PETÉN - Guatemala - page 496

ing tranquility and space. The reflected fluorescent accent lighting is surprisingly pleas-
ant. Some upstairs rooms have balconies with lake views for the same price. Across the
street is the simpler Hotel Santa Rita (tel. [phone], hotelsantarita [e-mail]),
where slightly less attractive rooms with ceiling fan, hot water, and stiffer mattresses cost
$11 d. Rounding out the list of possibilities is La Casa del Lacandón (Calle Unión, tel.
7926-4359), where pleasant enough rooms with fan and private bathroom (some with lake
view and terrace) rent for $13 d.
$25-50
Several Flores hotels fall into this price range. Among them are three belonging to Cor-
petur ( www.hotelesdepeten.com ) , a local hotel chain of excellent repute. The first of these
properties is Casazul (Calle Unión, tel. [phone], $35-50), where pleasant rooms with
air-conditioning, cable TV, private bath, and minibar are housed in a pretty blue house, as
its name would indicate. It has a nice balcony with wonderful lake views. Hotel Petén
(Calle 30 de Junio, tel. [phone], $35-50) is said to be the island's oldest hotel, dating to
1960. You have a choice of air-conditioning and/or ceiling fan in its smallish but comfort-
able rooms with private bath and cable TV, some of which have balconies overlooking the
lake. There are a small swimming pool and dining room on the ground floor just opposite
the lobby. Probably the nicest of the three Flores Corpetur properties is the lively La
Casona de la Isla (Calle 30 de Junio, tel. [phone], $40-55), an attractive lakeside house
painted in bright yellow and orange hues housing 26 rooms with air-conditioning, cable
TV, and private bath. There is a nice outdoor swimming pool, around which the rooms are
centered, as well as a whirlpool. The hotel's Isla Bonita restaurant and bar serves three de-
licious meals a day at reasonable prices.
An excellent value in this price range is Hotel Casa Amelia (Calle Unión, tel.
7926-3328). Its attractive, spotless rooms with original decor incorporating burlap bags for
curtains, wooden furnishings, firm beds, ceiling fan, air-conditioning, and large hot-wa-
ter bathroom go for $37 d. Some of the 10 rooms have nice lake views. All have large
cable TV. Hotel Sabana (Calle Fraternidad, tel. [phone], www.hotelsabana.com , $37)
is painted in pretty pastel greens and offers comfortable rooms with air-conditioning, cable
TV,in-roomphone,readinglamps,andhotwater.Someroomshaveceilingfans.Thereare
a swimming pool with deck chairs for lounging and a restaurant, which may or may not be
open depending on whether the hotel is hosting tour groups, which fill this usually quiet
hotel to capacity. Under the same management as Tikal's Jungle Lodge, the Hotel Isla de
Flores (corner of Avenida La Reforma and Calle 10 de Noviembre, tel. [phone], $46)
is a modern three-story building housing 18 comfortable rooms with ceiling fan, cable TV,
firm beds, and air-conditioning. On Calle 30 de Junio, Hotel Santana (tel. [phone], in-
formacion@santanapeten. com, $45 d) has 35 rooms with the usual amenities of its price