Posadadel AngelA RomanticHideaway inColonial Antigua,Guatemala

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Tourism to Guatemala has more than doubled thisdecade, to 1.7 million visitors last year from justover 800,000 in 2000, according to government sta-tistics. The country is attracting visitors from

around the world, including agrowing number of Europeans.And there’s a very good reason.In a country that offers thirty-three volcanoes, Mayan ruins,scenic lakes and black sandbeaches, there’s something tooffer every client, whether anhistory buff or beach bum.

Maya Vacations was started in2005 by local travel profession-als, key players in the develop-ment of Guatemala’s tourism in-dustry. Estuardo Riley, itspresident, told Travel World

News, “We started up four years ago to fulfill special travelneeds in Guatemala for niche market segments.” Riley andhis team believed that Guatemala as a tourism destinationwas more than just a country of classic tourist sites.International markets have promoted Guatemala’s famousMayan ruins at Tikal, its colonial city of Antigua, the marketat Chichicastenango and beautiful Lake Atitlan. But MayaVacations’ goal is to broaden the country’s appeal.“Guatemala is full of opportunities for bird watchers, surfers,sports fishing, mountain bikers, trekking, white river rafting,and much much more,” Riley explained. With that in mind,the company has been offering custom made tours for whole-salers and tour operators worldwide so they can offer uniqueitineraries for FIT’s or groups.

Classic Guatemala or Action Packed ToursMaya Vacations has developed a series of sample itiner-

aries that offer the best of Guatemala. The tours are adaptableto your clients needs, offering boutique as well as three to fivestar hotels. Price, schedule and places to visit depend on eachgroup’s interest and size. The classic “Modern and Colonial”tour of 8 Days/7 Nights features the highlights of Guatemala.After airport pickup and a night in Guatemala City, clients aretransferred to Antigua and a city tour. This old historic capital

city is often called the most beautiful Spanish colonial city inthe world with its original architecture, cobblestone streetsand impressive sixteenth and seventeenth century monaster-ies and cathedrals. A tour out of the city to a coffee plantationis also included. Day 3 and 4 are at Lake Atitlan with a boattour to some of the native villages that rim the lake. Then onto Chichicastenango, one of the largest outdoor markets inLatin America. Day 5 takes the client back to Guatemala Cityto experience the city’s rich cultural life. Day 6 begins with avery early flight to Flores Peten, where Mayan pyramidsstand at the site of Yaxha. Day 7 takes clients to the most important Mayan archeological site—Tikal. Day 8 is departure home. Abbreviated four day/three night trips in-clude Guatemala City, Antigua and eitherTikal orChichicastenango.

Varied itineraries address Maya Vacations’ goal of showcas-ing Guatemala as a destination for your adventurous, nature-loving client. The 8-day Adventure Tour will satisfy any thrillseeker with a mix of culture and adrenalin rush. Just outside

ESTUARDO RILEY

Guatemala: A Country of Active Volcanoes,Tropical Jungles, an Ancient Culture – and

Endless Tourism PotentialMaya Vacations broadens Guatemala’s appeal with it’s action-packed adventure/nature tours.

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The colonial city of Antigua has charming cobblestone streets and classical Spanish architecture.

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LATIN AMERICA

of Guatemala City, clients can rock climb; on the PacificCoast, they can canoe through turtle reserves; in the high-lands, they can mountain bike through Indian villages; in thejungle they can ride all terrain vehicles at night spotting noc-turnal animals. Other tours include the 8-day NaturalParadise Adventure where clients explore ecological re-serves, natural parks, archeologicalsites and volcanoes.Scheduled in this action-packed tour are cave exploration,mountain biking, sky walking and volcano climbing. An 8-day tour of Guatemala’s Caribbean coast includes a boat tripthrough the Rio Dulce Canyon, a visit to the CandelariaCaves and floating in tubes through the underground cavenetwork. The tour ends with a day of hiking Pacaya, one ofGuatemala’s three active volcanoes.

One Day ToursMaya Vacations offers one day tours for the client who

wants a day of adventure or a day visiting one of the country’spopular tourist spots. Your client can be picked up at theirhotel fora day tour of Guatemala City or colonial Antigua. Forthe active client, a one day adventure tour to Pacaya volcano,just forty-five minutes from the city, can be scheduled. Withits many rivers, whitewater rafting is another adventure op-tion. There are class II through class IV rivers, depending onhow much of a daredevil your client is. The most popular day

tour is to the Mayan ruins at Tikal, a flight from GuatemalaCity arranged by Maya Vacations and accompanied by aguide. All one day tours are $75 (not including air), two per-son minimum. Clients have the option of combiningGuatemala with other neighboring countries in CentralAmerica. Customized tours are available for clients withinGuatemala and Mexico, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador,Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.

Guatemalan Highlights tours (8 days/7 nights):$1270/ppdo. Natural Paradise Tour (8 days/7 nights) starts at$1545/ppdo.Maya Vacations, reservations@mayavacations.com, 866-498-5333, www.mayavacations.com

TARA TOURS OFFERS GUATEMALA SPECIAL FOR $970

Tara Tours is presenting a Guatemala Special priced at just $970for six days/five nights featuring Antigua, Chichicastenango andAtitlan.

In Guatemala City, accommodations are at the five-star propertyBarcelo Guatemala with full American breakfast served daily. Thepackage offers the opportunity to get outside the capital and seesome of the country, with an included half-day excursion to the his-toric town of Antigua and a full-day trip to Atitlan and the marketof Chichicastenango.

The beautiful Antigua, with its colonial architecture, was the firstcapital of Guatemala during the Spanish conquest (15-17th cen-tury) and is one of the best-preserved colonial cities in theAmericas. On Sunday travelers visit the famous indigenous marketof Chichicastenango, where hundreds of local people from thenearby villages come to sell and buy their products as well as offerthe most incredible selection of tourist souvenirs. Chichi (as it iscalled by the locals) is a magical place, and the market is an amaz-ing festivity of color, old traditions and religion. In late afternoon,guests are provided a guided tour of Atitlan with its lovely lake andthree volcanoes.

The tour departs every Thursday. From Miami, the $970 ppdoprice through December 1, 2010, includes round-trip airfare toGuatemala via American Airlines (other USA departure citieslisted below), hotel Barcelo Dorado for five nights with breakfastdaily, all transfers and English-speaking tour guides.

The following are add-ons via American Airlines—add $200 fromATL, BOS, DFW, EWR, HOU, LAX, NYC, WAS + Zone 1(Florida) Zone 2 and Zone 3; add $230 from SFO and Zone 5; add$290 from CHI, SJU and Zone 4; add $340 from Zone 6. All ratesare subject to change at any time.

The American zone chart is as follows—Zone 1: FL; Zone 2: AR,LA, MS, NM, OK, TX; Zone 3: CT, GA, MA, MD, NC, NH, NY, PA,RI, SC, VA, VT; Zone 4: AL, AZ, CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MI, MN,MO, NE, OH, SD, TN, WI; Zone 5: CA, ID, NV, UT; and Zone 6:OR, WA.Tara Tours, 800-327-0080, www.taratours.com

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There aren’t many seven room boutique hotels in theworld that can boast a guest list of presidents,prime ministers and princes. Plus a few Hollywoodcelebrities who will remain anonymous, an indica-

tion of how protective this intimate posada—or “inn” inSpanish—is of its guests. Tucked away a few cobblestonestreets from the heart of Antigua, Guatemala, Posada delAngel is one of the best kept secrets of this quaint colonialtown. And its back story is as magical as its setting.

It all started sixteen years ago when Mary Sue Morris, a na-tive Texan and inveterate traveler, decided to stop wanderingthe world. She made Antigua her home, creating the hotelshe always dreamed of staying at—one that was “stylish,beautiful, elegant…where you are just as comfortable beingsingle as being married, a hotel where you get to know otherguests and the local residents or you can be left entirelyalone.” And so Posada del Angel was born, with rusticGuatemalan charm and a personal touch, the first boutiquehotel in Antigua. When Mary Sue died in 2006, she left alegacy. The inn would be auctioned off, with proceeds used to finance “Becas Mari Sue,” a foundation to educateGuatemalan children, managed through a trust and supported by Posada del Angel.

Enter two young entrepreneurs from Guatemala City, eagerfor a business but with no prior hotel experience. OwnerRicardo Balzaretti told Travel World News, “Enrique calledme one day. We’ve been friends for a long time and havetalked about doing a business together. He said, ‘I have abusiness but you have to decide today,’ Ricardo continuedwith a laugh. His business partner Enrique Urruela added,“We put together the numbers, had a good feeling about itand we just decided to do it.” The Balzarettis and Urruelassuddenly became hoteliers. The timing couldn’t have beenbetter. It was right before the economic crisis began and thenew owners were able to get financing. They added two newrooms—The Mayan Room and The Mary Sue Suite in honorof the original owner, a woman whose legacy they are deter-mined to continue. “We knew this place was a jewel thatneeded a little cleaning to shine, Balzaretti explained withpride. They’ve been cleaning out for two and a half years now,bringing in high end mattresses, luxury linens and towels,and adding fine touches like handmade soaps and native in-cense. Without any experience in running a hotel, they haddecided to “run it like our house with friends,” Ana de

Urruela explained. “That’s just what Mary Sue did and that’swhat made it special.” Alicia de Balzaretti is now manager,and along with a staff of eight bilingual employees, gives apersonal face to the inn. “That’s what got us through the economic crisis,” explained Ricardo, Alicia’s husband.Tourism has been down 15% in Guatemala but their personalrelationships with guests have brought repeat business toPosada del Angel and the owners feel that personal touch hasmade the difference.

Attention to detail with first-class serviceWinner of the 2007 Andrew Harper Hideaway Report,

Posada del Angel stands behind a set of ancient woodturquoise doors, a few streets away from Parque Central, theheart of Antigua. But once those doors are opened and youstep inside the tranquil courtyard, the noise of motorcyclesand cars fade away, your senses are soothed with incense,fountains and soft classical music. The colonial house beyondis reminiscent of a Mediterranean villa, with stucco walls ofsalmon and gold, created to blend the interior with the out-doors. A long, narrow lap pool, open to the sky and lined in adeep blue tile, runs the length of a stone walkway. A comfort-able living room with its imposing fireplace sits opposite it,cozy furnishings and a laptop with hi speed internet connec-tion available to guests. The dining room resembles a stonechapel, with morning light streaming through the floor toceiling glass doors. This is where breakfast is served-- freshsqueezed orange juice, native fruit, hearty Guatemalan cof-fee and the inn’s signature dish, huevos rancheros. From yourclients first cup of coffee, Simon, a 12 year employee, will remember just how they like it, bringing it to their table each morning.

Posada del Angel: A Romantic Hideaway inColonial Antigua, GuatemalaSophisticated charm mixed with first-class service, this boutique hotel has welcomed princesand presidents in elegant Guatemalan style.G A I L P. D U B OV

RICARDO BALZARETTI, ENRIQUE URRUELA, ANA DE URRUELA

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Rooms are decorated in the style of colonial elegancewith rich, bright colors, local textiles and huge bou-quets of fresh cut flowers. Luxurious 600 thread-countsheets and hand woven bedspreads cover the beds,each with a distinctively elaborate bed frame. Privatebaths contain thick bathrobes, lush towels and hand-made soaps and lotions. Each room has its own woodburning fireplace. A roaring fire will be started at yourclients request by a member of the Posada’s attentivestaff.

The busiest season is Christmas, New Years and HolyWeek (Easter) when the city overflows with 40,000tourists arriving for religious festivities. It’s a must see,when locals, dressed in purple, carry huge crucifixesin processionals down the crowded streets of the city.Specially designed carpets cover the long stretches ofcobblestone as thousands of onlookers watch the spec-tacle. Though temperatures stay in the 70’s through most ofthe year, Antigua’s tourism drops from May to October, itsrainy season. Sixty-five percent of the inn’s guests are fromthe United Stations, 20% from Europe and the rest fromGuatemala, Central and South America and other countries.“We have a lot of people from New York and D.C., given that(President) Clinton was here. It put this hotel on the map,” ex-plained Ricardo Balzaretti. “It was the only time an Americanpresident spent the night on Guatemalan soil.” BesidesClinton, the inn has hosted other dignitaries includingCanada’s former Prime Minister Trudeau, and the Prince ofSaxony and his wife, the Princess of Bavaria. But most guestsare not royalty. “Eighty-five percent of our guests use thePosada as their home base, staying an average of four nights,”explained Alicia de Balzaretti, hotel manager. Guests mayleave to overnight at Lake Atitlan and the market atChichicastenango or fly to the famous Mayan ruins at Tikal.The Posada can help customize any trip requests.

Destination weddings have made Antigua—and the inn—an attractive locale. The house can be rented for a week, en-suring privacy for a family with the hotel’s personal services.“A lot of people come from the United States to get marriedhere,” explained Enrique. “We are trying to get weddingsand family reunions—there are special rates for these.” Lastyear, a family scattered from L.A. to NY rented the inn forThanksgiving, a cheaper alternative than flying to one coastor the other. Suites accommodate two adults and two childrenor an additional adult. The majority of guests are sophisti-cated travelers who are looking for something different orhoneymooners and couples who come to unwind in a roman-tic setting. “We don’t have phones in the rooms. We didn’twant TVs in the rooms but guests asked for it. They are smalland discrete. The level of noise is very low—it’s a place torelax. We even talk a little lower here,” Enrique Urruela toldTravel World News.

Historic AntiguaFounded in 1543 as Guatemala’s capital, Antigua is a must

see on any tourist route. “It’s absolutely the center of ourtourism industry,” said Evelyn Davidson, director of NorthAmerican and European marketing for the Federal Instituteof Tourism. A walk through the cobblestone streets of thecity—only twelve square blocks—explains why. Its colonialarchitecture, restored cathedrals, convents, plazas and resi-dences from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are thefinest examples of Spanish Colonial art and architecture inthe Americas. Antigua has been called the loveliest Spanishcolonial town in the world. Surrounded by three towering vol-canoes, hundreds of thousands of people visit the city eachyear. They come to study Spanish, attend cooking school, vol-unteer, and experience the culture of Guatemala. Otherscome for the city’s art galleries, boutiques and sophisticatedrestaurants. For its strong historical and cultural value, thecity was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.

Welcoming agentsMost of Posada del Angels’ business comes through their

website, which is their most important advertising tool. Buttravel agencies are getting to know the inn and booking di-rectly with them. “We give 5% commission when we start a re-lationship with an agent,” explained Alicia de Balzaretti,manager of the hotel. “We can go up to 10-15%, dependingon the business generated by them,” she continued.According to Balzaretti, the hotel participates in the TACA fam trip and is open to customize any other fam tripwith interested and established agencies. Agents can bookvia email, website request or the hotel’s Miami phone num-ber. Rooms, including breakfast start at $175/night; suitesstart at $231/night.Posada del Angel, elangel@posadadelangel.com,www.posadadelangel.com

The rooftop terrace offers magnificent views of three volcanoes and is perfectfor watching the sunset at the end of a day of sightseeing.

POSADA DEL ANGEL From Page 4

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