El Portal de Champey

Every tour or travel guide go mad about this place... But if you have seen waterfalls and pools in Turkey or Italy or have visited the Alps, it's not so exceptional... The point is: it's very difficult to access. From Lanquin you need a real 4x4 pick up truck to get you there. The path is very rough indeed, about 40 mn, muddy, slippery and very very steep. Do not attempt to drive it yourself. Once you get to the "hotel ", watch out for the price range... your booking may not always be found..we were given a top floor open space ( no mosquito net or windows ", single beds in a very poor state.. no towels and sharing loos and cold showers with another 12 people and yet we booked a standard room! We were then upgraded to a private tiny room, with loo and a trickle of cold water. Electricity is switched off at 9 pm The place is very damp and cold at night: there's no blankets! Pillows are disgusting. The views are nice to the flowing river and you can do a hard trek up 500 m to the Mirador. Food is basic but ok, very slow service, one and a half hour to wait for breakfast. This is more for young backpackers to chill out and for the locals to enjoy their lovely landscape free. Other pay an entrance fee of 50 quetzales a day. A friendly place but over hyped.

The listing for the private room stated we could request a mosquito net, but the main guy in charge refused to provide it; no towels were provided at all; no hot water; no fan/ac; the water turned completely off around 5p and did not come back on until the next morning; the main person in charge seemed bothered with any questions; the room smelled like sewage all the time; the meat on the burger did not seem like real beef- I’m not sure what it was. I think it was some type of pork mixture. Also, some of my daughter’s things were stolen on the free ride, provided by the hotel, from lanquin to the hotel. It’s not the hotel’s fault as locals also board that ride, but I thought I should mention it. The only positives were that the rest of the staff was nice and helpful; the pineapple smoothies were good; and the hotel is a few minutes away from semuc.

I personally think that there's nowhere else I would stay if I want to enjoy the magnificent natural pools of Semuc Champey and the Kamba caves at its fullest. El Portal is a couple of minutes walk of the entrance of both amazing attractions. If you stay in Lanquin, there might be more ammenities and connectivity, but you are still 45 minutes and a really rough drive away from the natural pools. And there's nothing like waking up early in the morning and walk along the river to the beautiful waterfalls. The hotel's location is simply idyllic. Lush vegetation, a beautiful river, and the hotel architecture itself is very harmonious with the surrounding nature. There is no hot water and no internet. And electricity is cut off at around 10:30 pm. So if you want to use your Semuc Champey as an opportunity to disconnect and enjoy nature at its fullest, you are in the right place. Rooms are basic, but clean. And so is the food at the restaurant (hearty, no frills but not terrible either). There are many options in the menu to choose for. My only big issue with the hotel (and its important for you to know) is that they play very loud music at the restaurant area until around 11 or 11:30 PM, and the noise can be felt in all the hotel rooms. It kinda kills the purpose of a nice and quiet natural experience, but again, I think the hotel's location trumps the loud music. I really wish there would be more consideration for those of us who would like to have a quieter experience. Overall, a fantastic experience, and in spite of the loud music, I would definitely stay there again.

Hôtel d'un abord agréable en harmonie avec la nature . La chambre est propre et grande avec une vue imprenable sur la nature Pression d'eau faible et surtout pas d'électricité la journée Très bonne restauration et un personnel aux petits soins

(English review below) Visitamos este hotel en abril del 2023 y realmente no fue una buena experiencia. Tiene electricidad solo dos horas cada día por lo que se entiende que no haya ni abanicos en las habitaciones pero que no tengan cedazo en las ventanas, es muy desconcertante. Tuvimos que mantener las ventanas cerradas durante toda la noche, a pesar del calor, porque al entrar a la habitación vimos tres cucarachas que tuvimos que eliminar y no queríamos más insectos o hasta una serpiente. El administrador, Carlos, tampoco ayudó a que nuestra estadía fuera buena, fue muy desconsiderado y no nos brindó el servicio de transporte que ya habíamos pagado para regresar. Después de dos horas de espera, nos engañó diciendo que el transporte ya estaba afuera y hasta ordenó que nos ayudaran con el equipaje y no era cierto!! Simplemente nos sacó del hotel y se libró de nosotros. Al final, tuvimos que parar un pick-up y casi suplicar que nos llevaran a Lanquin donde, por las condiciones del camino, habíamos dejado nuestro auto y, por supuesto, volver a pagar. Jamás volvería a este hotel. ¡Jamás! We visited this hotel in April 2023 and we didn't have a good experience. They only have electricity for 2 hours a day, which is why I understand they don't even have a fan in the rooms, but I really don't understand why they don't have window screens. We had to keep the windows closed during the night, despite the heat, because we found 3 cockroaches in the room when entering the first time, and we didn't want something worse entering the room, like a snake. The manager, Carlos, didn't help to make us have a good stay. He was inconsiderate and didn't provide the transfer that we had already paid to leave the hotel. After 2 hours waiting for it, he lied to us saying that the transfer was outside and even ordered for help with our luggage, and it wasn't true! He simply took us out of the hotel and got rid of us. We ended up stopping a pick-up truck and almost begging to be taken to Lanquin, where we left our car due to the conditions of the road; and, of course, we had to pay for it again. I would never go back to this hotel, EVER!

(+) Precios razonables comida y estadía Buen tour ofrecido por el mismo hostel: cuevas, columpio, tubbing, semuc, mirador, pozas, todo acompañado por el guía Nos permitieron dejar el carro en su otra sede Oasis en Lanquin sin costo adicional (-) Solo hay electricidad de 6 a 10pm No wifi No agua caliente (Se entiende por estar bastante alejado del pueblo, pero igual para tener en cuenta) Podría mejorar la información que dan al inicio, no estaba muy claro qué teníamos que llevar al tour No olvidar llevar repelente o vape para la habitación ya que no ofrecen nada para mosquitos/zancudos