first impressions

Villa Antigua is NICE. :-) as soon as you walk through the gate, there is a large fountain to greet you. when you walk closer to the door you see the Guatemalan flare of two vendors selling you stuff on either side of the entrance. there are bellboys waiting to assist and busy assisting in their nice maroon uniforms. there are glasses with pink liquid waiting for the arriving guests to help make the waiting to check in more pleasurable. and big comfy chairs all over the place to sit and relax in.

i finally got checked in and walked to the far back corner of the hotel to my room. the longer i walked, the more happy i was. i wanted to be as far away from the street as possible. (i'm so enjoying the silence as i type this. :-)) while i walked to my room i noticed how close and convenient the heated pool is. there is also a nice little "nitch" with a table and chairs on a sort of patio like thing in the back, just there to use at your leisure.

and then i walked into the room. now here at this hotel you have the timeshare "studios" and regular hotel rooms. even though i have a timeshare, i am staying in a hotel room. i don't understand, but i don't mind either. i wlaked in to a rather large room. much larger than most hotel rooms these days. in the corner is a fireplace. there are two beds, a long counter with three drawers, a closet, a bathroom, and a table with two chairs. all of this sounds normal, with the exception of the fireplace, but it's all very nice, despite the normality. the bathroom is small, but it has a bathtub, which i will utitlize, fancy-crinkled toilet paper (not the regular triangle), and a regular showerhead like in America. :-) the wood here is really nice. i'm a wood fan, so i am pleased.

and then i sat on the bed. normal hotel beds your butt doesn't move when you sit down on the bed. but this bed ... well, it's NICE. it's cushy. it's VERY comfortable. i'm oh so happy. :-)

the TV is big, there are plenty of lights, there's a big window that looks out into a small yard. a breakfast ordering menu sits waiting to be filled out on the table and plenty of things to read in Spanish. there is a phone, but no alarm clock. and in the bathroom there are two bottles of water. i'm not sure if i get charged if i drink them, so i will wait to ask. i would hate to pay $5 for a bottle of water when i can buy one elsewhere for only Q3. suprisingly, there is wireless internet here as well. this is a surprise because it wasn't advertised at all.

on site is a restaurant (fancy, but you can be casual), a heated pool, a non-heated lap pool, a kid's pool, a pool deck cafe, gym, sauna, spa, hair salon, disco bar, rental car & travel agency, and lots of conference rooms and things. this place is really big and overall really nice. i think i will enjoy myself immensly for the next few days. :-)