, with multiple volcanos along the lake. The quick boat ride had us at the lodge in no time, the thatched roofs coming into view as we pulled up to the dock.

We were greeted with fresh watermelon juice and a tour of the small property, including the restaurant, two open shared living spaces, and our room (with large private bath and balcony). Clean water is provided in the room and throughout the property and alcoholic beverages are available at the bar inside the restaurant.

The vegan food was great. We paid for all our meals in advance, breakfast, lunch, and a four-course dinner each night. Breakfast and lunch can be ordered off the menu and there are many options. I loved the French toast. The dinners were creative and always had soup, salad, entrée, and dessert.

Language was sometimes a challenge. My Spanish is minimal and that’s the case with English for much of the staff. Lesly, though, who was managing the front desk most of the time we were there, speaks English well enough and she was incredibly helpful. And while Diego (our boat driver), Francisco, and Cruz (the latter two working in the restaurant) didn’t speak much English, they were wonderful and patient as I used Google Translate to communicate.

While we didn’t pay for any of the excursions, we did get around on foot a good bit. The property’s reserve is quite large, and the hikes are strenuous. We probably did over 8 hours of hiking on the trails spread out over three days. There’s a lot of elevation, so it’s not a casual hike. We saw tons of cool birds, plants, and bugs. There’s also a trail from the lodge to Santa Cruz (around a mile) that is flat and runs along the lake. It lets you see many of the lodgings along the lake, some beautiful plants and flowers, and lots of birds. And if you feel like a strenuous uphill climb, you can walk up into the village of Santa Cruz (we didn’t).

There are water taxis that will transport you to the villages that sit along the lake. There are quite a few. We took the taxi to San Juan. The boat ride was incredibly rough and painful, so be aware of that in case you have a particularly bad back or fragile body (the return ride was smooth, though).

Overall, we had a wonderful time. Our room was plenty big and comfortable. The food was tasty. The location was gorgeous. The staff was delightful and helpful. I highly recommend Laguna Lodge and would absolutely...