LA ANTIGUA GUATEMALA - Guatemala - page 144

notice for a nominal gas charge, as they come into Antigua almost daily. Alternatively, you
can hitch a chicken bus to the village of El Hato for about $0.50 or flag a pickup truck
heading this way.
In nearby Santa Ana, Posada El Ensueño (Calle del Agua, Callejón La Ermita Final,
Santa Ana, tel. [phone], www.posadaelensueno.com , $95-115 d) is a splendid bed-and-
breakfast in a quiet setting. Run by American expatriate Carmen Herrerias, the lodge has
three tastefully decorated rooms with garden showers, one of which is a suite. It's a great
place to relax away from the action in Antigua. Breakfast and home-cooked meals are
served poolside, and Carmen loves to cook for her guests. There's also a small heated lap
pool and bikes to get around. It's about a 25-minute walk to Antigua's central park.
Just minutes from Antigua in neighboring San Felipe de Jesús, Filadelfia Coffee
Resort and Spa (150 meters north of the San Felipe de Jesús church, tel. [phone],
[e-mail], $211-449 d including breakfast) is a working coffee farm where
you can stay in a splendid neocolonial building harboring luxurious accommodations. The
20 spacious rooms have tile floors, king- or queen-size beds, classy Guatemalan furnish-
ings, cable TV with DVD player, large two-sink bathrooms, glass showers with antique
tiles, and nice patios with furniture. There are four standard rooms, 14 deluxe doubles, and
two master suites with island kitchen and a living room with leather sofa and large desk.
Coffee machinery and wooden carvings adorn the public areas, while the main building
harbors a cozy lobby adorned with Persian rugs. Activities include twice-daily coffee tours
lasting two hours each at 9 A.M. and 2 P.M. ($15), mule riding ($20), and a four-hour hike
to a lookout point ($50, including sack lunch). An elegant restaurant in the main lodge
serves international dishes with flair.
Closer to the farm's main entrance is Cafetenango (tel. [phone], 7:30 A.M.-7 P.M.
Mon.-Sat. and 7:30 A.M.- 6:30 P.M. Sun.), offering a more casual dining atmosphere in
a country setting with lovely volcano views. It serves eggs, fruit, and yogurt for breakfast
($4), grilled meats and sandwiches for lunch and dinner ($6-12). Traditional Guatemalan
dishes ($10) include pollo en jocón and pepián de pollo.
Antigua now has its very own golf resort, thanks to forward-thinking Guatemalan in-
vestors willing to plunk down $80 million to provide Antigua with something its world-
class offerings once lacked. Opened in 2008, La Reunión Antigua Golf Resort (Km.
91.5 Carretera CA-14, tel. [phone], www.lareunion.com.gt , $220 d) lies 17 kilometers
from Antigua in neighboring Alotenango on the road to the Pacific Coast. The hotel set-
ting and its Pete Dye-designed 18-hole golf course is truly spectacular, flanked by four
volcanoes and lush green fields. The larger Suites Gran Clase are worth the splurge (an
extra $30), for their private infinity-edge plunge pools and a Jacuzzi hot tub with stun-
ning volcano views (Agua and active Pacaya). The luxuriously well-furnished rooms have
L'Occitanebathproducts,a/c,andsatelliteTV.Planscallfortheexisting26-roomboutique