Hacienda San Isidro Trails & Experiences — Hotel in Cotacachi

The good: The hacienda was a beautiful old building, the breakfast was great, the bed was very comfortable, the hot water bottles at night were a nice touch, and Juan Pablo (the manager?) was very friendly and helpful.||||The bad: The directions they provided were poor and it was hard to find, it was overpriced compared to other places we’ve stayed in Ecuador, the dinner was meager, and none of the rooms (bedroom, dining, or lounge) take advantage of the incredible mountain views.||||The ugly: Two big things here, which ruined the stay for us. ||||First (and worst), our horseback ride with Estencio(?) was shockingly awful. We were supposed to go for a 40-minute ride through the forest, starting at 9:00 am. It was well after 10:00 am before he was ready to leave. He then took us to some sort of bamboo temple in the forest, where he performed an Aztec cleansing “ceremony” for us. This involved both rubbing an old Marlboro box and a coca-cola bottle all over us, and then very inappropriately touching my wife while rubbing a small candle on her. If that’s not bad enough, he then had the nerve to ask us for $10 for performing the “ceremony.” (We had no money with us, so he told us to pay him when we got back.) He also kept trying to take us on longer routes, even though we insisted we needed to go back.||||Second, they gave us a final bill at check-out that overcharged us for the room (although they quickly fixed it when we pointed it out, so that was fine). But then after they ran our credit card, we discovered that they charged over 20% more than what was included on the final bill in taxes and fees. They claimed that we wouldn’t have been charged any of that had we paid in cash, but that was never told to us in advance. We had also tried to pay online before arrival (the same price as included on the final bill), which would have avoided the problem, but their website didn’t accept the payment.||||Overall, the place has great potential, but it’s not living up to it. If you decide to give it a try, do not do the horseback riding with Estencio, and pay...

My friend reserved a shared room at this lovely hacienda. We were picked up in Otavalo by Patricio, a local taxi driver that helps the owners at the hacienda. We had a short drive to the hacienda and after driving a ways outside of town, pulled up to the hacienda in an area where the views are exceptional. The hacienda is lovely and surrounded by gardens. We were warmly welcomed by Chelita and her husband, Rosendo. Our room was located on the second level with views of the gardens and volcanos.||||We elected to eat breakfast and dinner at the hacienda prepared by Chelita. She puts great effort in putting together meals that are both artistically and deliciously prepared. The meals were exceptional with ingredients pulled right from the garden behind the house. One of my favorite meals was a vegetable empanada.||||While staying, we learned so much about the history of the hacienda and the grounds which included a very special grove of trees, I will keep the experience a secret so that readers can experience the magic for themselves. We also hiked up an old trail where the views of surrounding volcanos were exceptional. ||||There were horses and llamas out back, along with acres and acres of lovely unspoiled countryside.||||Travel into town by taxi is a short drive and worth a...

This place definitely warmth my heart!!! Besides the beautiful landscapes and nature surrounding the colonial house, meeting the owners Chelita and Rosendo, make us feel cozy just from the beginning with their smile and details. They try to make you feel welcomed in every aspect, you can have walks with Rosendo and learn from the forest and ancient cultures that still live around or you can enjoy an afternoon with Chelita preparing some traditional treat. We also enjoyed an early walk to see the sunrise by ourselves and as soon as we step out early of the room in the morning we could admire all the mountains around. Definitely a family experience since we felt transported to different world, thank you for having us there...