16 Best Hotels in Western Honduras, Honduras

You are several blocks from the center of town here. That can be an advantage—peace and quiet—or a disadvantage, depending on your needs, but we lead toward the former. Rooms occupy several buildings behind the owners' house. The original ones are smaller; the newer ones span a portion of the hillside and are larger with exposed-beam ceilings. All have one full or two single beds and white walls. Take breakfast out on the patio, with terrific views of the valley—you can see as far away as neighboring Guatemala—and luxuriate there in the all-day supply of coffee. Not that anything too stressful ever goes on in Copán Ruinas, but an on-site massage pavilion is here to knead your cares away. The owners rent a few houses on the same street, too.

On the west shore of Lago Yojoa, D&D is a favorite stop for many visitors to the lake; rooms in the main lodge are basic but have private baths and hot water. Private cabins are scattered around the grounds and provide much more seclusion than the rooms. The brewery makes its own beer and sodas—try a Lenca Gold Pale Ale or a vanilla cream soda. Meals are tasty and economical. The folks here also offer tours to various attractions around the lake, such as bird-watching, visiting the waterfalls at Puhlupanzak, and hiking the national park Cerro Azul Meámbar.

In a century-old hacienda, this country inn is one of the most charming lodgings in the area. Flavia Cueva's tender care shows in all the details, from the carefully crafted wooden furniture in the simple but elegant rooms to the hammocks swinging from the porch outside. The restaurant, near the delightful old stove, serves steaming tamales, tasty adobo sauce, and aromatic coffee. Take a walk to Los Sapos, a Mayan archaeological site where huge stones were carved into the shape of frogs, or go horseback riding through the cool Copán Valley. A nonguest day pass to use the facilities is L40.

A bit out of the way from the city center is this very modern offering. The public areas and restaurant are glitzy in a resortlike way and seem a little out of place in Santa Rosa. Rooms are very plain with beds, tables, and chairs and little else. It's a good, solid option.

Though not Comayagua's largest lodging, the Casa Grande is its best offering, and the rates are terrific for what you get. This colonial-era house has been converted into a cozy bed-and-breakfast with stone walls, hand-painted tiles, wood floors, and lots of sumptuous carved-wood furniture.

Enjoy a glass of timoshenko, a fruity spirit flavored with cloves, at the rooftop bar of this colonial-style hotel. By far the best lodging in town, it has a beautiful patio and smart lobby. Comfortable rooms have cozy beds and modern baths. The restaurant is good but a little overpriced.

They are a little spare, but clean rooms at Hotel Erick have a few niceties like cable TV. The friendly owners will let you store your gear here while you explore Parque Nacional Celaque.

A hub of activity, this clean and comfortable hotel is a good in-town option. The restaurant ($) doles out plentiful portions of platos típicos (typical dishes), heaping helpings of poultry, and huge bowls of hot vegetable soup. To escape from the midday heat, sip fresh juices made from local berries on the shady balcony overlooking the town. Owner Frony Miedama can set up trips to Parque Nacional Celaque and rents a cabin there called the Cabaña Villa Verde.

This delightful hotel has splendid views from the pretty rooftop pool. You can feel your tensions fade as you step into the elegant lobby. If you have business needs, there is an executive floor with computer connections.

After entering through an attractive wooden lobby, you'll be escorted to one of the rooms surrounding a pleasant garden scattered with rocking chairs. The restaurant serves basic food.

Set on a coffee and orange plantation, this flower-strewn hotel makes a perfect lakeside retreat. The picturesque bridge leading to an airy pavilion is great for bird-watching, and the catamaran trips on the lake are sublime. From the private balcony of your cabin, you can watch horses and their foals trot around. Cabins have two or three bedrooms and are ideal for families. Weekends tend to fill up, so reserve ahead.

Orange dominates, outside and in, at this newish lodging several blocks west of Parque Central on a side street right behind the Crowne Plaza. Rooms are decorated with Honduran art and contain comfortable beds, flat-screen TVs, small desks, and tons of closet space. The three fully equipped suites include small patios.

One of the highlands' loveliest hotels evokes Gracias's pre-independence heyday as the seat of the Audencia, but the building itself is only about a decade old and lovingly constructed in accurate colonial style. Rooms contain hardwood furniture, high-beamed ceilings, and flat-screen TVs.

If you want to relax with a gin and tonic as you gaze at Lago de Yojoa, this is the place. Charming expat Richard Joint evokes all things British and is a wealth of information about the area. From your gleaming-white cabin, you can wander down to look at the boats in the marina. Inquire about the casa de campo (country house) on the far side of the lake. Sleeping eight, it's great for longer stays.

A charming 18th-century house with a horse-drawn carriage in the entranceway houses a pleasant inn. Rooms here are an odd mix: some ooze colonial luxury, with hand-carved furniture, others are quite plain. (There is a price difference between the two, but the extra splurge is worth it.) Ask to see a couple before you decide.

You'd walk right by this place if you didn't know it was a hotel. The entry to this colonial-style building is arranged like a cobblestone street lined with a café and three upscale souvenir shops. The second floor housed a scant four rooms arranged around a second-floor patio. The comfy rooms contain tiled floors, dark-wood furniture, and wrought-iron accents. Two of the rooms face a busy street, but all windows here are soundproofed, so there's no street noise.