Hotel Real Intercontinental Guatemala, an IHG Hotel

A Tower in Zona Viva, and the Volcanoes Behind It

Guatemala City does not give itself up on arrival, and Zona Viva is where most visitors are told to begin. The InterContinental Real stands in the middle of it, among embassies, offices and restaurants, about a kilometre from the runway at La Aurora. What separates it from the rest of that skyline is what sits on top: Blu, a rooftop bar that opens the city out to the line of volcanoes along its southern edge. Most travellers pass through the capital on their way to somewhere else. This is the address that makes the pause worth taking, and the one that makes the pause easy.

Why It Works

We kept it for its range. A house of this size either feels like an airport hotel with a better lobby, or like a small district of its own, and this one manages the second. Five restaurants work under the same roof, each with its own kitchen and its own idea of an evening. There is a heated outdoor pool, a spa, a fitness floor and the Gran Salon Roble, which the capital books for its own weddings and conferences. Arrivals are handled at any hour, which counts when the flight lands late and the car for Antigua leaves at dawn.

Why This Location

Zona Viva is the most walkable part of the capital and the hotel sits at the centre of it: tables and bars within a few streets, Oakland Mall and the Popol Vuh Museum within a couple of kilometres, and La Aurora airport at about one. That last figure decides bookings. A late arrival is minutes from a bed, and an early departure does not need a car in the dark. Antigua is roughly an hour west by road and the desk arranges the driver, which makes this a natural bookend at either end of a trip.

Fast Facts

• Price: Premium

• Vibe: International, busy, city at its feet

• Rooms: Classic and Premium rooms, suites, and a Presidential Suite with its own living and dining rooms

• Best For: First and last nights in the country, business travellers, families wanting a pool in the capital

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: Blu, the rooftop bar, and the volcano line it puts at the end of the city

• Dining: Five restaurants, The Market, Tanoshii, Saint Honore, Maya Lounge and Picasso, plus the Blu rooftop bar

• Amenities: Heated outdoor pool, boutique spa, fitness centre, the Gran Salon Roble and further event space, on site parking

• Attractions: La Aurora airport, about a kilometre; Oakland Mall and the Popol Vuh Museum, within two; La Aurora zoo

Five Kitchens Under One Roof

The Market is the all day room and the one that solves breakfast before a flight. Tanoshii runs a Japanese menu, Saint Honore is the patisserie and cafe side of the house, Maya Lounge holds the lobby end of the evening, and Picasso takes dinner properly. Blu, above all of them, is where guests and city people meet for a drink at the hour the light goes. Having five rooms to choose from is the practical luxury of a large hotel, and it is why a night here does not require leaving the building.

The Pool, the Spa and the Working Day

The outdoor pool is heated, which in a city at altitude is the difference between a pool and a decoration. The spa is small and built around treatments rather than facilities, and the fitness floor is open to guests. On the other side of the ground floor, the Gran Salon Roble and the meeting rooms run at their own pace, with a planning and catering team attached. The two halves of the house coexist without either one getting in the way of the other.

Rooms, Suites and What to Ask For

Rooms run from Classic to Premium and on into suites, the largest of which carries its own living and dining rooms. Ask for a high floor and a view towards the volcanoes rather than towards the avenue: the difference is considerable and costs nothing to request. Families are accommodated, and connecting arrangements are worth raising at the time of booking. Check in is from mid afternoon and check out at midday, and the desk will hold luggage on either side of those hours.