Selah Hotel & Coffee

I first saw Selah Hotel recommended on a traveller’s blog. I wanted to book it via ******* however it said there was no availability for the dates I required. I contacted Selah hotel directly and they told me they had a room free. All I needed to do was send my credit card details, to pay for half of the cost as a deposit and they emailed me a photo of the receipt. Travelling from Aurora International Airport to Antigua was not easy. The airport is small, with an unmanned tourist information desk and no ATM in arrivals. To find the ATM you must use the outside stairs in the car park and head upstairs to the check in desk area in departures and an ATM is hiding behind a pillar. If you would rather not pay the expensive taxi ride from Aurora Airport to Antigua you can book a shared minibus, but it’s best to do this before you arrive in Guatemala - not last minute like I did. I found online a minibus tourist excursions company called “Guatego“ make sure you put the right day for travel and the correct route - they don’t always put the most recent available trip on the website. Tickets cost from $23US. Beware, there are only two buses a day that run this route with limited seats, the driver will meet you at the Barista Coffee Shop - be vocal and inquisitive and make sure you ask potential drivers for their identity. As I nearly got left behind because the driver didn’t clearly announce who he was. The bus is a standard white minibus without any Guatego livery. The journey can take up to two hours, the traffic in Antigua was so bad that most passengers asked to be dropped off at the earliest opportunity to continue by foot to their accommodation. Heading to Selah Hotel using Apple Maps wasn’t particularly helpful as it was listed in the wrong place. Google Maps had the right spot. The Selah Hotel is a fresh & modern establishment with traditional elements of Central American architecture. The staff are friendly and efficient, but do not expect them to speak English. Google translate will be your friend if you’re non-Spanish speaking. The staff booked a 4am taxi for my return to the airport and were awake to see me off. I come from a country with little sunlight in the wintertime. So I tend to like a room with as much natural light as possible. I recommend when you make your booking, request a room with an outside facing window. As most of the rooms’ windows open into the atrium and the odd room just has a window opening out into a wall, as a result, the rooms lack natural bright light and may feel a little claustrophobic if you are that way inclined. However, the rooms are good value, crisp and clean. Breakfast on the roof terrace is a delight, with views of the surrounding volcanoes. The hotel location is conveniently near to the Mercado de Artesanias and a ten minute walk to the famous arch of Antigua.

This is a clean, modern, reasonably-priced hotel that I can readily recommend. This is not technically a "boutique" hotel, though they lean a bit in that direction. After all, they call themselves "Selah Hotel & Coffee," and their slogan -- posted on a wall in English -- is "Inhale, Pause, Exhale, Pause, Repeat." A special feature of this hotel is a roof-top patio, where the breakfast is served, and which provides a fantastic view of the "Water Volcano" (Volcan Agua). A couple of things to consider, though: My room was rather small, as singles often are anywhere, but also windowless. They did provide an electric fan, but the night was cool enough to make it unnecessary. My only real objection (and nothing can be done about it now) is that the hotel is of that design in which the rooms all surround a central open space, which means that whatever happens in that space, if it's loud enough, can be heard everywhere. And during the day -- but not at night -- they piped into that central space (but not of course into the rooms) what I can only call a sort of yuppie-ish, new-age soft rock, which means that if you are one of those who require an afternoon nap (I'm not), you may have problems. But apart from these concerns -- and they weren't serious problems for me -- I think this hotel is a fine choice. I'll just suggest that if you require a window in your room, be sure to specify this when making a reservation