Hotel Panajachel Oasis

You get what you pay for at this two-star hotel, unless you're in one of the top-floor rooms, 10, 11, or 12. Those rooms have water problems, a septic smell, construction on the same floor, and faulty doorknobs or locks. They do have a decent view and good beds. In room 10, the front doorknob was janky and the patio sliding door wouldn't lock, so I had to take everything valuable with me on day trips. There's no room safe, either. I'd consider this place booked if rooms 1-9 aren't available.

We felt duped by this hotel. Expedia's stock photos show finished, decorated rooms, but the one we got wasn't fully finished. It had signs of dry mold, watermarks from flooding, a hole in the wall, and unfinished decor. The third floor where the bedroom was located wasn't fully enclosed, and you could see that sections of the walls hadn't been put up. The breakfast was bad and didn't look like the stock photos either. About an hour after we checked in, the hotel and half the block lost power.

Otto was an incredible host. He arranged our airport ride to the Oasis Hotel in Panajachel, made sure the driver waited when customs took longer than expected, and checked that we arrived safely. The service and attention to detail were excellent. We stayed one night, and everything was just as expected. Highly recommend it!

I chose this hotel because it was close to the marina, where you can catch lanchas to other cities on Lake Atitlan. It's also convenient for shopping and restaurants. But we had no hot water the first night, no water at all on the second and third, and finally got water on the fourth night. The shower head then sprayed water all over the bathroom. We were being lied to about the water issue, and it didn't seem anyone was trying to fix it until the last night. A woman at the desk, who was also the cleaning lady, got us water that day. There's no A/C, and our fan wasn't very good. We like a really cold room for sleeping, so if you don't mind it warm after a hot day, it may be okay. I might stay here alone, but not with my wife and kids, as it was too much for them. Before booking, I'd read other guests' complaints about water, but thought it might be a one-time problem. It wasn't. The restaurant next door serves really good typical Guatemalan food.