Hostal Galapagos Natural Life — Hotel in Mariscal Sucre

I stayed here for 3 nights during my solo bicycle tour through Colombia and Ecuador. I speak Spanish and was therefore able to communicate well with my hosts. (The adult daughter Viviana spoke English).||||This hostal was next to the Blue House, which had received good reviews and which I intended visiting. I decided to visit this one first. I liked the family (Luz, Carlos and Viviana) and they offered me a spacious private room (#2) with private bathroom and 2 beds for $13. Normal price was $15. This included a hot breakfast. This price was about half the price at the Blue House and at other similar hostals in Quito. I ended up staying 3 nights (my entire stay in Quito). I enjoyed my stay. ||||Pluses||It was peaceful and the family were easy-going. They had a large storeroom for keeping my bike and other guests’ luggage while away on tour. The Wi-Fi was fast even at night – as fast as mine in Seattle. The free breakfast consisted of instant coffee with water or warm milk, plus hot cocoa if desired, banana, eggs to order, several slices of toast, and a fruit juice. Quite good. My on-demand hot shower was hot, provided I kept the flow to a minimum. A soap dispenser was provided. My bed had 4 soft pillows and several thick blankets. There were a half dozen hooks for hanging my clothes, plus extra shelf space. ||||500 m to the NE was a SuperMaxi supermarket (open 09h30-20h00 daily) which had a good selection. Viviana spoke English, and was helpful with a free city map, on which she marked various places of interest. She took the time to print out the names of each place, which was appreciated. ||||The area seemed safe. I saw no suspicious-looking characters. There were many other hostals in the area.||||Minuses||Wi-Fi signal was strong in the dining room, but weaker in my room, where the internet was slower. I lacked a desk in my room, so I used my laptop in the during room. Not as convenient, but it had the plus of ensuring that I socialized more with guests. This I enjoyed. ||||As a special concession, I was allowed to hand-wash my clothes in a bucket and hang these on a line out back. This I prefer to do. Normally, they prefer folk to have someone do this, for a small fee, using washers and driers. I prefer not to waste electricity and water on my few cycling clothes.||||Breakfast hours were 08h30-10h30 (-0930 on Sundays). Rather late for a cyclist like me, who likes to be on the road by 06h00- 06h30. ||||The hostal was located about 4 km NE of the Old City, which may not be convenient for some folk. I was fine with this, as I had my bike, and there were bike lanes on several main roads.||||Summary||The room was good value. I would stay there again.||||My rating: 4/5. Location as measured with my GPS:...

We arrived to the hostel in the evening after returning from the Galapagos very tired. I had corresponded directly with the hostel to arrange our reservation, and had a confirmation email. When we arrived, they did not have our reservation on the calendar and until I could locate the confirmation the staff were not especially welcoming of us as guests. The room we booked was not available, though they did find another option for us for the night. There was plenty of hot water and the beds were comfortable. We were asked to purchase bottled water as the tap is not potable and the hostel doesn't offer filtered water. We were given good tips on restaurants nearby by the gentleman.The breakfast the next morning was basic and minimal, not to the description on the website. When we asked for seconds for an item we were told there would be an additional charge. The way it was presented really put a sour note on us, especially since not everyone in the family opted to have breakfast. I was really hoping for a better experience as friends of ours...

Family-owned hostel - the service and accommodations were excellent. It was also a great deal for the two-bed room with a private bathroom we stayed in. We'd had a horrible experience at the Blue House Youth Hotel right next door (they'd given our reserved room away) and we checked-in to Hostal Galapagos upset, travel-worn and weary. We were pleasantly surprised to find that our stay cost half of what the Blue House would've charged us. The staff members were so friendly and warm - they treated me and my travel companion like we were family and made us very comfortable.Their included breakfast consisted of eggs, coffee, fresh fruit juice, a bowl of fruit and fresh- baked bread. It was a delicious start to our day. Unfortunately, we only stayed for two nights - staying here was one of the highlights of our Ecuador trip. I would definitely stay here again and highly recommend this...