El Portal opened about a year ago, is located just 50 meters away from Semuc Champey. The Hostel is clean and they have a pretty good menu, offers different activities and counts with a really nice staff.
The dorms in the second floor are just Q35 per person and they have the best view you could ever find in hotels around this area, a really romantic budget getaway. The Dorms in the first floor cost Q40 per person and you can get a private room with enough space for 4 or 5 people for Q200. They also rent you space for tents in case you have your own, and would like to save a few Q’s.
El Portal is owned by Lico, a local guy that for many years worked as a guide in this area, which makes him the perfect person to talk about the different activities you can do around here. He actually sow different local plants around the hostel area, and every day in the afternoon when guests ask him, he takes them in a small tour where you can see plants of Cacao (in case you always wonder from where where chocolate came from), Copal three, Pineapple or Cardamom among other things.
His Wife actually makes home made chocolate, and if you are lucky enough and you stay for more than a day, she even might show you how to make it yourself.
Among the different activities you can do are: visiting Semuc Champey, Tubing trough the Cahabon river or visit the caves of Kan Ba.
Semuc Champey is one of the most beautiful places in Guatemala and Central America, and El Portal is a great option to enjoy of it.
Comment by Ruth Zepeda at Nov 21st, 2008 1:15 pm ↑
interesada en visitar este sitio, voy a estar en guatemala unos dias.
Comment by juan carlos at Nov 26th, 2008 6:48 pm ↑
por favor seria ntan amables de mandarme infornacion del costo de las habitaciones, telefono, ubicacion o distancia que se encuentran de semuc
gracias por su atencion prestadas
att. juan carlos sian
Comment by Tara at Dec 1st, 2008 10:52 pm ↑
How do you make reservations? I cant find a website for the hotel/hostel
Comment by iris at Jan 21st, 2009 2:19 pm ↑
Hello,
This info is of great value for us. Thank you so much.
Would it be possible to get a website or a phone number so that we can make reservations at the El Portal de Semuc Champey? Also, by any chance do you know the cheapest, yet safest way we can get to semuc champey from Guatemala city.If we arrive for instance to Lanquin or Coban later during the day would be a way to get to Semuc Champey?
Thank you so much
Comment by Pedro Alcántara Herrán at Jan 23rd, 2009 4:34 pm ↑
Hola somos dos parejas de colombianos y españoles que llegaremos a Semuc Champey el día martes 7 de abril hacia finales de la tarde o comenzando la noche y queremos estar seguros de tener un sitio donde llegar.
Atentamente,
Pedro Alcántara
Comment by marc at Jan 24th, 2009 3:19 pm ↑
IU m heading to Semuc Champey in about 7 days and looking for a doorm to stay can i make areserfation for a door in 7 days
thanks for you respond
marc
Comment by Lucia at Feb 1st, 2009 12:13 pm ↑
How can we get in touch with Lico from Semuc Champey?
Comment by Kate at Mar 23rd, 2009 1:52 pm ↑
I am trying to make a reservation at this hotel (Hostal El Portal near Semuc Champey)…does anyone have contact information? If so, can you please post it? Thanks.
Comment by Katarina Tereh at Apr 7th, 2009 9:36 am ↑
What is the number of this hostal? We need to make a reservation. Would be grate if you could answer me very quick, we are so late and it`s Semana Santa now.
Thank you
Comment by Inari at Apr 8th, 2009 7:39 pm ↑
Hola!
Do you have free beds in dorm for 10 and 11.4?
And do you have internet access?
Gracias:D
Comment by Simon at Apr 22nd, 2009 9:41 am ↑
This place has about 5 phone numbers, none of which seem to be online. The one I have to hand is a cell phone (502) 46058011.
Made a booking on this but is not 100% rleable as when we called to give them an idea of arrival time (so you can get picked up from Lanquin) it did not have signal.
Will post the landline numbers when I can find them.
Great place by the way…..
Comment by Lourdes at Apr 28th, 2009 10:58 am ↑
necesito saber disponibilidad de habitaciones para el día 1, 2 y 3 de mayo.
urgente gracias
Comment by Ovidio at Oct 4th, 2009 1:11 pm ↑
I was in Semuc Champey Sept. 2009. I didn’t stay at the hostel but I had lunch there with my family and the service was really good. They are at a very good location, the food is great, and they offer great tours. The people I spoke with who were staying at the hostel loved it! and recommended for my next visit to Guatemala this December.
Comment by petra vasilda at Nov 11th, 2009 3:38 am ↑
can you give me the site of hostal el portal or tel number for to get information? greetings petra
Comment by Bri at Nov 23rd, 2009 1:11 pm ↑
hey, visité a el portal este verano y quiero recomendarlo, era como un paraíso allá - el rio y el paisaje y todo, pero tambien la gente, las habitaciones, la comida.. si vaya a semuc hay que estar en el portal!
Comment by ANDREA at Mar 24th, 2010 9:05 am ↑
i´ve stayed at El Portal three times in the past and loved it … now the phone numbers i have are not working dose any one know the number for reservations
Comment by ANDREA at Mar 25th, 2010 8:08 am ↑
Thanks to who posted the cell # for El Portal in Lanquin
4605 8011 it worked !!!
Comment by shayla at Apr 7th, 2010 12:05 pm ↑
estuve para semana santa visitándolos y me interesa coordinar lo de un grupo de estudiantes, pero… para ir a izabal…
Comment by Ana at Apr 30th, 2010 1:06 pm ↑
quisiera dos reservas para dos familias el dia sabado , si tuvieran espacio por favor llamar al 57478267
Comment by Cristian Kiehnle at May 24th, 2010 5:39 pm ↑
Necesito el numero de telefono para poder hacer una reservacion para este fin de semana 28 de Mayo de 2010
Comment by Marco at May 31st, 2010 6:34 am ↑
I would like to know if you can give me the phone number or a contact to get there.
Comment by Megan Wing at Jul 11th, 2010 7:56 pm ↑
El Portal was the worst experience I had traveling in Guatemala, and probably in my whole life! When we arrived, the staff was rude and hurried us to our rooms, dropped my bags down the stair way, and treated me like a burden the entire time. They tried to tell me my passport was not mine, and tried to charge us for the tour when we already paid. The tour they organized the next morning was led by another rude man, who ran ahead of the group the entire time, was not an English speaking guide (which we paid for) and smoked cigarettes in the forest all the way to and from the pools at Semuc Champey. After our hike, we went back to El Portal to order lunch and go “tubing”. The water was going very fast and I asked if it was safe and they assured me it was fine. The guide told our group of 7 people to make a line by holding on to each other’s feet and paddle past a giant rock and currents. Needless to say, our group did not make it. We slammed into the rock and my boyfriend and I were tossed into the water. The rapids pulled us under the water for several minutes. Luckily, others from our tour were able to pull us out of the water when we floated out of the currents a few minutes later. I had no strength by the end of it. I was blending from cuts all over my legs and hands and when I floated to shore, the guide asked me why I didn’t swim. I was astounded- I am not a bad swimmer but I had been swept under by rapids and he was chastising me! They did not have any first aid kit, and I had to borrow band aids from a fellow traveler. Also, the rooms were crawling with bugs (which is not to be unexpected in the jungle) and the only time I had stomach problems was after eating at this establishment. DO NOT STAY HERE!
Comment by Maria at Jul 25th, 2010 11:13 pm ↑
I would not recommend this hostel to Anyone. I have travelling central America for the few weeks and the people at this establishment are the worst I have meet on my travels. They told us they had a room for us, when we arrived the did not. They put us on the roof of a room which had an open door and windows with no nets or even a blanket to stop bugs entering. They were no beds only a slip of a mattress an inch wide. We had a Scorpio in our room during the night and ants.We stayed there the first night because they promised us a room the next, needless to say we didn’t get one. We were four miles from town and they would not bring us in they wouldn’t even ring anyone for us. We had to walk a mile and get someone else to bring us. Girls staying in one of the roo
s had an nest of ants in her suitcase the next day, thousands of them, another couples stuff got robbed!!! Bad bad experience!!!!