Need to know
Rooms
15, including nine suites – three of which are in a villa available for exclusive use.
Check–Out
2pm; earliest check-in, 4pm. Both are flexible, subject to availability.
More details
Rates include continental breakfast.
Also
Exclusive use of Villa Palopó comes with butler service and a private chef.
At the hotel
Shop (selling local handicrafts and art), gym, outdoor yoga platforms. In rooms: free WiFi, minibar, tea- and coffee-making kit, free bottled water, Makenna bath products.
Our favourite rooms
Although some of the deluxe rooms are on the smaller side, there are no short straws at Casa Palopó: rooms are divided between the original house, a newer annexe and suites in the villa. Smallest of the bunch San Juan stands out for having a bath tub on its private terrace. Rooms in the main house are the most vibrant, with colourful stucco walls, timbered ceilings and terracotta floors. The freshly overhauled master suites at Villa Palopó are easy on the eye and can be booked individually as well as for exclusive use together. In the annexe, deluxe rooms San Andrés and San Rafael are spacious for their category, and we love the light-filled layout of superior San Francisco.
Poolside
A wooden sun deck is edged by cushioned daybeds angled to soak up lake vistas – their backs facing away from a long-but-narrow (heated) lap pool with ladder entry that’s fringed by submerged seats (open 7am–9pm daily). The infinity pool that hogs the camera lens at Casa Palopó is beside the villa (yours exclusively if you so desire) – a mosaic-tiled terraced showstopper with a built-in hot tub; sun loungers cover the terracotta-tiled terrace which, at one end, has a loggia that’s home to lounge chairs beside an outdoor fireplace.
Spa
A treatment room is available for single or couple’s massage therapies. Casa Palopó’s diminutive gym has an exercise bike and two rowing machines; outdoor yoga classes soaking up the serenity of Lake Atitlán can be arranged.
Packing tips
Skew your holiday wardrobe towards swimwear and cover-ups – including kit for lake-based activities – plus your most colourful sundresses and embroidered tops for balmy evenings on the terrace.
Also
The terraced setting for this panoramic hillside hotel means it’s sadly not wheelchair accessible.
Pet‐friendly
No pets are allowed at this serene lakeside stay. See more pet-friendly hotels in Lake Atitlán.
Children
Little Smiths aged 10 or older are welcome and an extra bed can be added to some rooms. Deluxe rooms San Andres and San Rafael come with the option of connecting balconies.
Sustainability efforts
Water- and energy-saving measures are in place and the hotel recycles waste. Casa Palopó is engaged in a community project to paint all 850 houses in the village of Santa Catarina Palopó, encouraging tourism and generating a sense of pride for residents. The hotel works with the local community to encourage local families to send their children to school.