Hotel Andaluz — Hotel in Guayaquil

Back in December my employers sent me to Guayaquil for work but didn’t want to spend much so they put me at the cheapest and closest hotel they could find: The Andaluz Hotel Guest House.||||The hotel is built on an old, but well kept house in downtown Guayaquil. Its style and decoration isn't bad: It's eclectic, full of antiques and photos of different parts of the world. There is no elevator, so to get to the upper levels you need to walk quite a distance, and on the upper level you have a nice terrace with plants where you can enjoy some sun.||||The hotel has around 25 rooms, all of them with private bathroom, telephone, air conditioning, and cable TV. The rooms are simple, not that nice looking, and are rather small. I had room 22 and it wasn’t that great: There was only one switch for the bulb that illuminates the room and it is located away from the bed. There are a lots of cables hanging from the walls and TV mount. The bathroom door didn’t close properly. The furniture was new, though.||||The staff consists of a group of cranky ladies who seemed annoyed by my requests (which weren't that many). They did not make one feel welcome at all, especially at night (at night they lock down the entire place with many locks to keep the robbers out… bit of a fire hazard in my opinion).||||Pros:||- The hotel is located in the city center, just 4 blocks from the “Malecón 2000”.||- The hotel is clean: Being an old house in Guayaquil I found no cockroaches. The cleaning staff was constantly cleaning the rooms and public areas. They replaced towels and sheets every 2 days, and put a new bar of soap and shampoo in the bathrooms every day.||- It is an economic option if you are on a tight budget in Guayaquil.||||Cons:||||- Breakfast is not included.||- Bathrooms are small and uncomfortable; the toilet is too close to the shower and sink, so you will bang your elbows against the shower door.||- Hot water is a myth, and the showerhead was gone, so I felt as if I was bathing with a garden hose.||- The doors are not kept in good shape, so noise and daylight creeps in through the gaps. It also doesn’t make you feel very safe.||- It is a noisy hotel. The traffic from the nearby streets and the constant honking does not let you relax. Bring earplugs.||||Conclusion: The hotel is not terrible, and you won’t die if you stay there, but I would only recommend this hotel if you are on a tight budget and want to be close to the main attractions. If you have more money stay...

A friend of ours arranged our reservation for the Hotel Andaluz. We were going to stay with them, but plumbing problems in Guayaquil and airplane troubles for us in Miami made a stay at a hotel necessary. I read the other reviews of Hotel Andaluz and I was apprehensive. Instead, we found a small, clean, budget hotel with staff who responded positively to every request. No mean feat, since they don't speak English, and my Spanish is rudimentary. Still, everything was sorted well. There are caveats, of course. Our cama matrimonio struggled to keep its sheets on all night, and the room was small by US standards. But, the AC kept the room cool, the bathroom, while small, had new fixtures. To make up for the small room, there is a lounge on the first floor (2nd floor US) with a flat screen TV and comfortable couches. On the 2nd floor is a small patio where I sat to read emails. On the rooftop--a climb up a wrought iron staircase-- there is a barbecue area with patio chairs and lounges. As far as noise, I grew up in Chicago & suburbs, and lived in Milwaukee on a fairly quiet boulevard. Both had more traffic than the Hotel Andaluz area. I can not say enough good things about every hotel employee I encountered. We...

the hotel is well located - central location only a short walk from the main street 9 de octubre and the malecon. but everything else is bad. almost all the rooms are on noisy streets. so i selected an interior room but that was on a parking lot with car alarms going off. i need an extra pillow to keep my head raised because i am a 71 year old man with arthritis but the hotel refused to provide me one. so i had to BUY MY OWN PILLOW! also the hot water failed more than once and the wifi went out for several days. and one day when i met the owner she admitted she had not been told about it before that very day ..four days after it died! also the remote control for the tv needed batteries but the reception said they had no extra batteries so i had to provide me own! to summarize a lousy hotel very well located. go...