Friends Hotel & Rooftop — Hotel Boutique — Hotel in Centro Histórico

My wife and I spent 10 nights at Friends Hotel & Rooftop: 28 September 2024 through 7 October 2024. It's like a family there. It's a small (maybe 14-16 rooms?), quaint, friendly place. If you want a hotel like you stay at in the USA, book the Hilton Colon or something similar (and pay for it). If you want to feel at home, experience the colonial center in an historic building with amazing views, then book with Friends Hotel & Rooftop.

The hotel occupies a wonderful building from the Colonial era and as a result it's a bit quirky. The steps on the stairs and around the rooms can be funky, there's no elevator (no problem for us), and rooms (from what we could see) are nicely layed out if, again, can be a bit quirky. But quirk isn't anything to be afraid of, it's to be sought out because it makes the experience fun.

Breakfast is included and typically served by Mariano and Lizardo (my hermanitos). It's plentiful and a little different every day (always with eggs, juice, coffee and fresh cut fruit). Lizardo happily prepared something unique for me with maduros (mature plantains) to remind me of my time living in Quito in the mid-1980s. Breakfast is from 0730 to 0930 each morning. It's served on the rooftop with an amazing view of the Panicillo and the colonial center. You can access the rooftop in the evenings for a beautiful view of the area at night.

The location is among the best in the Historic Center. It's on a pedestrial street so it's relatively quiet. They have a friendly security guard (wish I could remember his name) present around the clock (as far as we could tell), and the door to the hotel is locked at all times (you will be let in by the staff). We never once felt unsafe coming and going, or anywhere else in Quito, for that matter.

The rooms have sound proof windows. Our balcony door also was sound proof. That said, the sounds of Quito are wonderful and should be a part of the visit. Proximity to the new Metro (amazingly clean and organized subway with a stop at Plaza San Francisco a few blocks from the hotel) is great, so for getting around Quito by subway the location is convenient. There are plenty of nice restaurants, bakeries, shops and sites (historic and otherwise) to see within walking distance.

The desk staff are english speakers and very helpful and kind (thanks Yale, Henry, Jonathan, and others!). Oswaldo was a wonderful driver getting us from and to the airport in a spacious and clean vehicle ($30 one way is well worth it).

Friends? Yes, definately! The ownership, whoever they are, are accomplishing their vision with the hotel and we highly recommend you stay at Friends Hotel & Rooftop. Say "hi" to Yale and my hermanitos Lizardo and Mariano. We love you guys! Thanks for making our...

The hotel was recommended to me by a couple of local policemen after I couldn't reach the host of my booked AgodaHome in the Old Town (and stuck on the streets for hours). As a single female traveling alone, the police also informed me that the area is far safer than the Old Town. Further, the hotel got positive comments from the surrounding community, which I discovered while casually chatting with the nearby restaurants. The location is very central, just a few minutes' walk from the main square (Plaza) and all of the shopping streets.

At first when I arrived, I discovered the staff to be very knowledgable and helpful; I quickly got everything I needed sorted, as well as recommendations for all the best food and sightseeing in the area, as I only had a limited time in Quito and a lot to do. The view from my room and the restaurant area is spectacular, the room is nice and clean, there is constantly fresh air, and the temperature is just right. The little surprises at breakfast demonstrated how much the hotel valued attention to detail.

I was in a car accident during my stay and ended up extending my stay for another 5 nights until I was sent home for further medical treatment. I was very impressed with the hotel's comprehensive emergency management; they were really flexible and made a lot of changes to accommodate my needs as I was immobilized for days and needed help every step of the way. Most of the time I didn't even have to ask for anything and the staff had already thought about my needs and just asked for my preferences; from meals, to hygiene, from traveling back and forth to hospitals to my travels leaving the country. They were always making sure I was comfortable, and even reminded me to eat when I was too busy figuring out my next steps, dealing with insurance, flights etc and forgot to eat. I didn’t really have to ask for anything, but whenever I did, they just went over the top, above and beyond and it became an unreturnable favor.

The extent to which everyone goes beyond their job responsibilities reflects outstanding management and a fantastic team, it takes a happy team to go the extra miles. I am really grateful for the opportunity to stay at Friends Hotel and meeting the team. Thanks for everyone’s generosity, kindness and friendship; you made my tragic accident a...

Knife robbery incident at hotel door, poorly handled - otherwise great stay!

A robber attacked me with a knife at my throat as I was ringing the doorbell to be let into the Friends Hotel at 9:00 PM on Dec 23, 2023. I grabbed the knife and the hotel staff came out (upon hearing the doorbell ring) and the robber released me but stayed standing there facing us in the brightly lit street as we stood on the Friends Hotel doorstep (see my picture taken of street shortly following incident). The staff talked to him for 1 minute without doing anything (as the robber bragged about stealing someone else's phone) and asked if I had anything taken from me but did not call the police right away nor do much to help me besides cleaning and bandaging the wound. They went out with a truncheon and taser after the robber leisurely walked off and comfortably got away without any consequences.

The next day, besides some casual inquiry about the situation, the Friends Hotel staff did not provide much assistance and I had to ask to see if the security camera had any footage of the attack (it did not, I was told it was obscured from lens damage from the rain, and they said they had a technician repair it afterwards). They recommended I go to a medical clinic (when I told them I couldn't bend my finger) and didn't go much further than that to be proactive about the situation whereas now I need a flexor surgery and will be unable to use my hand for 4-6 weeks. I understand this might be a new occurrence for the Friends Hotel and the shock factor may have limited the staff's ability to help out during the incident. But, in the following days, I think a lot more care could have been taken to help a guest attacked on their literal doorstep and make sure all medical and security necessities were taken care of.

Takeaway: be careful of armed robbery in this area at night and hope the staff will learn from this incident and step up more proactively next time to help their guests.

Pro’s: Rooftop was nice and had a great view of the city to have...