EL ORIENTE AND IZABAL - Guatemala - page 366

choice in this category is Hotel Los Gemelos (one block east and half a block north of the
park, tel. [phone], $9 s/d), a popular backpacker spot centered around a pretty courtyard
with orchids and run by a wonderful woman who keeps it spotless. She prefers her guests
to be back at the hotel by 11 P.M. All rooms have shared bath. There are daily noon shuttle
van departures to Antigua. You'll have to walk a few blocks southwest of the plaza to find
the Iguana Azul (tel. [phone], www.iguanaazulcopan.com , $4 dorm bed, $11 d), but
it will be well worth it. There are excellent-value dorm beds and private rooms sharing a
hot-water bathroom. The same Honduran-American owners run the beautiful La Casa de
Café next door.
$10-25
Among the options in this category is Hotel Via Via (tel. [phone],
www.viaviacafe.com , $14 d), two blocks southwest of the park. Housed in the café of the
same name, the hotel has spotless rooms with private hot-water bath and fan. There's a
thatched-roof lounge on the second floor where movies are shown amid tropical foliage.
On the southeast corner of the plaza, Hotel Yaragua (tel. [phone], info@ yaragua.com,
www.yaragua.com , $25d)hasroomswithprivatebathroom,tilefloors,andcableTV.Look
out for some beds with concrete slabs beneath them. There's a restaurant/ bar in the lobby
andInternetaccess.Ontheedgeoftownonthestreetleadingofftotheruinsis Hotel Patty
(tel.[phone],$22d),inamodernbuildingcenteredaroundthehotel'sparkinglot.Rooms
have firm beds, tile floors, cable TV, and ceiling fan. Down the street as you head west is
Hotel Brisas de Copán (tel. [phone], $18-32 d) with 22 large rooms, orthopedic beds,
fan, hot-water bathroom, and cable TV. The cheaper rooms have smaller twin-size beds.
$25-50
The enchanting La Casa de Café (tel. [phone], www.casadecafecopan.com , $45 d,
breakfast included) is Copan Ruinas's premiere bed-and-breakfast inn, set in a quiet neigh-
borhood a few blocks southwest of the plaza. The rooms are well furnished and taste-
fully decorated. You can enjoy fantastic views of the Copán Valley and Guatemala, farther
west, from your patio hammock in a wonderful garden setting. The friendly Honduran-
American owners also rent out fully furnished private villas across the street, including
the Casa Jaguar ( www.casajaguarcopan.com , $70 per night) and Casa de Don Santiago
( www.casadedonsantiagocopan.com , $90 per night).
A block north of the plaza across from the Hotel Brisas de Copán and run by the same
family is the Acropolis Maya (tel. [phone], [e-mail], $45 d), with
well-decorated rooms featuring nice, firm beds, tile floors, ceiling fan, reading lamp, air-
conditioning,cableTV,andprivatehot-waterbath.There'sasmallcourtyardontheground
floor, along with a small living room in the lobby. Across the street from Hotel Yaragua,