Jenna's River Bed & Breakfast

I don't have enough good words to say about Jenna's River Bed and Breakfast or the incredible staff who work there. The view from Jenna's is unmatched. The rooms -- yurt-like things -- are very comfortable. ||The food... Let's talk about the food.... The hotel's restaurant serves Syrian food for dinner. I've had Syrian and Middle Eastern food many times before and this was by far the best. Everything was Michelin quality. Just perfect, beautiful, and tasty. ||The staff -- I ran into a few problems while I was in Panajachel and the staff leapt into action to help me. I left my iphone in a Tuk Tuk. (Tuk Tuks are the lawn-mower-engine powered three-wheelers which pose for taxis in Guatemala.) Staff immediately drove me downtown where I quite luckily found the very Tuk Tuk (among hundreds) with my phone. I am forever in their debt. ||One note: Jenna's is built into a very steep hill leading down to Lake Atitlan and stairs are necessary to get from your room to the bar to the dining area to the street. If you don't like or can't do stairs, Jenna's is not for you. I liked the stairs, so it worked for me. ||Thanks Jenna's for the excellent stay!

We stayed at Jenna's bed and breakfast in June 2025. ||The property is gorgeous and well maintained. We stayed in one of the larger yurts as we had our daughter with us. There is no AC (as is true of most places we stayed), but we were there in June and felt plenty comfortable. (The mattresses are very firm as an FYI. Some people are more particular about that than others.)||We loved the staff. Lari (and I may be spelling her name wrong) was fantastic. She arranged Tuk Tuks for us as needed. Ivan was also really helpful and super cool. We also utilized the pool and the sweat hut/sauna while there. The sauna was perfect after a dip in the crisp pool. ||Each room/yurt has a beautiful balcony view. We were there during the rainy season and enjoyed hanging out on the bar balcony, playing board games as a family, while it rained. Note: Jenna's is nestled into the hill/mountain and therefore has a lot of stairs up and down. If you have mobility issues or trouble with stairs, this is probably not where you want to stay. This is true for many places in Guatemala, however. The views everywhere are gorgeous, but you have to work for them.||The food was fantastic. The included chapin breakfast included ample food (eggs, beans, fruit, plantains, tortillas, fresh juice) was perfect to sustain our days of activity. We also especially enjoyed the Syrian cuisine menu on Thursday night. It was absolutely delicious. ||I would recommend Jenna's to anyone looking to stay near Panajachel. We really enjoyed our stay there and would definitely return.

Really loved Jenna's and absolutely recommend it. Courteous and helpful staff, very responsive to our needs, excellent restaurant with breakfast included. Views are incredible and very serene. Tuktuks into town are available. Be aware there is no AC although I didn't find it to be so hot. This is a marvelous gem which made my stay at the lake so much better, definitely my favorite place that I stayed at in Guatemala.

I did not stay in this hotel but I wish I did I went there for their Syrian tasting menu. I did not know what to expect being in Guatemala, but this was one of the best meals I’ve had in my life. The Fattoush and the hummus, so simple yet so tasty. The chef Norbert who has a great culinary background surpassed our expectations, the freshness, the details, the flavours, WOW Thank you! Hopefully we will come back soon and enjoy this delight. Highly recommended

The best part about this place are the views and the staff. The views are great, but it depends on what room you are in, as some have better views than others. Our room accommodations were just ok. My only requirement is cleanliness, and I was a bit disappointed in the quality and cleanliness of the bedding. It was worn with some stains, and did not seem to be completely clean. The bedding smelled as if it had not fully dried after it was washed (the smell when you leave laundry in the machine too long before drying, or if dried outdoors and the air is humid). The included breakfast was satisfactory. The pool was closed during our stay. Overall, it was still a comfortable stay, although I slept on my travel pillow because I didn't trust the bedding. I also found a bug in the bed. You need to be able to climb a lot of steps to stay here. Huge kudos to Yvan, Antonio and the ladies in the kitchen for excellent service, and to Lino who was the absolute best Tuk Tuk driver to anywhere we needed to go. If the bedding was better, it would have been a perfect 5 stay.

Nice welcome from Mari, excellent communication from Yvan and lovely bar staff ? Antonio and Carlos. And not least the lovely Lino and Rodriguez who collected us from La Aurora. Also other lovely tourists. Liked being a little out of town and walked into Panajachel and back without problem. Fabulous views. | | We stayed for 4 nights in the Owl. There were only 2 rooms left so I had to choose between a fabulous view or a partial view with a larger room. With hindsight should have enquired if the other room was still available and to then choose. Opted for the view and as another reviewer states the room is small. There is nowhere to hang clothes only one hook behind the balcony door. No hooks on bathroom door so had to throw towels over the door when had finished with them . There is a lot of bedding so had to be careful didn't fall over it when took it off the bed at night on my way to the toilet. The bed is ok but the smallest we had in Guatemala. There is nothing that can be done about the size of the room.but hooks would be very useful. As the other reviewer states its noisy. There is a privately owned property next door and you could hear everything. Felt the toiletries were poor just a couple of sachets of shampoo and soap. Breakfast was the same every day unless you wanted to pay extra. Embarrassingly the 1st day we sat waiting for coffee as whilst I speak a little Spanish ( would like to be better) I missed hearing her say help yourself to coffee, thankfully another traveller advised me. Perhaps a note in the welcome book that coffee available from 06.30a.m. It was from 08.00a.m and clearly everyone was ready to eat as the dining area was packed and the poor staff extremely busy which meant a lengthy wait as at one stage 16 people all waiting. |We ate things from the Syrian taster menu one evening and it was absolutely delicious.

Mari was an incredible host at Jenna’s B&B. She helped us book multiple things/excursions. It was great as we had a person to trust while traveling internationally. The accommodation was great. Surreal views, excellent food, beautiful food, very close to the city. We’ll def stay here again when we visit again. Thanks Mari for making our stay memorable!

I first have to say that everyone there is so extra accommodating and wonderful, a better staff couldn't be found anywhere. When we arrived, I realized the error in my booking. I had asked for a lower yurt not realizing that the main road was at the top. Meaning that there would be more stairs to climb to get to where we could grab a tuk tuk into town. (Be aware there are a whole lot of stairs to get everywhere) We were lucky in that It was low season and they were very kind in that they were able to change us to another room that put us closer to the main road. At the end of a long day of taking launches to other areas of the lake that location was so much better for us. Of course the view of the lake from up there was stupendous.. I had been willing to give up that view being in a lower yurt until I got there and realized thing were opposite of what I imagined. Our room was small and cozy and with a great balcony overlooking the lake...our bed was very comfy and with enough blankets to warm us thru the night..it does get chilly at night! Great shower with plenty of hot water. Housekeeping gave fresh filtered water, and clean towels every day which was a nice treat.( So many places don't change towels these days). As other people have said in their posts... I agree that the rooms (or at least the one we were in) could use more hooks to hang things and even a small table or something in the bathroom because there was no place to put anything, even the towels. For two people with toiletries it's barely enough space. The included breakfast is more than ample and always delicious with fresh made plantains, eggs, fruit, beans and home made tortillas with coffee or tea... honestly, more than I could finish... but somehow I'm managed! They also have other menu items that can be ordered with a small fee. We had dinner in their restaurant each night we stayed and loved everything we had. The kitchen staff Gabriela and Yolanda are amazing cooks and everything is made to order. After a long day visiting other places on the lake it was relaxing to come back for dinner and be overlooking the lake. We found all the meals to be tasty, satisfying but above all incredibly creative in their preparation and unique flavors, we honestly ate everything on our plates each night. We didn't have a chance to use the pool because we were out most of the day when it was warm, by the time we got back it was a bit too cool out, but I'm sure it's very refreshing on a hot day. Thank you Mari, Antonio and Rob for making our stay so memorable and great... and of course to Gabriela and Yolanda for the super delicious meals. We loved staying at Jenna's and we would stay again in a heartbeat.It's a very special place and close enough to grab a tuk tuk and be in town in minutes. **2 Things to be aware of: -----10% Is added to the food bill for tips. We were unaware of this and tipped after every meal. We didn't get paper bills after the meals so we had no idea until we settled up at the end of our stay. So by the end, adding in that 10%...we were probably tipping 25 to 30% because we loved the service and the food so much. ---My own personal pet peeve: Breakfast is served from 8 AM to 11 AM which is a great window... but for an early riser who gets up around 6 AM.. having to wait those two hours for my 1st cup of coffee was a drag. We would count down the minutes until 8am and be the first ones there! The one suggestion I would make would be programming the coffeemaker to 7 AM, even if breakfast starts later. For those of us who need that early morning coffee fix it to wake up it would be a great addition. (I met another early riser guest there who took at 6.30am tuk tuk into town just to get that 1st cup of coffee) The last day we grabbed a cold brew from town the night before and sat on the balcony in the morning with that, just waiting for 8am:-) ||Again.. We loved our stay at Jenna's and highly recommend it!