Paraiso San José - Hostel

A lovely place to pause after the intensity of driving in Guatemala. The hosts were lovely, and the garden beside the stream feels like its own peaceful little hideaway, even though the main highway isn’t far away.

The rooms were clean and the price was very reasonable. Best of all, the showers were WARM. If you’ve traveled around this area, you know warm water isn’t something you can count on in most places.

We had breakfast included with our room, and the dinners here were decent and just 60 QTZ each. Our room had two double beds and a private bathroom for 320QTZ. Ronny is a really friendly owner, and we wound up staying almost a week while waiting for the rain to let up. The storm knocked out power across town a few times. There’s secure parking and wifi, plus extra blankets for chilly nights. Hot water was available occasionally. Just know that the last several hundred meters from the main road are unpaved, and short stretches can get muddy after rain.

The garden courtyard was so peaceful, and there’s plenty of upstairs lounge space and hammocks. Wifi worked well in both the room and courtyard. We had dinner here three nights in a row because the food was phenomenal, and breakfast was included: eggs, fresh tortillas, beans, chorizo, and coffee. There were vegetarian choices, too, and the staff were very friendly. We’d just come from San Pedro Lake Atitlan and Chichicastenango, so these quiet evenings were exactly what we needed. We spent three relaxing nights at Hostal San Paraiso. It’s about 15 min from Coban, with a 10 Q bus ride for the coffee tour and orquid sanctuary. Any bus marked Coban will do. The Biotopo is around 45 min away: the bus stopped in Purulha, then we took a 15Q Tuk Tuk right to the nature park. We saw a quetzal that day! Hot water, towels, soap, and shampoo were provided. It’s not right in Coban, which suited me since I was ready for a break from the city’s smog and noise. It felt like an isolated paradise, while still being a good distance from the Coban coffee farms and nearby Biotopo.