This was my third trip to Antigua, but my first stay at The Cloister B&B. The B&B was recommended by our Spanish Language school, Proyecto Lingüístico Francisco Marroquín [PLFM, excellent school]. There was a student discounted rate of $500/wk at The Cloister.

The Cloister is a small B&B with ~6-7 rooms around one large, and one small courtyard. The staff is small and very attentive. The grounds are meticulously groomed, and beautiful with native flowers. I did not try the breakfast, given that our classes started at 8am sharp, and breakfast was at 7:30-7:45, and was made to order, so the choice was to wolf food down, or be late to classes.

Some of the rooms face the street, and I suspect are the discounted student rooms, as the street noise on a Friday night gets pretty loud. I would NOT want to have the room on the West side of the B&B, which fronts the main road that party-goers travel on. Our room was on the South side, and the noise was not bothersome, as the walls are probably two feet thick, and there are solid wooden shutters, and we faced a side street. If I return with my wife [came with my son], I would pay extra for the rooms buried in the inner courtyards. There is one large suite with a nice living room. All rooms have fireplaces, but the student rates don't include regular firewood, apparently. You get all the lemonade, hibiscus tea, and purified water you want.

If you are allergic to dogs, you might not want to go, as their two poorly groomed dogs roam the property, and I saw one leave a present on the carpet. They warn you that one is grouchy, and they aren't kidding, two of us were nipped.

They will do your wash for only 50 quetzales, so if I returned, I could probably get by with a carry-on piece of luggage for two weeks.

The location is PERFECT for exploring Antigua. It is directly under the arch, between La Merced, and the Central Plaza.

I would strongly recommend the B&B. It's minor glitches are outweighed by the beauty, service, and location. I will try to upload some pictures, if I can get the resolution down.

"The Cloisters" B&B in Antigua Guatemala is lovely. Large, airy and comfortable rooms, big tastey breakfast, nice bathrooms, and all housed in a traditional colonial. Most of the rooms are located around a tranquil courtyard where complete with beautiful gardens and overstuffed chairs to enjoy a good book or relaxing moment. I never met the owners, but the staff was very conceintious and took great care to make sure every detail of our stay was taken care of.

We have stayed at The Cloister twice and found it to be a superb, wonderful experience! We had a huge room with fireplace and returned each evening to find the fire laid and ready to be lit. The breakfast was excellent and we were able to have it served wherever we wanted--in the dining room or right outside our door on a courtyard table. We loved the dogs who were as charming as the rest of the place. We have already made plans to return to this magical, well-run bed and breakfast.
Mayne Island, BC, Canada

We stayed at The Cloister for our 25th anniversary and think we couldn't have made a better choice. The staff was friendly (several were bi-lingual) and our room showed great attention to detail-reading lights in all the right places. One of the many bonuses was the unlimited hot water.

Natasha Miller
Canada