THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS - Guatemala - page 232

hostel is MediaLuna MedioSol (tel. [phone], $4 p/p in dorms or $7 p/p in private
room), half a block from El Descanso on 3a Calle, with several amenities, including wire-
lessInternet, acomfortable DVDlounge,adartboard, Ping-Pongtable, andaMayansauna
in addition to clean rooms. Guests have use of the kitchen and you get the fourth night free
if you spend three nights.
Hotel Shalom (corner of Calzada 15 de Septiembre and 4a Calle, tel. [phone], $16
d)hasspaciousandattractivewell-furnishedroomswithprivatehot-waterbathroom,cable
TV, and wood-paneled walls. Anexo Hotel Ixil (tel. [phone], corner of 2a Avenida
and 9a Calle, $16 d) is basic but clean with rooms centered around a courtyard. All have
privatehot-waterbathroom.Thebudget-friendlyversionofthispropertyis Hotel Ixil (four
blocks south of the plaza on 5a Avenida, tel. [phone], $4 p/p) with simple shared-bath
rooms. Hotel Turansa (corner of 5a Calle and 6a Avenida, tel. [phone], $18 d) has
a secured parking lot around which are centered 16 clean rooms with private hot-water
bathroom and cable TV. The nicest place in town is Hotel Villa Nebaj (Avenida 15
de Septiembre, just north of the plaza, tel. [phone] or 7755-8115, $26 d), where the
comfortable rooms have big wooden beds with Nebaj quilts, private hot-water bathroom,
cable TV, and tile floors. There's also plenty of parking. My new favorite option is
Hotel Santa María (Calle Real, two blocks from the park, tel. [phone] or 4621-9890,
www.hotelsantamarianebaj.com , $26 d), built in neo-colonial style and harboring comfort-
able, clean rooms set round a small courtyard. The friendly innkeepers provide home-
cooked meals for their guests and there is parking.
Food
LocalspecialtiesinNebajinclude boxboles, anIxildishofsteamedcorndoughservedwith
lemon and either tomato or peanut sauce.
A new addition to Nebaj is also an excellent value. Located on the way out of town to-
wards Chajul and Cotzal and one block from the courthouse, La Quinta de los Reyes (tel.
7755-8098, $5) serves hearty, all-you-can-eat, buffet-style meals, including Guatemalan
and International fare, as well as dessert and a drink. For tasty Guatemalan dishes and nice
viewsoverlookingthecentralplazaheadto Café Restaurante Maya Ixil (tel.[phone]).
It's also a good place for breakfast.
See GUATEMALA: FAST-FORWARD
Nebaj's main gathering spot is El Descanso (3a Calle Zona 1, tel. [phone], 6:30
A.M.-10 P.M. daily) where there are good Guatemalan dishes, sandwiches, nachos, and
pastries. There is seating upstairs on a covered patio as well as a bar/lounge with comfy
couches on the lower level. Movies are sometimes shown here and they serve boxboles
on Thursdays. They also have free Wi-Fi. For decent pizza, there's Pizza del César (2a
Avenida, tel. [phone]). Just off the square is Papi's (tel. [phone]), serving healthy