Casa Santo Domingo

Beautiful surroundings like this help you to relax and unwind very quickly. As a workaholic missionary here in Guatemala, it is nice to get away for a few days to relax and unwind. I highly recommend spending a few days here. The pool area was beautiful and the warm water inviting for November.

I am submitting this review in advance of our stay because I have never experienced such difficulty reaching a hotel as I have with Casa Santo Domingo. I spend roughly 200 nights per year in hotels for work and have never encountered this level of unresponsiveness. Before booking, I attempted several times to email with a few questions and received no reply. After booking, I submitted a “Special Request” asking to arrange airport shuttle service—again, no response. I emailed over a week ago with our confirmation number and travel details, followed by another email yesterday, and still have heard nothing. After more than 40 attempts to call, I finally reached someone who assured me that shuttle information would be emailed to us within minutes. No such email ever arrived. We even attempted to cancel the reservation, but the website states that cancellations must be done by phone, yet calls are never answered and often do not connect at all. As someone who routinely coordinates internationally, I can confidently say this is not an issue with dialing abroad. I will gladly remove this review if the hotel provides the courtesy of responding to our very straightforward request before our arrival. Until then, I would strongly encourage travelers to consider alternative accommodations. A friend who lives in Guatemala mentioned this is, unfortunately, a common experience with this property.

My family and I visit Antigua every year and will not stay anywhere but at Casa Santo Domingo. The amazing staff always ensures we have the best experience every single time. Starting with the fruit punch at check in to the wonderful smell of cleanliness as you walk into your rooms with everything neatly presented and a spotless resting area. The housekeeping staff always on point preparing the beds as night falls and ensuring you always enter to a neat fresh room upon your return. Comfortable beds, amazing architecture that makes you feel as if you have traveled back in time, the calm wonderful music, art that can hardly be found anywhere else and a wonderful smile on every staff member as you run into them, this place is magical. All the excitement starts as we tell the kids we are going back to Antigua and they start talking about the food at El Refectorio. “Oh the popusas! The sweet bread! The smoothies! The room service and the cheese plater!” Ever since having our wedding ceremony at Santo Domingo 16 years ago, and as we continue to create marvelous memories there with my wife and three kids now, this place and their staff will always have a special place in our hearts. Go for the luxury, the museums, chocolate and candle factories, the spa experience and the amazing food and you will leave with the promise of returning to create more amazing memories.

I would say this hotel is definitely one of the best hotel's I have ever stayed in. The architecture of the previous buildings and how they built around them is beautiful. You can feel the special peacefulness and it helps make your vacation very relaxing. I loved the music that was in the common areas and the different smells from cooking or wood burning. I recommend booking the hotel's taxi service for all your airport pick ups and transportation needs. For food, we mostly ordered to the room because we were traveling with a younger child who has food allergies but the kitchen made accommodations to help us keep the food tasty for a 7 year old. The pool and all the grounds were very well kept and maintained. It was nice just to see all of the religious artifacts and pottery making being done on the premises. Our room was amazing and we had the benefit of staying in the prior room which has a large patio and whirlpool and hammock outside. It was certainly more spacious than our New York city apartment! It was a great vacation and we would definitely stay here again.

Great experience during our event, excelent service and wonderful meals, the place is beautiful, elegant and absolutely amazing.