Casa Gangotena — Hotel in Centro Histórico

The dining rooms of the Casa Gangotena are beautiful and the service was amazing. Everyone was courteous and attentive, making us feel very special. Josbert was fantastic, he explained to us how the brunch worked, how we could order anything we wanted off the menu, since due to the pandemic they did not have a buffet, but all the food was served at the table. Renata, a staff member in training, was very sweet and helpful, she had a very nice smile, well we could not see it behind the mask, but her eyes lit up every time she smiled. Andres was taking care of the entire room and he was very efficient and helpful as well. The service was white glove, changing silverware between courses and providing extra plates to discard cheese rinds & fruit peals, without being asked.

The food was very good, but not extraordinary. They did have five different UNLIMITED sangrias on the menu, two reds and three whites, we tried both Malbec & Shyra, and stuck to Malbec for the rest of the meal. I actually was searching for the brunch menu, but I could not find it online, so I took pictures of the Saturday offerings to help out others. We started off with fruit, a plate of sliced fruit & a plate of whole fruit that we really enjoyed. The cheese plate was great, it had a combination of local cheeses and brie, all of them tasted really good, especially the cheese with the green rind. We got a bowl of dried fruits and nuts, which we munched throughout the meal. The lattes they served were very good and the bread selection was very nice as well, we had some croissants, brioche & yuca bread. The breads were served with butter and what looked like homemade jams, red berries and citrus. We had some omelets made to order, they were very good, served with house made salsa. And their yogurt is actually excellent. They have a natural flavor, that they can supplement with red berries, which I believe is made in house. It was very smooth, not too sweet, just right consistency with bits of barriers inside. It was served in a glass bottle, very cute. To finish off our meal with some hot dishes, we got Seco de Pollo, which was really more like a chicken roulette, it was OK, a little rubbery, though rice was good; and the Pesca del Dia, which was a little dry, though I really liked the fried yuka that accompanied the fish. We also asked for a small portion of Ensalada de Remolacha, because I really wanted to try it but we were getting super full by that point. It was very similar to a Russian beet salad that we make at home, I enjoyed it. At the very end, even though we could barely breathe, we still opted for trying a bit of dessert…luckily, they were very small pieces and we just got three tiny things to share: bavarois de maracuya, alfajores de chocolate y manjar, and torta de chocolate, dulce de leche y banana. The chocolate torta we liked the best. The bavarois was white mousse with a bit of raspberry jam and alfajore was a French macaroon. Overall, it was good meal with...

I (female) visited with two of my grown children. This was our first time in Ecuador, and it was amazing!! I want to start by saying the entire hotel staff was fantastic, from the room attendants to the concierge, we were always taken care of. Daniella, was the best, most amazing help throughout our stay. The rooms are very nice, beds are perfect, the noise was minimal, and breakfast was amazing!! |We arrived late, so Daniella made sure we had dinner taken to our room when we checked in. She arranged a pickup at the airport. The next day, she arranged everything for us from tours to amazing food, a chocolate tasting, and at the hotel, we attended a cooking class. The hotel chef is so fantastic, and the food was super! We learned a lot about authentic Ecuadorian foods. We visited churches, museums, and had the opportunity to meet some of the nicest people ever! |As far as safety goes (that was a concern to me before I arrived), we felt safe the entire time. They have great security at the hotel! Ubers are safe and fairly cheap. There are areas you need to be careful in around Quito, but it's the same for the United States. Just stick with Daniella, and she will take care of everything!! I was also concerned about altitude sickness before I arrived. For us, that wasn't an issue. We made sure to stay hydrated and took things at our own pace. I'm not sure if that's normal, but we had a great time!! You can get some medicine for altitude sickness, but I'm allergic to it (sulfa allergies), also, they have a tea you can drink if it becomes an issue. Thankfully, it never became an issue for us. I will say, my son, who is a geologist, was doing some research at one of the volcanoes, and he had to hike to a much higher altitude and experienced some problems. Mostly, he had to take a lot of breaks to catch his breath, but it wasn't too bad for him at that time either. |I strongly encourage everyone to visit Quito and Casa Gangotena! From the people, to the staff, the views, the city, and the food, you'll have an amazing time!! I plan on visiting again soon, because there are still so many things I want to see. When I do this, it is the only place I will stay at!! |On a side note, from my understanding, all of the certified tour guides take three years of college and study a wide variety of subjects such as ecology, astronomy, and history to become tour guides, so you will learn a...

Sadly our stay at Casa Gangotena (a Relais & Chateaux property) did not live up to the standards that we had expected.

The property itself is gorgeous and the most of the staff members are absolutely lovely. However, our experience was soured after we experienced a theft in our room that was not initially treated seriously by management.

All I know is that we left our room, carelessly leaving a wallet on our bed and the "do not disturb" sign on the door, and came back a short period of time later to find it missing. Four people in our group were witnesses.

Shame on us for not locking everything up, every time we left the room, but we fell into a false sense of security staying at this highly rated, R&S property.

What was truly disappointing was that we were initially ignored by the general manager until we made several requests to meet with him - and after we had filed a police report. This, in my opinion, is the opposite of hospitality and the opposite of what is expected in a first class property.

Eventually, we were told that a) it could not have possibly happened at the hotel but b) two untrustworthy employees were being fired. After we indicated a police report was filed, the story changed again. Needless to say, this was handled poorly every step of the way.

And, as if to offer proof of further security lapses in the hotel, the GM, Mr. Baca, carelessly left his MASTER key card in our room. He did not realize his master key card was missing until we brought it back to him upon discovering it in our room much later in the day. If he is so careless with the master key card that allows entry into every room in the hotel, what else is being ignored here?

Once home from our trip and a few emails later, we did receive a partial refund of our stay. Sadly, this did not really make up for the utter lack of concern that the hotel senior management showed us. I would not recommend...