The hotels and restaurants lining highway CA-9 (the road to the Atlantic Coast) at Río Hondo are popular places to stop and eat for travelers heading to or from faraway Puerto Barrios [1] or Esquipulas [2]. The dry, warm climate lends itself marvelously to swimming and other water-centered activities.
All of the options listed here are found at Km. 126 and offer comfortable air-conditioned rooms with private bathroom and cable TV. All have swimming pools.
Among the options is old standby Hotel Longarone (tel. 7934-7126, $45 d). Its large swimming pool has diving boards and a water slide. Some of the rooms can be dark. The restaurant/bar serves international food ($6–12) with excellent service and cleanliness.
In addition to a large, attractive palm-lined swimming pool, Hotel El Atlantico (tel. 7934-7160, $45 d) boasts lovely gardens, a gym, and children’s play areas. The indoor and outdoor restaurant/bars serve international cuisine.
Hotel Santa Cruz (tel. 7934-7075, $50 d) has beautifully landscaped, flower-filled gardens around its swimming pool, spotless rooms, and an excellent restaurant serving (you guessed it) international dishes.
Another 23 kilometers east from Río Hondo along highway CA-9 is Valle Dorado Water Park (Km. 149, tel. 7943-6666, www.hotelvalledorado.com [3], 6 a.m.–6 p.m. Tues.–Sun., $7 adults, $5 children), well worth the wait if you can curb your appetite, as there are a variety of food options inside the park and tons of fun stuff for the kids (or the kid in you). The large theme park has a variety of pools and water slides as well as a very comfortable hotel with room rates starting at $70 d.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/guatemala/el-oriente-and-izabal/puerto-barrios
[2] http://www.moon.com/destinations/guatemala/el-oriente-and-izabal/esquipulas
[3] http://www.hotelvalledorado.com