Hotel San Buenaventura de Atitlán

Rooms clean, great breakfasts. Rey quiet and relaxing. Easy to get a Tuk-Tuk just by walking up to the top of the long driveway. There seems to be one available as they drop people off at other hotels or the nearby natural reserve/park and drive back up the road. All staff helpful and polite. I’d recommend the suites for the spaciousness and views. Somewhat rustic compared to a modern hotel. Rooms and bathrooms were all very clean with daily service.

Where do I start? I've been a loyal customer of this hotel for what feels like a million years. The reviews that mention this place like it's a secret are right- the gardens are well tended and it used to feel like an oasis. I've noticed the prices have surged over time which is expected I'm not holding them to that however... My most recent stay gave me the ick and here's why. We originally planned the trip for two people (my friend and I) but last minute my mom tagged along with us, we thought it was no big deal since the room we had were 2 double beds & the third guest was a senior citizen- let's be real it's not like we were sneaking in a whole family into our room. They called our room and made it a point to ask my mom to leave and say she couldn't stay and offered no exceptions. We obviously tried to book a room for her there but the manager told us that the hotel was full that night and had no vacancies. It just rubbed me the wrong way that they could not make an exception for something so trivial. Adding in that the beds are TERRIBLE- they are old and not comfortable, the extra bedding and pillows in the closet are old and come with no pillowcases. The next thing was that the room itself was bare bones- no wifi service in the rooms, which OK- you want people to disconnect but they clearly have strong internet signals for their surveillance cameras everywhere and front desk so why not invest in good internet for the guests? The bathrooms only offer a less than half filled hand soap dispenser by the sink and there is one soap dispenser in the shower that is filled with hand soap which guests are suppose to use as body wash and shampoo and conditioner. If this was a value motel 8 kind of hotel I would not say anything but this is $200/night premium hotel and this is what they have for the guests. They have signage everywhere that talks about saving water and trying to be eco friendly but it comes off as an excuse as to why they don't fill their soap dispensers or why fresh towels aren't delivered to your room. It feels like they want to disguise their cheapness instead of being environmentally conscious. We booked a private boat for a tour during our stay however it was with an outside company instead of one that they recommend so they did not allow the boat to dock (although they don't even have a dock tbh). We had to reroute ourselves to go into Pana and catch the boat. Again, for a premium hotel with water access shouldn't this be an easy access for guests? The hotel requires the boat tours to coordinate with the hotel days in advance. Seems pretty unfair if they let their own tour company have access with little advance notice. I have used their jacuzzi and sauna many times (although admittedly, many years ago too) and this time around they tried to charge me $150Q per person for the sauna and another $150Q per person for the jacuzzi. WHAT? Their sauna is wood burning so it kind of has to be on for a long time before you get a