Santa Leticia Hotel - Apaneca, El Salvador

Imagine an idyllic hotel on the high plains of Apaneca, El Salvador, surrounded by plantations growing award-winning, organic, gourmet coffee. This describes Finca and Hotel Santa Leticia.

Santa Leticia is not only in the business of growing coffee, but has entered the ever-popular category of "Eco-tourism," a category that is desperately needed in a country where forests have fast disappeared. Preserving even if only a few hundred hectares at a time, is like a blood-transfusion to a little country in Central America that suffers from severe deforestation. The coffee-plantations/eco-hotels are all the rage in El Salvador. This type of industry is just what could return the highlands to their former beauty and lushness.

This magical and peaceful little plantation is located only one and a half hours from the capital city of San Salvador. Santa Leticia is found in the nearly mile-high mountains of Ahuachapan, not too far from the border of Honduras.

On a previous trip to El Salvador, my friend gave me a couple of bags of Santa Leticia coffee to take back with me to Houston. As an avid coffee drinker, I found this coffee delicious and with a distinctive flavor. The coffee packaging is quite colorful and a bit of the farm's history has been printed on the back of package. Their website is provided, and after viewing their website I knew I wanted to visit this "Finca". On my recent trip in 2009, we stayed at this hotel for two days, one night.

A Little History

In the late 1870's, General Francisco Menendez, a person of distinction (as most land owners are in Latin America), played an enormously important role in the history of El Salvador's educational system. As a wealthy individual, he purchased several hundreds hectares in this region, and this purchase went on to become Finca Santa Leticia. "Finca" is another word for "a large farm or ranch" in Spanish-speaking America

In 1886, General Francisco Menendez became the president of El Salvador, and although this has no bearing on the history of this Finca, the General had a daughter named Leticia, in whose honor, the farm was named after.

According to historians, the entire region of Apaneca has always had a mysterious aura about it, perhaps because the Mayans, and later on the Pipiles, were known to inhabit these lands and constructed many ceremonial/religious centers. Whatever the reason, the area has been amply blessed by nature (or by the gods they implored), as the soil is rich and fertile. In fact, the soil of the area is known to be one of the best mediums for growing coffee in Central America. Could it be that the native Indians were on to the secret, way before the white man figured it out?

Not only does the region produce excellent coffee, but the lush, native vegetation that surrounds the coffee plantations attract hundreds of local and migratory birds, as well as rare butterflies, and the Santa Leticia farm is no exception.

Hotel Santa Leticia

This hotel benefits from the peaceful and lush surroundings of Finca Santa Leticia. Not large, by any means, the resort offers two separate types of accommodations:

~ Hotel-type rooms are located in two annexed pavilions facing a large swimming pool, and are more suited for families.

~ On the opposite end of the property you'll find three more private pavilions. Each pavilion offers two independent bedrooms. A small, heated swimming pool faces these rooms, and the pool is for adults only. Individual villas are now offered (which were under construction when we visited).

The restaurant/bar and convention rooms (small-scale) are situated in the center of the hotel property. I noted that all edifices are made out of wood, in the fashion of a log cabin, and in the dire circumstances of deforestation faced by El Salvador, I found this to be upsetting, but the hotel manager assured me the wood is from a pine tree that grows very fast in the area and is not indigenous to Apaneca.

He said that native trees were not harmed when building this hotel. Aapparently, I'm not the only person who has commented on this because the manager smiled as if he has tackled this comment many, many times before.

Our Rooms

We stayed in the adult-only pavilion, and since we had two rooms, we had the entire pavilion to ourselves; I shared a double-room with my friend. The rooms are a visual delight: the walls are made of adobe, which have been smoothed and painted in cheerful colors. There is a high ceiling made out of wood, and the beams are exposed.

The wrought-iron bed with wood-beams frames and rustic-style furniture add to the old-world "hacienda" look, without sacrificing comfort.

Colorful plaid-cotton bedspreads grace the bed. The linens are white, crisply ironed and smell fresh. The pillows are completely flat, a big pet-peeve of mine, but each bed had two pillows, so at least I was able to double them up.

Craftsmen from the area have weaved the small rugs found throughout the room, and there are beautiful paintings on the walls depicting scenes in the rural village of Apaneca, or the coffee plantation.

The bathroom size is adequate, with a large shower area, and a large sink. There is a nice little sign reminding guests to conserve water, and I felt guilty about taking a long-shower, stopping the water flow while I shampooed my hair, or scrubbed myself.

The room had no air-conditioning, but there was a ceiling fan. Since the farm is on a higher elevation, I can't imagine needing an air-conditioner; the night was indeed cool.

The bathroom and room are kept immaculately clean, and basic toiletries are provided.

Night Life on the Farm

The nearest town is about five miles away, and the roads are dark and devoid of traffic at night. Not wanting to venture out to the next town at night and get lost on the way back, we decided to stay in for the evening and eat at the hotel's restaurant. At the hotel, once the sun goes down, there isn't much to do except hang out on the hammock outside the rooms, but the mosquitoes and gnats do make their appearance rather quickly. So our next alternative was to watch TV in the room (cable TV is available), or go to the restaurant bar and socialize with other guests; we opted for the second option.

The Restaurant/bar

Reminiscent of a log cabin, the building is cozy and well-appointed. The menu selection is varied, and the prices reasonable, although not cheap, as one would expect in El Salvador. Average price per person, for lunch was about $12, and dinner about $20.00, excluding beverages and gratuities. The quality of the food was nice, although not out-of-this world.

The staff at the restaurant was very attentive and polite. After our meals we sat down at the bar and listened to their "marimba" ensemble. At the coffee bar, they make a wonderful cup of coffee, whether espresso, or American-style.

Breakfast is included with the room rate, and is served at the restaurant. The fare is the "typical" El Salvadorian breakfast consisting of eggs prepared any way you want them, refried beans, plantains, a piece of cheese, bread, juice, and unlimited coffee.

Overall Service and Grounds Maintenance

Both pools look sparkling clean, although it was kind of cold to use them. The hotel grounds and gardens are well kept, and all public toilets are also very clean.

The staff is extremely friendly, and has been well-trained. The bulk of the overnight guests are small tour groups traveling throughout Central America. When we were there, there was a Swiss group of about 12 people staying at the property. They were having a blast!

Reservations

It's a good thing we started our reservation process a few months in advance. Their website has an "enquiry" form, which I filled out and never heard from them. A few weeks later, I sent an email to the address provided, and we never received a reply. Finally, fed up, I called the telephone number provided on their website; I told the person answering the phone about the unanswered emails, and all she said to me was, "I'll tell my boss about it." My advice is, if you want to stay at this hotel, spend a couple of dollars on a long-distance call! A reservation was made on the spot and we secured two double-rooms, including breakfast for two. Cost: $75, per room, per night, inclusive of taxes.

Tour Services- for a fee

This information was taken from their website. We only participated in the Coffee Tour, and would have loved to take a few more tours as they seem terrific, but we were only there for two days, one night.

Coffee and Archaeology Tour

• Archaeology Tour
• Archaeological Visit
• Bird Tour
• Coffee Tour (we took this tour and it was very rewarding and educational.)
• Horse Back Riding Tour
• Deep Sea Fishing Tour **
• Canopy Tour *

*The group is taken to El Imposible National Park and I was told it was an 8 hour trip.

**The group is taken to the sea-side, which is about 1.5 hours each way. Allow all day for this tour.

The Coffee Plantation Tour (Tour de Café) ~ highly educational

The second day of our stay, on a sunny, but chilly morning, we embarked on a very informative and enjoyable four-hour tour of Finca Santa Leticia. We never expected to learn so much about coffee shrubs, coffee growing, coffee production, agro-forestry, etc.

Our young guide spoke nearly perfect English and he knew everything there is to know about growing and producing gourmet coffee. He proudly stated that his grandfather and father were born at this farm, and he had gone to school to become an agronomist and had learned how to grow a better coffee bean! What a marvelous way to spend four hours.

Santa Leticia Coffees

Santa Leticia produces "Designer" coffee, also known as "Gourmet, High Altitude" coffee. Apparently the plantation is not as large as it once was, but on 230 acres, Santa Leticia produces two varieties of "shade coffee" ~ Bourbon and Pacamara.

Bourbon is considered an old-world cultivar, originally cultivated on the island of Bourbon (now Reunion, East Africa). Bourbon is well-suited for the tropical climate of Central America and produces a well-balanced (taste and aroma) cup of coffee.

Pacamara is a derivative of Bourbon coffee and is considered a varietal. The Pacamara coffee is a hybrid created in El Salvador out of two coffee varieties, the "Pacas" and the "Magaropipe". The Pacamara produces a more robust bean, and we were shown the differences between the Bourbon bush and Pacamaras bush, and their corresponding seeds (or beans).

Coffee is a perennial shrub originally from Africa and Southern Asia that has well-adapted to the tropical Americas. The shrub starts bearing fruit (the coffee beans) after four years, and at Santa Leticia there are several hectares with 40 year-old shrubs.

The Business of Agro-forestry - Why Organic Coffee?

Organic coffee must be grown under complete or partial shade created by several plant species, such as orange, lemons, plantain, avocado, mango, and other precious-woods trees. The vegetation that surrounds the coffee shrubs creates a more complex environment that supports a wider variety of local and migratory birds, beneficial insects, and other animals. Agro-forests are essential to the preservation and improvement of the land, and in a country suffering from deforestation; coffee plantations such as Santa Leticia are doing their part to improve the environment in El Salvador.

All the
I've never thought I would be interested "eco-tourism", but our visit to this type of lodge situated inside a working coffee plantation was highly rewarding and educational. The choices for eco-hotels in rural El Salvador continue to grow, but Santa Leticia was the first coffee plantation to offer accommodations in a farm-setting. Santa Leticia has captured the attention of "off-the-beaten path" travelers, and they are coming, typcally in groups. I do hope visitors enjoy the beauty of the area, but I also hope not too many tourists flood the area and ruin a good thing!

Santa Leticia Hotel

Address: Kilometro 86.5 carretera de Sonsonate hacia Apaneca

Ahuachapán, El Salvador, Central América

Phone: (503) 2433-0357
Fax: (503) 2433-0351

E-Mail: santaleticia@coffee.com.sv

http://www.hotelsantaleticia.com/english/index.html workers