Jaguar Inn Tikal

The restaurant food was surprisingly good. We tried a range of dishes, and everything was tasty, margaritas included. The rooms are basic, and the hot water is only available at certain times. Even then, it wasn’t hot. When you ask questions, the answer is always “you're in the jungle.” Fair enough, since it’s right at the entrance to the park and ruins.

We’ve been staying at another hotel, where the restaurant disappointed us, so we came here a few times. Tried breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and everything was delicious with nice, big portions. The server, Edin, was extremely friendly and professional. This review is for their *EXCELLENT* restaurant, since I don’t see it listed separately here on Google. Highly recommended!

The whole reason we came to Guatemala was Tikal, and this place turned the trip into a nightmare. Between the dirty tents, no sleep, rude staff, cold showers, sudden price increase, and my partner getting sick, I’m furious. I can only warn people: save your money and your trip, and stay anywhere else. The Jaguar Inn should call itself The Catfish Inn, because the photos felt like a lie. Before we traveled, we agreed on $20 per person for tent camping. When we got there, in the middle of nowhere with no alternatives, the price had somehow become $25 each, and they wanted payment before showing us the tent. It was on a concrete slab behind the restaurant, not grass or jungle, with three other tents touching ours. The tent was dirty, run down, and smelled awful. The mattress felt like a wet sponge that had never been washed, with a smell of sweat and regret. The tents were right by the kitchen, so staff slammed dishes and closed the restaurant from 9 to 11 pm while we tried to sleep. Staff members in the nearby tents snored loudly, talked at 4 am, and left the lights on all night. So much for a peaceful jungle camping experience. The shower was a weak trickle of hot water that turned cold if you wanted more. We got one towel, and staff acted annoyed when I asked for it. We paid $50 total. I paid significantly less for the rooftop apartment I’m writing this from, and it has several amenities. The staff were unbelievably rude, with eye rolls, attitude, and no hospitality. They treated us like second-class citizens, as if wanting a camping experience meant we were poor. The food was another catfish moment: nothing looked like the photos, it was terrible, and my partner got food poisoning. That ruined our Tikal experience. This wasn’t rustic or budget travel. It felt misleading, unsanitary, and disrespectful. I’ve never experienced worse hospitality in any country I’ve traveled to. Honestly, it felt like I should’ve been paid to suffer through it. Management knows what they’re doing, and I wish I could do more than warn others.

We had dinner at the restaurant while staying nearby. The chicken tenders and fries were excellent, though the sauce was too spicy for our little one. The chicken pipián was a huge letdown, flavorless and basically dry, unseasoned pan-fried breast with a little thin, bland reddish sauce poured over it.