We spent a long weekend in Antigua, Guatemala in July 2024 after spending most of the week at Lake Atitlan (very highly recommend Lake Atitlan!). We looked at numerous hotels in Antigua before deciding on the well-established and historic Hotel Casa Santo Domingo. We later upgraded to a “Spa Room”, which we really enjoyed and would absolutely book again. This post reviews our stay in a Spa Room at Hotel Santo Domingo in Antigua, Guatemala.

HOTEL CASA SANTO DOMINGO

The Hotel Casa Santo Domingo is historic; it was originally the grand Convent of Santo Domingo in Antigua, Guatemala. This convent was one of the largest in the Americas, and it was almost totally destroyed in an earthquake in 1773 (the devastating Santa Maria earthquake). The ruined convent set empty and largely in rubble until 1989, when the Casa Santo Domingo project was developed and began restoring the convent and turned into into a fabulous hotel.

Today, Hotel Casa Santo Domingo is one of the nicest hotels in Antigua, in addition to a home to six on-site museums, a busy conference center, and just a gorgeous place to walk around and feel like you have gone back in time to the late 1700s. Even if you do not stay at Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, tourists can visit the property and its museums for free. I certainly recommend a stop-in for those not staying here if you like history or photography.

LOCATION OF HOTEL CASA SANTO DOMINGO

Hotel Casa Santo Domingo is located right in the old town of Antigua, Guatemala. A drivable street leads right to the entrance, making it easy for arrival and departure. The hotel is about a 10 minute walk from the famous Santa Catalina Arch, a 20 minute walk to the other end of Antigua for reference. While in old Antigua, the hotel is away from Antigua’s nightlife and is pretty quiet at night and in the morning.

BOOKING AT HOTEL CASA SANTO DOMINGO

Honestly, booking at Hotel Casa Santo Domingo was a bit stressful (yes, I know, first world problems) and confusing. The confusion and stress comes from the fact that the hotel website is dated and that Hotel Santo Domingo offers several types of rooms, including standard rooms onsite, spa rooms with direct (and the only) access to the spa, and off-site glamping style rentals.

We initially booked a standard room online, but upgraded to a Spa Room shortly before our stay after we realized that access to the hotel’s spa is not included with a standard room reservation. We upgraded by simply emailing the hotel, but even this took a few emails back and forth. For others booking, I suggest reviewing the different room types and prices and be certain about your booking before confirming it. I would also point out that this is one of the most popular hotels in town, so it does book up.

THE SPA AT HOTEL CASA SANTO DOMINGO

As you probably gathered, the Hotel Casa Santo Domingo is home to a beautiful spa on the edge of the property.  This spa is featured in many advertisements for and photographs of Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, and it is the primary reason we booked this hotel. Know that guests can only access the Casa Santo Domingo spa by either booking a Spa Room at the hotel or by booking a spa service and buying a day pass (I believe $50 USD/day). We booked the Spa Room, and both highly recommend it, especially if you have time to relax in Antigua.

The Casa Santo Domingo spa is set on the edge of the hotel property, away from the hustle and bustle of the museums, conference room, restaurants and checkin area.  The spa is further is adults only (YAY!) and largely open air with stunning volcano views (when the sky is clear!).

The spa’s main feature is its perfectly heated pool, which is about 3 feet in depth with a small waterfall feather and never felt too busy. One side of the pool is occupied by the spa’s open air restaurant (which we didn’t use). Another side of the pool is occupied by the spa’s hot tubs (keep reading) and the remainder of the spa is comprised of wooden lounge chairs, various treatment tents and beautiful flowers and plants.

Of course, the spa offers mens’ and women’s sauna and steam rooms, as well as locker and relaxation rooms and lots of lounging options. It is also decorated with quirky art that is part whimsical, part odd.

As mentioned, my favorite part of the spa – two very hot indoor hot tubs – are located in cave-like rooms behind the heated pool. Honestly, these were absolutely fantastic, especially when it rained for a few minutes each day. Cold towels are offered to guests entering the hot tubs rooms due to the heat (highly recommend – the hot tubs are also a but slippery, take caution).

The spa is open from 9 AM – 9 PM, and the hours are enforced. All guests in the lounge also wear the hotel’s robe and provided slippers over a bathing suit. While we did not use the spa restaurant, staff delivered drinks from the restaurant to guests lounging at the spa, and there are also self-serve complimentary water, coffee and chocolate for guests at the spa.

THE SPA ROOMS AT HOTEL CASA SANTO DOMINGO

Of the hotels 150ish rooms, only 26 are Spa Room, and each Spa Room is unique and adjacent to the actual spa. Indeed, every spa room has a back door opening directly to the spa, meaning spa guests can visit at opening or closing and not have to do anything except walk out of the door. This was pretty incredible! These spa rooms are also located in a secluded part of Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, accessible only to those with spa room keys. This made for a quiet stay, seemingly in a different hotel from the busy main area of Hotel Casa Santo Domingo.

We stayed in Room 144 on the first floor of the spa area. Each room is different, as the rooms are carved out of the old convent. Our room was spacious and included a working fire place (which we used), a little patio area inside the spa with a table and chairs and a full bathroom complete with tiles painted by local artisans. Surprising to us, however, our room had two full beds in lieu of 1 King or Queen bed. I reviewed my booking to confirm that this was wrong, but its clearly stated that in “spa rooms”, 1 v. 2 bed rooms cannot be guaranteed, FYI.  In any case, this was fine.

Our room included pretty decent wifi, a pricey minibar for pay and, for spa rooms only, complimentary coffee and sweets every afternoon in the common spa area.

OTHER AMENITIES AT HOTEL CASA SANTO DOMINGO

Aside from the spa facilities, Hotel Casa Santo Domingo offers numerous amenities, none of which we really used. The spa kept us plenty busy! First, there is a nice pool at the hotel. It was crowded with families when we visited, but it was large and looked very nice. Second, the hotel is home to allegedly 6 museums. Honestly, most of these are small rooms featuring either artifacts from the original convent or modern art from local artists. This was interesting, but we didn’t have enough time to explore all of the museums. Finally, the hotel is home to a bar and at least one restaurant (and possibly more). There are also numerous other touristy-friendly features here, such as a conference center (there was an avocado conference when we visited), an ATM, plenty of public space and cool photo opportunities at every corner. I would point out that while only spa guests can utilize the spa facilities, spa guests can use all of the hotel facilities.

PRACTICAL TIPS FOR STAYING AT HOTEL CASA SANTO DOMINGO

1. Hotel Casa Santo Domingo is a large, touristy hotel. Check in and check out hours are crazy busy. And no, you will most likely not be able to check in early or check out late without paying extra.
2. There is a working ATM in the hotel. It is located next to the front desk.
3. “Guides” offering tours of Antigua and the surrounding area hang out outside the hotel’s entrance on Calle Oriente and try to sell tours to hotel guests. They were pretty pushy and the hotel security guard did nothing about it. Know that this is not a hotel service and you do not need a guide to get around Antigua.
4. There are a lot of families and a lot of children at this hotel.
5. There are also a lot of conferences and events (like weddings, etc.) at Hotel Casa Santo Domingo.
6. If you are not staying at Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, you can still walk around and see it, as well as its art, for free.
7. Food and drink at Hotel Casa Santo Domingo are pricey compared to Antigua generally.
8. There are many food and beverage options within walking distance of Hotel Casa Santo Domingo. Antigua is safe, so you shouldn’t feel that you need to stick to the hotel.
9. Given the cost of the hotel, you will see a lot of foreigners staying here.
10. Again, pay particular attention to the type of room you are booking. There are numerous ones and it is confusing. Finally, book via the hotel’s website directly for the best price (and often a 5% discount!).

STEAL OUR TRIP

Hotel Casa Santo Domingo: 3a Calle Oriente 28 A, Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala.