Hacienda Guachipelín

Hacienda Guachipelín Review

One of the best values in the Rincón area for hair-raising adventure and nature tours, this hotel also gets top billing for its comfortable rooms, excellent restaurant, and friendly service. The 1,500-hectare (3,706-acre) working ranch is famous for its horses—more than 100 of them. Rugged ranch hands swagger around, giving the place a real cowboy flavor. Guachipelín is also famous for its wildlife and the nature trails that wind throughout this vast, partially forested property; they lead to several scenic waterfalls, hot springs, and mud baths. Older rooms are comfortable and homey, with screened windows to let in cool mountain air. Try to get a room between 32 and 39, all of which have volcano views from their front terrace. The newer rooms, numbers 32 and up, are larger and very elegantly furnished, arranged around a garden with towering trees and a gaggle of guard geese. They also have air-conditioning but you rarely need it here. Avoid Rooms 24 to 31, right beside the corral, unless you enjoy the aroma of horses. Hearty buffet and à la carte meals feature authentic touches, such as hand-rolled breakfast tortillas made on the spot, and beef and dairy products fresh from the hacienda's own herd. The pleasant open-air restaurant has valley views by day and a marimba band plays softly at dinner. The hotel's spa offers an array of treatments, from mud wraps to massages.