This was a lovely place, very atmospheric in its setting amongst lots of 'jungle', with well-appointed stone cottages which make it a bit different from the usual.

The cottages were kept clean, lots of insects around generally but that's just the jungle for you. No tv in ours, we didn't want one as we were trying to escape the outside world, but there should have been one there.

Food was generally good, though we were not on a buffet package and think the a la carte might have been a bit better. Staff generally good, though struggled to catch their attention in the bar sometimes, and had one receptionist who tried to make me pay on the spot for my cleaning, as I hadn't left a credit card when I checked in (would happily have done so if they'd asked), despite me already having charged numerous meals - but he was overruled by someone more experienced.

These were minor complaints, though, and overall we had a lovely time in our couple of days here.

I had read so much about Palenque and knew that the best place to stay was Chan Kah. How disappointed we were. On arrival we were shown a room that smelt damp but the staff assured us that as soon as we turned on the air con it would pass, I wish I had never beleived that. We lit candles, turned air con on, sprayed perfume but I did not get one minute of sleep - every inward breath smelt damp and fusty. The next morning we had to abandon our trip to the ruins as I was so tired - we spoke to Reception and they showed us a further 4 rooms - every one of them smelt. Not surprising as the floors are concrete and the cleaning staff hose them down with water and then lock the doors. Also, all the lights are white fluorescents!! The curtains and bedspreads were orange circa 1973! Chan Kah was probably very nice in its heydey but basically it needs a whole lot of updating. There are not many decent hotels in Palenque but we saw Villa Mercedes being built and we would advise that one. Meanwhile we stayed in the Best Western for the next 2 nights - sad really as we had wanted somewhere a little more atmospheric.

We enjoyed our two-night stay at Chan-Kah in March 2008. We thought the grounds were lovely and the bungalows comfortable (even if they haven’t been redecorated since the year I was born). We had plenty of hot water, the air conditioning worked great (which was heaven given how hot it was outside), and while we didn’t use it…the pool was beautiful. I’m sure that kids would love it! We ate at the restaurant several times, and were pleasantly surprised by the service and food. The waiter our first night there actually asked the kitchen to make us some salsa verde when we asked for some (not knowing that they’d have to make it just for us). The restaurant is open air, so don’t forget the bug spray.

We paid around $140/night, which I personally thought was a bit steep. Nonetheless, we’d stay there again if we ever go back.

* Tip for those driving to the hotel from Villahermosa (from someone who gets lost a mile from her house): as you’re heading south through the town of Palenque, you’ll go through a roundabout with some kind of large statue in the middle. Soon after this… veer to the right following signs for the Palenque ruins. If you hit a Pemex on the right-hand side, you’ve gone too far.

* Palenque opens at 8am. We arrived at 10am b/c that’s when Frommers said it opened… the heat and crowds definitely took away from the experience.

ask for a bungalow on the river and you can watch the howler monkeys climbing in the trees. they have very nice bungalows and the food is delicious.