Hotel Convento Santa Catalina

I booked eight days to begin the New Year in Antigua, and it was a really bad stay. The central location was convenient, but I can’t think of another upside. During this cooler time of year, there was no hot water, and I ended up taking cold showers on at least 4 days. My room also wasn’t cleaned until I asked the front desk to send someone. The TV signal stopped working, so I had to ask for help with the cable too. I hardly spent time at the hotel beyond sleeping, and expected the water and TV to work. Since the restaurant is at the front, staff repeatedly took me for a restaurant customer. I had to explain that I was staying there, which made me feel out of place. I’ve stayed at other hotels in Antigua Guatemala before, and this was easily the worst.

The location is great, but it couldn’t make up for our room being full of mold, dust, and cobwebs. We stayed three nights and had a miserable experience. It looked as if the bedroom hadn’t been cleaned in weeks; the TV wasn’t connected, and neither was the refrigerator. When we asked to switch rooms, Melany at the front desk refused. We were also told the rooms shown on the website don’t accurately represent what’s available on site. The mold on the walls and ceiling made our whole family sick. The photos show it. Avoid this place, especially room 117.

The bathroom was a mess: the sink and shower clogged whenever we used them, the toilet paper roll had already been used, and we had to keep asking for more. We couldn’t get a comfortable water temperature either, only scalding hot or freezing cold, because the knobs wouldn’t adjust properly. Our room was beside the main dining area, with so little privacy we could hear people eating and talking as if they were in the room. A loud bell rang all night too. The WiFi was completely out the first night; after we complained and got it fixed, the signal was still weak and unreliable. My family and I spent two nights at Hotel Convento Santa Catalina, and from start to finish it was the worst place we stayed in Antigua. It was dirty, noisy, and poorly maintained. A waste of money and time.

We left frustrated and regretted staying at Hotel Santa Catalina from the moment we arrived. The bathroom floor looked as if it hadn’t been mopped in weeks, and the shower was stained. The sink and shower kept clogging. When we asked the cleaning staff to deal with it, they sprayed harsh chemicals directly onto our belongings, including our toothbrushes. Our room was also right beside the restaurant dining area, so there was constant noise and no privacy, with people practically at our doorstep. A bell rang loudly every hour through the night and made it impossible to rest. My family and I stayed a few nights, and this hotel wasn’t worth the money. I’d recommend staying somewhere else in Antigua.