Great activities but fully research the ‘hotels' chosen for you or you’ll regret it
Ecuador
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Jun 9 - Jun 16, 2023
We had a thoroughly enjoyable trip. The activities, Mountain Bike riding, zip lining, hiking up the Cotopaxi Volcano and rafting were so much fun. Our guide was exceptional, very knowledgeable about his country, the various fauna and birds. Our unplanned visit to a chocolate factory was excellent. Christian Chalcualan made the trip for us. Nothing was too much trouble for him. The owner of the biking tour Eric, our Cotopaxi guide Luis and Ronnie the rafting and Kayaker were all top notch people.
Unfortunately the 1st 3 hotels were not up to a standard that we would wish on anybody. All 3 suffered from poor or not enough food. Location were either remote or in a dangerous area (the receptionists comment), all had hot water issues and one of them was in the middle of a road building site with deep mud on the access. To arrive at a hotel 5 miles from anywhere to be presented with a box room, awful food (boiled beef of some description), heating was a very noisy fan and heated blankets on the bed and no hot water was disgraceful: no signal to call our guide to get us out was annoying.
We’d had enough at this stage and after reviewing the next disaster in the middle of a noisy environment we paid over $200 to stop at a 4 star hotel. The final 3 hotels were outstanding just superb and everything we’d hoped for in the 1st place.
Overall a trip made memorable by our guide and mentor Christian. His tried to hide his embarrassment at our accommodation but it was obvious he was in a difficult position.
Hotel Reviews
Dangerous area, no facilities after hours. Mainly a hostel. A few drunks worn and tired.
Clean and comfortable accommodation. Inadequate hot water supply with very low pressure. No out of hours facilities. This hotel is in the middle of a road upgrade program. Access into and out of the hotel to the town was wading through mud and various building sites. Breakfast was very small and we asked for more bread. We got an extra croissant. We left went into town and stocked up.
Just no! 5 miles from anywhere. Food was appalling. lump of boiled beef of some description, polenta and lentils for our evening meal. Breakfast was adequate and plenty. Room was a box room. The suitcase was in the way so i put it in the hall. No heating except for a very noisy fan that was on all night and a heated under blanket. No hot water and no-one to complain too until the morning. More suited to a budget backpacker who just wants a mattress.
What a great place with many animals, birds and character. Staff were very attentive when needed. the room was comfortable and spacious.
Great staff (especially Jennyfer on reception) Outstanding food. To come out of your room and step into a hot spring 24/7 was amazing. Rooms were well appointed. Some great walks around the hotel and the spa treatments were fantastic
Location not brilliant but the on site facilities more than compensate for it. pools, spa various activities. Animals wandering the ground. it sits on a 40km bike route out the back of the hotel. Bikes for hire. Food was excellent and the rooms very well presented with tea and coffee making facilities. The staff were all very good and attentive.
Activity Reviews
Mad mad fun. The guide Ronnie was a real character. Level 4 & 5 rapids. Serious safety brief before we setup. The best new experience of the trip.
The 40km ride down the hills from the clouds, cold and mountain tops down to the rainforest was amazing. Eric the owner and his staff made us so welcome and ensured we also had some genuine Ecuadorian experiences in a local restaurant
Great fun. 10 rides over the rainforest
An amazing experience. We hiked from 3400m up to 5010m. the mountain guide was awesome. Knew his stuff, refused to let us push it and guided us at a pace he believe we should be comfortable at. Very hard work in the thin air. As an experience hiker and off piste skier this was probably one of the hardest things I have done. At 69 years old to reach 5010m to the glacier was a personal best for me. We arrived in the area to sunshine and volcano was there in all its glory. As we came to the end of the climb the volcano started to erupt smoke and ash but we were in no danger but it was an awesome sight.
I hope you are doing great!
First and foremost, I'd like to thank you for your feedback. I'll let the service providers know about it. It's important to know your thoughts on the trip because it helps us improve our recommendations for hotels and other aspects of the trip. However, please note that the accommodations weren't initially of a superior tourist standard because all of the hotels we made the decision to use are tourist hotels, and we always plan and organize the... Read more