Hotel El Sol

Best. Hostel. Ever. Super clean and spacious and curtains separating beds, which is a welcome improvement. The owner is great. He did my laundry and will exchange your money for the best rate. Really likable guy. He came here as a volunteer from Japan and never left. Everything about this place is perfect except the location. It’s a kilometer out From the downtown area. Near the super cool cemetery and a fabulous restaurant on the lake. It’s great if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle. Plus, you can walk along the lake if you’re willing to blaze your back to Santander

This is probably the best value lodging in Guatemala, particularly in the Lake Atitlan region. Located in the quieter residential area of Panajachel, it's a short Tuk Tuk ride (Q 10 per person) to the San Pedro boat dock. It's possible to walk, it's approximately 1.5 miles into the busy Calle Santander shopping area. The room is very quaint with minimal furniture and decor. Beds are small but comfortable. Bathroom is very small sink and toilet but the shower stall is fairly large. Plenty of hot water (takes 1-2 minutes to heat up). Minimal amenities provided, and you get a very small TV with no English speaking channels. The tile flooring is beautiful, functional, and very clean. The owner speaks Fluent Spanish and Japanese but minimal English. He is friendly and there is a seating area for a nice breakfast for a reasonable price. He also does laundry services, a great convenience so we could return home with suitcases full of clean clothes. There is free instant coffee and purified hot and cold water in the lobby. There is a rooftop deck but no lounge furniture up there, but it is possible to see the sunset over the lake. He has a refrigerator in the common area for guests. We think it is a great base for staying at the lake but it's not for everyone. Our rating is based on the overall value for the low price. Don't expect luxury here, but it is a very clean room and we slept well here.

This hotel has private rooms and also contains a shared dorm space or hostel.||The owner is very friendly but you need to speak Spanish (limited English). We have never seen such clean and beautiful tile floors. The double bed is comfortable and the private room has a small but functional bathroom. There is a very small TV with cable but only Spanish channels.||Location is a bit far from the boat dock for Santa Cruz, San Marcos and San Pedro (about 1.5 miles each way) but it is a Q10 per person tuk Tuk ride to the embarcadero! Even though it's a long walk to the Calle Santander area, the neighborhood is relatively quiet because there are no discos or partying nearby. You will likely be hearing stray dogs barking and roosters crowing at 5:30 AM but we like to rise early anyway.||"El Rincon Del Chef," the #1 restaurant in Panajachel is about 200 meters from the front door. Hotel El Sol offers a small but cozy breakfast room and cooked to order breakfasts for a good price. The owner provided laundry service, very nice to return home with a suitcase full of clean clothes!||Hotel El Sol may not be for everyone but we found it to be a nice place to sleep while visiting Lake Atitlan. The price is relatively cheap for the quality you receive.

We loved this hotel! Owner-run. It's super clean. Nice furniture, good lights. Hot shower. The owners are a very discreet and helpful Japanese couple. Free parking. Also storage room for bikes. Free water, coffee and tea. It's absolutely worth to stay away from noisy downtown to enjoy this place. You can see the love the owners put in it.

The host was very kind and attentive, private room was affordable, clean and quit. The property had a gated parking at no extra charge, which was a great + for me. Would recommend

Very nice hotel/hostel. We stayed in the hostel part and it was a great experience. The room was spacious and very clean. The host was extremely nice and helpful. We used the laundry service which was excellent -everything came nicely folded and even the socks were paired. Overall it was a very good service for very cheap price!

PROS-Quiet within the dorm during my stay as it was "shoulder season" which I appreciated for rest. Curtains for every 2 dorm beds. Bed aren't bunk so they are all laid out in a big room. Hot water showers and soap and daily clean up. Hot and cold water dispenser for coffee/tea. Breakfast available (?) but i left too early to roam around (much of the Lake area breakfast is offered late, so sorry early birds). Staff made the bed daily for the dorms which is unheard of! No orientation so i didn't now there is roof/terrace/garden access. The lighting isn't great on the 2nd floor so not so great for reading. Owner is outside smoking on the swinging chair so no communal space. perpas a couple tables and chairs could be placed outside. Burning of coals in cooking by most villagers so abit of fumes from that--this is common all over the Lake area. The barking dogs are also common as they are strays all over the Lake area. i recommend just using earplugs. No communal kitchen. during the trip i despeartely needed to have some veggies due to the diet not including much. Perhaps they can offer use of the kitchen for a small fee. I just wanted to do simple boils, but never asked since I hardly saw the staff and there was a sign indicating no kitchen use.||CON-The man of few words. No customer service, not sure if it's just discrimination as others said they rec'd great customer service. He didn't help in arranging any rides for me. The dorm can get isolating because unlike other hostals there is no 'common area' to socialize. Not too many rooms and during my stay I had the dorm to myself most of the time (it's 15 min walk from the main drag which i didn't mind but some prefer to be in the drag). Which made it difficult for me to go back out at night after having to return and take a break. Bring a small flashlight if you plan to go out after dark--lucky someone i met day 2 gave me hers. The ppl cyclists here don't have reflectors and it can be very dangerous walking in the dark as there is little visibility and i'm shocked pedestrians are walking in the dark without reflective or bright colored clothes. No sidewalks so we are sharing the road with peds, cyclists, vehicles, tuk tuk's.

Just to say,that the orner are so nice. They were full when I arrived, Stiller they recommended other hotels, let me usé their Wi-Fi to search and even came with me to à neighbouring hotel to help. What I saw of the lobby inside was spotless clean. I know I Will eventually go back one Day but I Will calle ahead.