For the low low price of 1500Q ($195), we committed to a month in a 1 bedroom apartment in San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala. What do you get for $6.50 a night?
On the top floor of Hotel Helen, just off the water, there is a small private apartment with kitchen, bathroom, floor to ceiling windows and sliding doors, an open balcony, and a view that is worth every penny. Our friends come daily to eat and drink in our breakfast nook and relax on the balcony, more for the view than the company, I’m sure. We wake up everyday, roll over, and look out the glass wall towards Lake Atitlán and the nearby peak known as Indian’s Nose.
Indian’s Nose, Right Outside our Door
The location is superb, just off the local boat dock and a few steps from the main intersection where we can catch a tuk tuk to anywhere in town for 5Q per person (~$0.75.) The local market is a short uphill walk away, and there are many restaurants and cafes on the lake just downstairs.
The apartment itself is a bit rustic, but is airy and comfortable. It’s a couple steps above car camping, but a steep drop below the Ritz Carlton in Paris. Sometimes the water takes a few minutes to reach the tap, and the kitchen faucet is wrapped in plastic to prevent random streams of water spraying about. We have to bring in our own drinking water, toilet paper, and pay 15Q ($2) whenever we want the hotel maid to come clean. The one knife that came with the kitchen poorly performs even the most basic tasks. The internet stops working, and some of the windows leak, when the rains come, which is nearly every afternoon. But there is a place to hang a hammock on the balcony
In other words, its a little slice of heaven
The gas stove and electric refrigerator are straight out of the 1950’s. The tables and chairs are hand made, more out of necessity than skill. This adds to the charm and the ambiance, anything more modern or well built would feel out of place. Outside of the utensils and some of the cookware, everything functions and fills its role well.
We make regular trips to the local market to stock up on fruit, vegetables, and eggs. The local French bakery makes great whole wheat bread, and the local health food store has fresh peanut butter and local jams. We have everything we need for great meals at home, with the best view in town
Our Professional Chef’s Kitchen
The bedroom has two double beds, one we use for sleeping and the other as our storage closet. It cools down at night and we use our sleeping bags to keep a little warm, using the wool blankets that came with the bed as extra cushion in the breakfast nook. The bed is surprisingly comfortable, and we sleep like babies
Where the Magic Happens
The doorway to the bathroom is a little crooked, and the hand-planed door doesn’t close completely on its own. No worries though, a small plastic clip and a cloth strap on the outside keep it closed when not in use, and a small piece of wood held in place with a nail makes for a lock from the inside.
The WC
The shower is typical Guatemalan, with a local heater versus a central water heating system that is common in the US. The plumbing is custom installed PVC, in this case held in place via an ingenious system consisting of a wire and a screw in the ceiling. The electrical wiring looks a little dangerous, but there is no need to worry; all of the wiring is covered with plenty of electrical tape. The water is sometimes too hot, sometimes too cold, never just right, but nonetheless I’m impressed that it works
The Magic Hot Water Machine aka Suicide Shower
By comparison to many of the local accommodations, we live in the lap of luxury. Cinder block construction is the norm, with rusted tin roofs and an obvious lack of compliance to international building codes. Many of these structures are built by hand, lack electricity, and use wood fuel for cooking and heating. The exposed re-bar on the roofs of most structures perhaps indicates ambitious expansion plans
Elsewhere In Town…
The hotel owner and staff are super friendly and helpful. Freddy and his wife live on the floor below us, and joke and laugh with us every day. (“Freddy, como Freddy Krueger, haha.”) Plans exist to eventually rent our this 2 bedroom unit as well. Freddy Jr. lives part time in a room near ours, when he isn’t away at school. Theresa performs amazing acts of cleanliness for 15Q, and will certainly receive a great tip when we move out. They are good people, and add to the joy of the place
Many places in the world are less than perfect, and yet by appreciating them for what they are, flaws and all, we can find great joy and appreciation in them. Our temporary home has a few warts, but it is home. It is Guatemala. And the view is to die for
Our Morning View
That looks great for $195/month! It’s amazing how quickly you get used to little imperfections and how often you look back fondly on those same imperfections after you leave.
Thanks for sharing more details about the apartment!
My pleasure Mad Fientist.
Those little imperfections might be the very definition of “charming”
I’ve experienced those in-shower electric water heaters during our travels thru South America. One even tried to electrocute me.
nothing quite like standing naked under the shower spray with electricity coursing thru your body. Trust me. It’s not as fun as it sounds. ;)
Other than that, sounds like you’ve found a great place!
Whoa, that sounds terrifying! In a fun way :)
We’ve actually come closer to being struck by lighting during a recent storm than getting shocked in the shower. If it’s your time to go, at least death by lighting would be less embarrassing
Hopefully being wary and having a healthy respect for electricity will continue to be a successful method of showering
Thanks for stopping by Jim!
What? This is the standard in SA and several countries in Europe and Africa as well. There is nothing UNSAFE about it. I never hear of anybody getting electrocuted by a electric shower
My wife and I spent six weeks in Guatemala a few years ago during a sabbatical break. We spent most of that time living with a host family and other students in Antigua while going to language school, and spent 10 days on a Caravan tour of the rest of the country. Lake Atitlan was beautiful. I just stumbled across your blog today… and it’s making me want to go back. Spending a month there sounds wonderful. I don’t know that we’d want to go quite as “rustic” as you are, but I’m sure we could find someplace twice as nice for twice the price, right? :)
Thanks for sharing your photos and experiences with all of us!
Lake Atitlan is incredibly beautiful, I can definitely understand wanting to come back
Less rustic places exist, but the suicide shower seems to be a staple.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experience in Guatemala!
After replying, I remembered a reference some new friends made.
They stayed at La Casa del Mundo (http://www.lacasadelmundo.com/web/index.php/en) and paid about $30 a night. It’s more than 2X what we are paying, but they have a central solar and propane hot water system, so the showers are western style
I haven’t been, but the pictures look great!
Just found your blog through the mad fientist, loving it!
The suicide shower definitely brings back some memories from our time in South America as well. It’s amazing how quickly you get used to these sort of things, that most people in the Western World would consider unacceptable living conditions. Like you say… lap of luxury and all that.
One interesting thing I heard on those exposed roofs so the building looks half finished, when we were in Mexico, is that you don’t have to pay local housing taxes on a structure that is still being built. So people leave them deliberately “half finished” so they don’t have to pay taxes… :)
Hi Andy, thank you, I’m glad you are enjoying it.
I asked my Spanish teacher in San Pedro about the rebar and exposed roofs, as I had heard a similar thing about taxes. He said people don’t finish houses because they don’t have the money to build it all at once.
And then he asked what we do in the US. I explained that you had to borrow money from the bank to build the whole home, and if they wouldn’t lend it to you, you couldn’t start building. And you need a move in permit, which the city will only grant when the structure is complete.
He was shocked that people would borrow money to build a house, and that neighborhood esthetics would be prioritized over the needs of the family.
Different worlds
We are thinking more seriously about spending the summer in Guatemala. Or maybe just a few weeks and pass through some or all of El Salvador/Honduras/Belize/Yucatan. I remembered reading this article on your “$195/mo Guatemalan apartment”, but I couldn’t remember where it was exactly. We watched a video of some dude zipping around Lake Atitlan and I saw a sign that I thought said “Hotel Helen” or Hotel Belen, but didn’t think anything about it until I just reread this article. That must be the exact place you guys describe in this article!
I’ll have to show the wife this article. Loving the view!
How were the mosquitoes around Lake Atitlan, or all over the rest of Guatemala for that matter? We’re heading down June-July-August. Any fears of malaria while you were down there? Rainy season = flooding and not much sun?
That is the place
Mosquitos around Lake Atitlan we’re not bad at all. They were murder around Rio Dulce
Some people took malarial meds. We didn’t. They can make you tired and sick. It’s curable, and we tend to take a laissez faire approach to low probability risks.
We were there in rainy season. It was great. Lots of rain some afternoons but otherwise it’s of sun
I read your Rio Dulce post and thought “yep, might be a place we can skip”. We are mosquito candy and our kids are even sweeter.
Good to hear they weren’t too bad around the lake and elsewhere. And that the rain wasn’t a constant downpour. I think I saw 11 inches per month during the rainy season, which is only double the southeast’s average summer rainfall (so not crazy rainy).
The apartment looks great and the location and the price is perfect. I spent a a few years at lake and I’ve been attempting to contact a person by the name of David Brockie. People that would know him would be Curt who is the owner of the Blue Lagoon that is not too far from Nick’s restaurant and also Nick the owner of thee restaurant> I can be reached at the gmail [email protected].
If someone could help me out ti would be gratly appreciated.
Hope to hear form someone soon
DAVID LEE
Is this something a single mom with 3 kids ages 12,10, and 7 can do? I’m looking to give my kids a cultural experience and I am very independant and not afraid to travel alone.
Sure. The only limitations in life are those we place on ourselves.
I’ve seen many examples of families of all shapes and sizes traveling. For example, this recent article.
I am researching places to live in Guatemala right now for right after the new year. San Pedro is on the list, and the price and place you described is just the kind of thing I am looking for. I am traveling alone, and as long as I have a bed, bathroom, place to cook and relax I will be happy. Just looking for a home base to explore from.
I am curious how you booked your apartment. I have been looking online for places and mostly I am only finding ones that are about the $400-500 dollar CAD range. $200-400 would be much more preferable. Did you book online or find a place once you arrived? I have heard that looking locally you can potentially get better deals. I am hoping to line something up before I get there for convenience.
We found this place via a conversation with some tuk-tuk drivers. We usually book a place online for a day or two, and use that time to find something longer term
Perfect, that is the conclusion I am coming too. Probably much better that way anyway since at least in person you will already know if you like the place before paying or signing any contracts. Thanks :)
Great read! The place seems very friendly and it seems like you had a really great time while staying there. I did a quick search for Hotel Helen after reading this post and it seems like “Fredy” has a website now. Here is the link to the site I found. http://hotelhelensanpedro.com/
Thanks for sharing!
Muchas gracias amigo Go Curry Cracker por recomendar Hotel Helen siempre seras bienvenido. Ahora tenemos la página web espero que nos visiten nuevamente saludos departe de Fredy.
What website do you use to find places to rent by the month?
Google and Airbnb mostly.
This particular place we found by going to the busy corner in town and asking a group of tuk-tuk drivers for a place we could rent for a month.