The accommodations would have been pleasant if it hadn't been so obvious that we had grossly overpaid for our rooms. The rooms were fairly simple, with en-suite bathroom and shower. Each cottage was split into two suites, and the wall didn't continue to the top. Therefore, you were essentially sharing the accomodations with strangers. They could hear everything you said and vice versa.

It is definitely beneficial to speak a little Spanish to communicate with the hotel staff and waiters. The waiters did not speak any English. This is surprising because it seemed that every guest I encountered was American. However, when in Guatemala, one cannot expect everyone to speak English. I had a special challenge and had to use many words from my college Espanol, because I had been given English vouchers and had to translate them in order to receive my tour, lunch, etc.

Hopefully you will not have prepaid for a tour, lunch, and a room in advance. Lunch at the Jungle Lodge is something to write home about, only because you would want to warn others. We were served cold food, cooked hours ago. I had the charming prospects of eating an insect leg in my bun, the one food I considered safe.

As a side note, some other guests were complaining about the dampness in their rooms. I think this is probably to be expected given that you are in a rainforest.

On the bright side, you're in the perfect location to be awoken by the howler monkeys and to visit Temple IV at dawn.

Sleeping in a spartan bungalow away from the main lodge seemed exciting when booking a room at the Jungle Lodge days in advance, but it didn't do much to settle my uneasiness about being alone in the dense and entirely dark jungle when nighttime arrived. Having seen and heard wild animals during the day, spotted rather large and unidentifiable bugs in the bathroom, and developed an unreasonable fear of contracting malaria from the plentiful mosquitoes, I slightly panicked when the electricity was shut off at 10PM and did not enjoy a restful sleep. In hindsight, I think it added to the excitement of waking up at 4AM to navigate the pitch black nightfall and catch the sunrise above the pyramids. But as for the hotel, you might want to consider one of the more luxurious (and more expensive) rooms over at the Tikal Inn, or in the Jungle Lodge''s main building.