LA ANTIGUA GUATEMALA - Guatemala - page 140

tel. [phone], www.hotelcasanoble.com ) has 11 beautifully decorated rooms, some with
views of Agua Volcano, featuring electronic locks and cable TV starting at $80 d. There's
a pleasant garden courtyard with tables and the management is extremely friendly. You'll
feel right at home.
OVER $100
Resorts
Antigua's newest resort hotel is the Camino Real Antigua (7a Calle Poniente #3B,
www.caminoreal.com.gt , $135-210 d). The chain hotel has cozy rooms with high, wood-
beamed ceilings and some of the most delicious beds I've ever slept on, as well as all the
amenities you would expect. The Villa Antigua (9a Calle Poniente, Carretera a Ciudad
Vieja, tel. [phone], www.villaantigua.com , $145-280 d) has 139 rooms and 45 suites,
all of which are spacious and equipped with chimney, cable TV, and wonderful garden and
volcano views. It has a swimming pool, restaurant, and all the usual amenities found at a
large resort. It is the oldest of Antigua's resorts and ironically the one with the least coloni-
al charm because of its more modern architecture. Part of the excellent Villas de Guatem-
ala chain, Villa Colonial (Alameda del Calvario #28, tel. [phone] hotel or 2334-1818
reservations, www.villasdeguatemala.com , $104-134 d) has 50 rooms housed in colonial
buildings charmingly built to imitate a colonial Spanish town, complete with cobblestone
streets,atownsquaregarden,andfountain-styleswimmingpool.Roomsaretastefullydec-
orated with Guatemalan fabrics and include cable TV in addition to the usual resort amen-
ities. There are standard rooms and larger junior suites with a separate living room.
A Condé Nast Traveler Gold List property, Porta Hotel Antigua (8a Calle Poniente
#1, tel. [phone], www.portahotels.com , $150-225) has 77 sumptuous rooms with chim-
ney, colorful walls with faux finishes, Guatemalan decor and charming stained hardwood
floors in its standard and deluxe rooms and suites. It features a restaurant serving excellent
Guatemalan andinternational dishesoverlookingtheswimmingpoolsetamidtropicalgar-
dens, as well as a fully stocked, quaint wooden bar. Candles provide atmosphere at night
and a colonial fountain graces the entrance to the hotel. The service is excellent, as is
the courteous and friendly staff. Another property that has put Antigua on the map of the
world's finest accommodations is the exquisite Hotel Casa Santo Domingo (3a Calle
Oriente #28, tel. [phone], www.casasantodomingo.com.gt , $200- 550 d), built in the ru-
insofanoldDominican monastery.Its125roomshaveallthecomfortsyoucouldwishfor
and effortlessly merge colonial charm with modern comfort. Some rooms have a chimney
and there are some newer rooms with chic glass and wooden showers. Other amenities in-
clude a charming swimming pool and the city's best museum and wonderful colonial ruins
at your doorstep. The restaurant here is also highly recommended.