Hostal Casa de Lidice — Hotel in Cuenca

I am torn about my rating for this bed and breakfast, but the negatives outweigh the positives, at least for me. I will list the bad first:||1) Noise level is terrible all day until about midnight. I am just talking about what past guests have said. The building design is not good for a bed and breakfast||2) Only one employee speaks English and he works nights. The staff is friendly, professional and trained make the guests happy, but nowadays, a bed and breakfast should hire bi-lingual staff; there are plenty of them in Cuenca.||3) WiFi setup is inadequate for the # of guests that are streaming video. I was unable to Skype with my family and grandkids on Christmas. I got tired of asking the staff to reset the router 3 or 4 times a day and finally just did it myself, since the router was a few steps away in the courtyard in front of my room. The staff and management kept blaming the WiFi provider, but the router was 10 years old and there was not enough bandwidth to take care of all the guests. If you have a cell phone with an adequate data plan, then this is not a problem for you. The inability to Skype with my 6 grandkids and family ruined my Christmas and New Year. I stayed at the property for 15 days.||||The good:||1) Breakfast was awesome and changed every morning. Eggs cooked to order and ability to take a tray to your room was perfect. I have stayed at hotels that have bigger setups, but none were better. They always had strong coffee and fixings for tea available all day long.||2) Hot water was great and rainfall shower head. Never a lack of hot water or high pressure. The shower was huge but needed a mat to prevent falling when floor got wet. I had to use a towel to avoid falling.||3) Staff was friendly, well trained and willing to make your stay pleasant ( except for the noise level and WiFi that sucks)||4) Location is close to all the tourist spots and walking to most places was an easy feat. Taxi fare was usually under $2 and there are plenty of places to eat within walking distance. Most cafes had a daily special for $2-$3, with drink, desert and main course. Or you could go to a fancy place and spend as much as a meal in the USA.||5) My room was well appointed, with Direct TV ( no English channels) and bed was very comfortable. The guest room attendant did a great job of keeping me supplied with toiletries, towels and extra pillows. ||6) Price was very reasonable and breakfast was included. My total cost for 15 days, including all taxes, was $347. This was a geat deal for Christmas and New Years.||||The bottom line is that you need to decide if you can live with WiFi that sucks and a high level of noise, for a great location, great staff and awesome breakfast. I would rather pay a little more for a quiet room and strong WiFi. That is the problem with Skype- once you discover it and set up friends and family with the app, Bandwidth becomes as important as hot water or a comfortable bed!!||||BTW, the management never communicated with me about my WiFi complaint, but hid behind the staff, that can only apologize for being unable to make me...

The Hostel is clean and quit, but the girl from the reception is incompetent and not honest, better to say: sneaky!||At the reception she offered a privat transfer by van from Cuenca to Guayaquil city center for 15 Dollars each person.|We asked her to reserve that transfer, asking once more, if we will be drop off in the center of Guayaquil. She recommended this. Then she told us, for 6 Dollars (3$ each) more they will pick up us from the hostel.||We were picked up 30 minutes to late. And: It was NOT a van, it was a local bus without safety seats - seat belting was not possible.||The driver ask us to pay 36 $ right now at the hostel, before starting. We did this and he went directly to the girl from the reception to give her 3 $. That means, that we didn't pay 6 $ for picking up - we payed 3 $ for her own pocket!!!!! It was her deal and she did it directly near by us, so that we could realize the deal.||Arrived in Guayaquil, the bus stopped at the Airport, which is situated 15 km from the city center. We asked to drop off in the city center, but the driver said, that this is the final stop and there is no Transfer to the center. We told him, that we have booked a Transfer with Van to the City, and he answered, that he drive for another company and the only drop off is at the Airport.||So that means, that we didn't get for what we payed for. And all that is the Responsibility of the hostel-stuff in Cuenca.||So, if your are in Cuenca, DON'T BOOK this hostel with such a CRIMINAL STUFF! Don't...

The problem with Casa Lidice is very simple; it is a slick B&B, clean and attractive, with terrible acoustics. Sound travels everywhere; off concrete walls, up open stairwells, off the bare wood treads of the stairs, up from chatting staff at 0600. And to worsen this defect many of the rooms have full glass front walls. ||At 0400 May 21 two parties arrived back at the accommodation from a night of partying (the Casa Lidice apparently is popular with rural groups coming in to get drunk on the weekend) After an hour of ridiculous shouting, hailing, and clattering back and forth between two rooms (on hardwood floors) my wife called the front desk to ask for some action. The night person said he was aware of the ongoing disturbance, apparently took some action, noise went on until 0630 until my wife addressed a group outside our door...I've never had a worse experience at an accommodation.||This place needs a full noise control program; sound deadening rugs, hangings (beyond the decorative painting of the owner) plants, etc. Staff should close kitchen doors until breakfast and stop shouting in general. A B&B is selling sleep essentially, and Casa Lidice fails...