We booked the El Carmen Hotel for three nights stay on the hotels website and printed out the confirmation. When we arrived at the hotel the manager at first denied that we had made any reservation in spite of having the reservation printout in front of him. Then he told us that our reservation was for another hotel the El Conquistador - news to us! He also showed us one miserable room with no windows on the ground floor that at first was available for one night only. Then it was available for three nights. As we felt we were being given the run around here we tramped way to the other side of town to check out the empty El Conquistador. Looked okay but the whole place was bouncing from construction going on outside. Thoroughly fed up we headed back into town. On the way we checked out the Hotel San Jorge - perfect. Stayed there for four nights and give it top ratings all round. Forget about El Carmen.

When I arrived, I found the price they wanted me to pay was much higher than the price I had booked and no satisfactory explanation was offered. They also informed me my booking was for one person, whereas I had booked a double room. I replied I would find another hotel. They handed me my credit card receipt and assured me several times there would be nothing to pay, since I had signed nothing. I expected they might nonetheless bill me for one night as a "no show." Instead they billed me for the entire stay. After a phone call from Expedia, they agreed to refund all but one night, but they have in fact done nothing.

In July, I stayed at Hotel El Carmen with a group of friends from my church. I have traveled very little outside the U.S. and I wasn't sure what to expect from this experience. What I found was great convenience to the city's town square, a lovely lobby area on the hotel's main floor with a lot of great plants and a very open feel with its high ceiling, clean and cozy rooms, and fast access to the internet through a private room off the lobby. But, the most delightful part of all in this lovely hotel was the amazing view of Antigua and the surrounding mountains and volcanoes from the lovely rooftop garden area. It was truly hard to leave! This would be a perfect getaway place for a couple! It's small, intimate and absolutely beautiful! I'm sorry I didn't have the time to check out that rooftop hot tub! Bet I will next time though!

We stayed with a group of 24 in early July. We'd stayed in a very hot area before, and Antigua was beautiful, as was the hotel. It's just a block and a half from the downtown square, where President Putin rode with his motorcade while we were there. Within close walking distance of the market, churches, restaurants, etc. It was actually cool in the evenings, including up on the beautiful Hotel Carmen rooftop. I know the TVs work, because not only did we check the weather, but the kids in our group watched a fair amount of TV. Nice courtyard and nice little business/computer center. Great hotel in a lovely area.