2 Best Hotels in Santa Elena, El Peten

Santa Elena's spiffiest hotel puts you in mind of an old-time lighthouse, dignified in blue and white and sitting lakeside, with splendid views of Flores across the water. From the top-floor terrace especially, views here shine, with bright and spacious rooms, tile floors, and impressive windows. Although far from luxury level, it has standard amenities and nice spaces to lounge. The on-site restaurant will do in a pinch. It's under the same management as several other hotels in Flores, so if you can't get a room at one, you may have other choices.

You could lie in bed and count the birds flying by your window at these villas on Lake Petenchel, east of Santa Elena, where pyramidal angles invoke the temples at Tikal. All 56 rooms, in two-level bungalows spread out around the grounds, are tastefully decorated with colorful weavings and mahogany accents, and they have terrific views. Some 50 bird species have been spotted in the area. If you're interested in more wildlife, ask an attendant where to find the troop of spider monkeys that roams the grounds and the adjacent rain forest, or the local crocodile. Villa Maya is part of a small group of villa-type hotels around Guatemala. Vans shuttle you to and from Tikal.