Cut Ruinas Copán?

greggo and bcmum your descriptions make Copan sounds like our kind of place and yes it only convinces me more that we cannot get to everything we want to see in Guatemala. I love being able to just stop and stay someplace for 7 days the way greggo did in Copan and we are quite likely to feel and want the same experience. Knowing us, this will also happen a few other places. So we are going to have to decide what areas to concentrate on and put the rest on "next time" status.

Besides the Macaw refuge, coffee plantation and zip lines, are there any other day trips out of Copan you can recommend?

Oh you have to do the trip to the Luna Jaguar Hot springs....I certainly didn't expect such a beautiful spot. See here for photos.... http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g292022-d3906850-r218011842-Copan_hot_springs-Copan_Copan_Department.html

The hot springs sound lovely and the pictures are nice. I have a strong feeling we will stay for several days in Copan Ruinas.

We have sent an email to Hotel and Comedor Mary with no response yet (4 days now). It is definitely our style of place. I have also sent an info. request to Hotel Madrugada.

Any other suggestions for a nice place for 2 people, private bathroom, big bed (double or queen), decent size and fan in the $25-47 USD (L530-1000) range?

Aside from San Cristobal, where I stayed for 8 nights, Copan Ruinas was the most nights for me in one spot during my trip to the region. And we could have easily stayed longer!

Emails often seem to not arrive, I had that happen a lot, so try again. You could also try this email address that they gave me (March 2013): pupuseriamary@yahoo.com

I had to be patient with Comedor Mary, too, but it was worth the wait for us. Unless something drastic has changed in the last few years, I do not recommend Madrugada. Both Brisas de Copán and Carillo's are worth a look and Posada de Belssy is a good budget option.

I stayed at Belssy..it is a budget option,well belowyour budget as I remember....and not bad at all.

Maybe the rooms are a little old and dark.But the people are friendly,the location is good and there is the world's smallest hotel swimming pool on the roof....

The hot springs sound lovely and the pictures are nice. I have a strong feeling we will stay for several days in Copan Ruinas.

We have sent an email to Hotel and Comedor Mary with no response yet (4 days now). It is definitely our style of place. I have also sent an info. request to Hotel Madrugada.

Any other suggestions for a nice place for 2 people, private bathroom, big bed (double or queen), decent size and fan in the $25-47 USD (L530-1000) range?

We stayed in Copan several times .We found places by just walking around. Paid $10 US for private room with bano & TV . Don't recall names of hotels but there are plenty of inexpensive places if you take the time to walk around and look for one. Also stayed in one place without private banos and found out the shower was in the bathroom for the Hotel's Restaurant dining room

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I have already come across Posada de Belssy and put it in the notes. hopefulist, thanks for the suggestions of Carillo's and Brisas de Copan and the "thumbs down" on Madrugada. I might actually call Comedor Mary. We are planning only 2 nights in Guatemala City before heading to Copan, so I'd like to make sure we have a place set ahead of time. After that we will wing it as we go for hotel reservations.

lucapal, didn't I get some replies from you when I was researching my Indonesian trip last spring (Flores, West Timor and Sumba islands)? If so, it's nice to see we have similar interests in travel.