We normally use a few different resources when booking accommodation & check all of them before making a decision on where we are going to stay.
For us, as a couple, we find that it can sometimes be much better value to book private accommodation through Airbnb when you weigh up everything that will be included than compared to staying in, for example, a budget hostel.
There are some really unique experiences available through Airbnb & when we chose a tree house close to the village of San Pedro La Laguna on Lake Atitlan we were not disappointed with our choice.
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Lake Atitlan Airbnb – A Real Tree House!
When we arrived at The Tree House at Casa Motmot I for one felt like a kid at Christmas, in fact we were both absolutely completely blown away by the place! There was a full-sized living area with a huge tree growing right through the middle of it, it was just magical.
The tree house came with a double bed, a sofa & a kitchen area. A balcony to chill on & enjoy the beautiful jungle garden & views of the lake. Just below we had our own bathroom facilities, a hammock, outdoor seating & our very own wood burner to cook over & warm us up on the chilly lake evenings.
The Tree House at Casa Motmot is owned by an American couple, Anne & Joe, who have packed up their lives back in the US to fulfil their dream of eco-living in Guatemala. They made us feel so welcome & gave us a full tour of the place explaining exactly how they’d built everything & the rules we should follow to keep everything eco-friendly.
Casa Motmot
For us the location of The Tree house at Casa Motmot was perfect, it was a 30 minute walk or 5 min tuk tuk ride form the village of San Pedro La Laguna, close enough to get to the hustle & bustle if we wanted it but far enough away to enjoy complete peace & tranquillity.
Most of our mornings were spent lazing around, drinking Guatemalan coffee & eating big breakfasts & our afternoons wandering into town or in another direction to nothing but views, small farmhouses & friendly locals, it was great!
Kittens For Company
Having grown up with dogs neither of us have ever been cat people but Anne & Joe had just adopted 3 very inquisitive & playful kittens that we just couldn’t resist.
The rule was they were not allowed in the tree house so we tried to restricted them to the balcony area. All they wanted to do was play & seemed to have so much fun running over the tree house, through the big trees & chasing any mice & other little critters away, they were very entertaining & so cute to watch that we both came away converted cat lovers!
The Garden
Being surrounded by all kinds of beautiful trees meant that there were also all kinds of beautiful birds. The house just down the hill from us was named hummingbird heaven & for good reason, there were hummingbirds dotting in & out of the garden daily as well as numerous other birds.
Anne & Joe were very proud of their garden & everything they had planted in it, they took great pride in showing us what everything was. We really enjoyed learning about it all & loved that they let us pick fresh herbs to cook along with the vegetables we had bought at the local market.
Extended Stay
We loved The Tree house at Casa Motmot so much that we extended our stay, twice! We couldn’t resist it. We had everything we needed in such a relaxed setting & figured we had the time so why not?!
We both always say that the beauty of travelling with no solid schedule is that you can change your plans if you so wish, if you don’t like a place you can leave & if it turns out that you love it you can stay a while longer. In this case our while longer turned into 10 days in total & we loved every second of it. This was the perfect Airbnb on Lake Atitlan!
Why We’d Recommend
We used feel that as you don’t spend much time at your accommodation it’s not that important. Since staying at a few pretty cool places & realising that the accommodation if chosen well is an experience in itself we have started to think a little differently.
As children we had both dreamed of having a tree house & here we were in our 30’s staying in one on the mystical Lake Atitlan, it was a magical experience & one that we shall never forget!
What It Cost
Our 10 day stay cost a total of £187 which included our own private accommodation & a basic breakfast of granola, eggs & fresh coffee. Anne also left us basic cooking ingredients like oil, salt & pepper & even pigeon peas from their garden that we found really useful.
Overall we found the whole stay excellent value for money, especially when we compared in to the cost of a dorm room at a hostel in San Pedro itself.
What Else
When we did manage to pull ourselves away we did a ton of other cool stuff around Lake Atitlan and San Pedro La Laguna including hiking, kayaking & visiting a chocolate shaman – subscribe to our blog at the bottom of this page to receive updates on more posts from us which will follow soon.
San Pedro La Laguna Airbnb – Other Options
As well as the Tree house Casa Motmot now has two more options on their grounds to stay, both as spectacular as each other overlooking Lake Atitlan –
The Lookout at Casa Motmot
The Vista at Casa Motmot
New to Airbnb? Here is £33 / to your first trip! Just follow this Airbnb link and sign up.
Happy Adventuring!
Kelly & Adam x
Sounds amazing! We are huge fans of Air BnB as well. A great choice for couples. And a treehouse?! Seriously, sign us up!! 🙂
Us too, it’s great way to find unique accommodation options & the treehouse was just amazing!! We are hoping to find one when we go to Colombia too so will keep you posted ????