Mikaso Hotel — Hotel in Sololá

|I stayed 2 nights out of a 21 night stay.||Pros:|- hotel is nicely located by the lake. Good views.|- hotel bed is comfortable and room mostly clean, save for quite a few hairs on the floor||Cons:|- noise #1. In the morning there's music in reception from 830, and for all the insistence on quietness they have in the evening it's actually quite noisy on the ground floor from much earlier. |- noise #2. they play music in the restaurant so loud there isn't really a quiet place in the hotel from the afternoon at which to sit by the sea and read|- when they say on signs "please advise if you DO NOT want your room cleaned" they actually mean "please advise if you DO want your room cleaned" as I found out after the first day|- the staff. I'll just lay out my story below, but it seems the hotel is managed by someone who has a nasty side to him (middle aged Dutch(?) man) which comes out sometimes. Read some of the negative reviews and the hotel's responses and you'll see this side.||I went out on my second night and met some Guatemalans. They insisted on walking me back so I got home safe. One of them needed the toilet when we got there at around 11:15pm, so we walked into reception together, only planning for one of them to go to the toilet.||The older man at reception jumps to his feet, yelling in Spanish for them to get out, pointing to the door, squaring up to the girl, not listening to us that one of them wants to use the toilet. Shouted something about it being illegal. This was all quite rude.||Next morning I speak to the polite receptionist to tell her of my experience prior night. She apologises. Reiterates the rule that one guest is allowed to stay but not two and that may have caused the confusion. Says it's not an isolated incident with this man.||6pm - I come back to hotel. The old man receptionist is there and calls me over and points to some sign about guests and reiterates something about illegality. I try to clarify the rule I was told earlier was one guest but not two. He doesn't agree it seems.||615pm - the manager of the hotel comes to my room and says things along the following lines:|1) "you were drunk, right?" (Yes we had been drinking, but we were not obscenely drunk)|2) "you had a bottle in hand last night" (false)|3) "you were going to the terrace to carry on the party" (false)|4) "I heard all sides of the story" (false, he never actually asked my side of the story but rather only what his other staff members had told him)|5) I say I'm going to leave the hotel and that I will leave a review to which he says something like "you're threatening me with a negative review but it doesn't matter amongst hundreds of good ones" (I wasn't threatening it, I was just stating it)|6) we agree that I will leave. He says I can stay the night but out of principle I want to leave immediately. He offers to give me back all my money which I refuse.||So there you go. Unpleasant, accusatory, moralising, and generally pretty...

I stayed 2 nights out of a 21 night stay.

Pros: hotel is nicely located by the lake. Good views. hotel bed is comfortable and room mostly clean, save for quite a few hairs on the floor

Cons: noise #1. In the morning there's music in reception from 830, and for all the insistence on quietness they have in the evening it's actually quite noisy on the ground floor from much earlier. noise #2. they play music in the restaurant so loud there isn't really a quiet place in the hotel from the afternoon at which to sit by the sea and read when they say on signs "please advise if you DO NOT want your room cleaned" they actually mean "please advise if you DO want your room cleaned" as I found out after the first day the staff. I'll just lay out my story below, but it seems the hotel is managed by someone who has a nasty side to him (middle aged Canadian man) which comes out sometimes. Read some of the negative reviews and the hotel's responses and you'll see this side.

I went out on my second night and met some Guatemalans. They insisted on walking me back so I got home safe. One of them needed the toilet when we got there at around 11:15pm, so we walked into reception together, only planning for one of them to go to the toilet.

The older man at reception jumps to his feet, yelling in Spanish for them to get out, pointing to the door, squaring up to the girl, not listening to us that one of them wants to use the toilet. Shouted something about it being illegal. This was all quite rude.

Next morning I speak to the polite receptionist to tell her of my experience prior night. She apologises. Reiterates the rule that one guest is allowed to stay but not two and that may have caused the confusion. Says it's not an isolated incident with this man.

6pm - I come back to hotel. The old man receptionist is there and calls me over and points to some sign about guests and reiterates something about illegality. I try to clarify the rule I was told earlier was one guest but not two. He doesn't agree it seems.

615pm - the manager of the hotel comes to my room and says things along the following lines:

1. "you were drunk, right?" (Yes we had been drinking, but we were not obscenely drunk)
2. "you had a bottle in hand last night" (false)
3. "you were going to the terrace to carry on the party" (false)
4. "I heard all sides of the story" (false, he never actually asked my side of the story but rather only what his other staff members had told him)
5. I say I'm going to leave the hotel and that I will leave a review to which he says something like "you're threatening me with a negative review but it doesn't matter amongst hundreds of good ones" (I wasn't threatening it, I was just stating it)
6. we agree that I will leave. He says I can stay the night but out of principle I want to leave immediately. He offers to give me back all my money which I refuse.

So there you go. Unpleasant, accusatory, moralising, and generally pretty...

Pros: Location and Architecture The hotel is a beautiful building that’s both stately and homey. I enjoyed walking through its floors, watching sunrises on the terrace, and spotting butterflies in the plants lining the walkways. It’s perfectly located by the waterfront for a great view of the entire lake (canoes available though I didn’t get a chance to use them), a very short walk away from cafes, restaurants, bodegas and the thermal pools. The dock for boats to all of the towns except Santiago was on the left side of the city (15 mins walk) while the dock for boats to Santiago only were on the same side, 5 mins walk away. Staff The front desk and housekeeping staff were very friendly. Restaurant The restaurant upstairs, El Gato Perdido, serves delicious dishes at reasonable prices and the servers are so nice and attentive. There was even a New Year’s celebration with a DJ- a nice touch to the stay. Cute cats abound throughout the building, so you can relax, read a book, with a cat napping by your side.

Cons: Bathroom/room Maybe because of the building’s age, there was no vent for humid air to exit the bathroom area, and so my entire room would quickly become stuffy after each shower. I had to leave my window open with the fan blowing the air out. The shower pressure was not wonderful, hot water would sometimes cut off, and my bathroom drain took some time to allow water flow. My room was not touched/cleaned during the 3 days so I assume this is a service you must request; there was some dust and hair on the walls and windowpanes upon check in. The windows do not have one-way blinds so those outside can see in, and sound travels quite easily through them. But the walls are well sound-proofed. Limited wifi There was no wifi for 1.5 days of my stay and I had to rely on slow cellular connection. While I understand that the lake’s location means limited connectivity, absolutely no wifi for that duration is not ideal for those who want to work, call family, etc. throughout their stay.

Overall: It was lovely to have a safe, comfortable, clean refuge while traveling around the different lake towns. I would recommend Mikaso to anyone looking for a quietly sequestered villa stay that’s still close to all the...