Thank you for choosing to visit Villa Sumaya. We are ready to welcome you to our little piece of paradise once again! The safety of all our guests and staff is our top priority. For this reason, we have developed comprehensive COVID-19 protocols. Each department has worked hard to provide you with the very best service.

Please help us ensure your safety by observing all our COVID-19 protocol precautions.  We hope your retreat adventure is a transformative and revitalizing experience.

Arrival

If you are arriving through an International Airport or traveling through an International Border Crossing to Guatemala, you will no longer need a COVID-19 test or vaccination card. 

We recommend COVID-19 Antigen self-test or home kits (Walmart and Amazon sell these $19.95 for 2 tests).  These kits are also useful for additional testing during your stay. Please consider bringing extra testing kits as donations for our center. 

We also ask guests to be mindful of employing their best Covid Protocol in the week prior to their trip to Villa Sumaya, in order to stay extra safe. 

For our pre-booked guests, all check-in formalities will be completed online in order to reduce staff contact and time spent at reception.  Please complete our Guest registration in advance of your arrival.

We recommend that you purchase travel insurance.  Trawick International has been recommended by other retreat organizers in our community. We recommend that group leaders call the office to get the info directly to ensure they are covering more than just a typical trip. It also works for students. Note: you must select the optional add-on called “Cancel for Any Reason” that is available on the Safe Traveler’s First Class and the Voyager’s plans.

Transportation 

For everyone’s safety, we request that you use our pre-approved drivers service with Kan Tours. They will arrange shuttles based upon the latest COVID occupancy restrictions. They will also ensure that the boat trip segment of your arrival will be equally well-organized and safe.

There are medical centers in two neighboring towns in the event that one needs emergency medical attention: Hospital Panamed, Tel 77620324 /  42242648 Centro Medico San Francisco, Tel 77620352 

Hand Sanitizer: We ask guests to use hand sanitizer upon arrival.  There will be hand sanitizer in all the public areas.

Check-in

Registration: We kindly ask our guests to register in advance.   This will help to lessen time and crowds in our courtyard.  Please complete our Guest registration in advance of your arrival.

Payment Options:  We prefer debit or credit cards to cash at this time.  We also accept PayPal and Zelle transfers.  (Processing fees are 5% for card payments and 3.8% with PayPal.)

Room keys: All keys will be disinfected before being given to the guests.  Guests will be responsible for their keys during the entire stay.  We require a $10 or 100q returnable key deposit be left with the managers at the front desk.

During Your Stay

Common Areas 

The number of cleanings in the common areas has increased. 

Hand sanitizer: We have hand sanitizer available throughout the hotel’s common areas for both guests and staff.

Sanitizing:  frequently touched surfaces are disinfected regularly, e.g. tables and chairs, door handles, light switches, bathroom faucets and handles, telephones, keyboard, hot water kettle, etc.

Meal Time 

Waiters and Kitchen staff: Our staff will wear masks and have heightened kitchen sanitation standards.

Guests safety:  We encourage guests to apply hand sanitizer before and after meals and in the event they contact commonly used touch points in the dining area.  For example: coffee urns, electric kettle, etc. 

Guest Rooms

 We offer guests 3 cleaning options 

• • You can elect to keep your room an “off limits space,” and we will provide cleaning supplies so you are able to tidy up your room during your stay. Just be sure to indicate this by turning your housekeeping door hang tag to the appropriate side: yes – clean my room / no – do not clean my room. 
  • Our staff can do a thorough cleaning mid-way through your visit.
  • Our staff can provide regular daily cleaning services.

Please note that when our staff is cleaning your room it must be unoccupied.

Before You Arrive: Our housekeepers follow a 5-step ventilation, sanitation and cleaning protocol to ensure each room is a safe space. 

• • Ventilation: All doors and windows will be opened to be sure the room has been thoroughly aired out.
  • Sanitizing: A water/bleach solution will be sprayed on all high-touch areas.  We allow this spray to dry, and it kills germs.
  • Cleaning and Disinfection: We thoroughly wipe down and disinfect (for a second time) the entire room along with our normal cleaning and dusting procedures.
  • After the first three sanitation steps, beds are made with clean linens and fresh towels are placed in the bathroom. Our housekeeping staff makes up the rooms once per week.
  • Our linens are washed with disinfecting detergent and hung in the sun to avoid no cross-contamination. 
  • Sweeping/Mopping: The floors are cleaned with a disinfectant.
  • Stocking the Room: Toilet paper, tissue and water will be restocked.
  • Once the room has been processed, we do not re-enter until cleaning is required if guests choose to opt out of our cleaning routine or to clean the room themselves. Otherwise, the ladies will clean your room each day.

Please note: Our housekeepers wash their hands between each step and use a clean cloth for each step.

Our Staff

All of our local hotel staff have completed the 2-dose vaccination as of September 2021.

Most of our spa practitioners giving hands-on sessions have been vaccinated and are taking personal protection precautions. 

Our ceremony and yoga teachers who are not vaccinated are taking precautions and working with socially-distanced, outside ceremonies. 

Our tour guides have been vaccinated and will take personal and group safety and health precautions.  

Please check with us directly about individual practitioners’ COVID-safe policies.

Any employee suffering from sore throat, dry cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, vomiting and / or diarrhea will be asked to go home and not return to our center until they are cleared by the health clinic.

COVID-19  Precautions: Our staff has been instructed to wash hands frequently and remain 6 feet from our guests when possible.

COVID-19 Procedures: Each department has been re-trained how to do their jobs based on current pandemic safety regulations.

Kitchen 

Sanitation: Our kitchen will be cleaned at regular intervals along with our COVID protocols. 

Disinfection of food equipment, utensils and tools: We continue to clean and disinfect key high-touch points, e.g. food equipment and food contact surfaces including chopping boards.

PPE: All our staff wear masks. 

Vegetable and fruits sanitation:, we ensure proper cleaning of vegetables using approved sanitizing agents.

Studio Spaces

We honor our groups’ ability to sensibly determine proper social distancing and mask protocol within the studio space. We offer some guidelines and recommendations based on our experience at Villa Sumaya.

All of our studio spaces are well-ventilated. We encourage group leaders and students  to open the large sliding glass doors in Tiger Temple, as well as the sliding windows in the Tara Temple on the upper pane.  Please maintain maximum ventilation during practice times or consider a nature practice on the lawns. 

We also have two new open-air platforms for body movement, relaxation and ceremonial practices. 

Each guest can choose a yoga mat, blocks, strap and eye pillow which they will use for the entire week.  We will have masking tape available for you to write your name on each prop.  We suggest that you leave your props on the bench in individual piles instead of restacking the props.   We will have disinfectant and rags available for individuals to wipe down their equipment.  We fully sanitize props between retreats.

Be sure that mats are staggered, 6 feet from one another.   If you have a large group, you may want to consider two ongoing training sessions using one of our available temple/studio spaces.  We also have a new 5 x 7 meter sunning/yoga platform for sunrise and sunset yoga practices, preferably when the sun is low. Ask us if you need help figuring out how you would like to set up your practice times.

We clean the studio floor once a day. We will also clean all the high touch areas. (double cleaning =  1 alcohol solution and 2 disinfectants).

We will have a mop and disinfectant available for you as well  if you would like to clean more often. We encourage students to perform “karma yoga” or simple acts of service during retreat.  Cleaning the temple space is an ideal task for deepening devotion and building presence. 

We will clean the bathrooms twice during the day. We provide hand sanitizer throughout the center. 

Laundry 

Laundry:  In the event this service is needed, our housekeepers will wash their hands before folding clothing and place clothing in a plastic bag to avoid contamination.

Spa Services 

Spa: Harmony Spa has been serving Sumaya for 30 years.   Our many gifted practitioners would love to offer their services to you. 

Each of our services, activities, ceremonies, ritual, apothecary and tours will have its own set of safety precautions.  We are continually evolving and building upon our knowledge of how to keep everyone safe.  We will disclose more information at the time of the event.

Boutique

Spirit Dog Boutique: Our boutique will be open. We will also clean the store more frequently.

Covid Testing Before You Leave

Please see your home country and airline requirements for testing before your return flight.  

We ask that you bring home Covid tests so you may test as frequently as necessary to feel secure that you are negative. 

Local providers :

• Provider: Laboratorio Atitlab, Madga +502 3353-9216 (Spanish only)
• Final Calle Santander 5-38

COVID-19 Testing Locations in Guatemala City

• Blue Medical Clinic (+502 2300-4000)
  • Avenida Las Americas 17-78, Guatemala City 01013
  • PCR: Q645 / 6 hours to get tests back, receive results by email
  • Antigen Q295 /1 hour to get tests back, receive results by email

They can make space for 30 people – make appointments ahead of time. 

• Hospital Angeles (+502 2505-8100)
  • 2 avenida 14-74 Zona 1, Guatemala City
  • Antígen Q325, 2 hours to get tests back
  • PCR Q950, 2 hours to get tests back
  • PCR Respiratory Panel Q1,990, 12 hours to get tests back
  • Sars-Cov-2.1 Entrega de resultados 3 horas 

Online appointment scheduling: www.hospitalangeles.com.gt

We suggest that all guests get travel insurance before traveling. We can not speed up or otherwise manipulate the length of your quarantine: https://www.trawickinternational.com/products/safe-travels-voyager. 

Note to Guests

It takes all of us to ensure that guests and staff remain as safe as possible.  We ask you to put special attention to helping keep fellow guests and our hotel employees free from the virus. 

We can’t do it alone.  Thank you in advance for making this experience a win-win for yourself and our community at Villa Sumaya.