Mindo Chocolate Makers — Hotel in Mindo

We had a wonderful stay at El Quetzal. The room itself was as advertised. It was sparsely but suitably furnished. The beds were very comfortable, which was quite a relief after an exhausting trip. The hammock was a favorite reading location of our daughter. There are no window screens, but surprising to us, there really were no flying insects to contend with, so we could leave windows open. The bathroom fan switch was a bit wonky, but otherwise the tiled shower was spacious. Water pressure was passable. The room is on the floor above the restaurant, but the restaurant closes at 9 PM so there was no noise issue from it. The highlights were the breakfast and the chocolate tour. Breakfast was hearty and tasty. It’s worth paying extra for some of the optional beverages, especially the jugo de cacao (cocoa juice). Don’t pass that up! The hot chocolate was also very unique, having far more of a dark chocolate taste than any hot chocolate we’ve ever had. The tour of the facility was both informative and delicious, particularly the brownie tasting! They do sell their own goods, which we found very enjoyable. The candied ginger was a favorite of ours, and we bought enough to bring some home to the US. We didn’t try the dinner menu, but it was nice to have a bar downstairs from the room with house made ginger ale and ginger beer on tap, as well as some craft beer bottles from another brewery in Ecuador. They also had a few regional wines and their own distilled cacao liquor that, although it wasn’t to our liking, is certainly worth...

We had a wonderful stay at El Quetzal. The room itself was as advertised and there were no issues booking via Airbnb. It was sparsely but suitably furnished. The beds were very comfortable, which was quite a relief after an exhausting trip. The hammock was a favorite reading location of our daughter. There are no window screens, but surprising to us, there really were no flying insects to contend with, so we could leave windows open. The bathroom fan switch was a bit wonky, but otherwise the tiled shower was spacious. Water pressure was passable. The room is on the floor above the restaurant, but the restaurant closes at 9 PM so there was no noise issue from it. The highlights were the breakfast and the chocolate tour. Breakfast was hearty and tasty. It’s worth paying extra for some of the optional beverages, especially the jugo de cacao (cocoa juice). Don’t pass that up! The hot chocolate was also very unique, having far more of a dark chocolate taste than any hot chocolate we’ve ever had. The tour of the facility was both informative and delicious, particularly the brownie tasting! They do sell their own goods, which we found very enjoyable, particularly the candied ginger. We didn’t try the dinner menu, but it was nice to have a bar downstairs from the room with house made ginger ale and ginger beer on tap, as well as some craft beer bottles from another brewery in Ecuador. They also had a few regional wines and their own distilled cacao liquor that, although it wasn’t to our liking, is certainly worth...

We had plans to stay at another property but received an email the day before we were to arrive raising the price and requiring cash. I had read a few reviews and decided to walk to the El Quetzal from where the bus drops you off which takes about 5 minutes to see what the property looked like. There are only a couple of rooms and we were in luck the hotel was empty so we got the nice one overlooking the town with a balcony and hammock. After getting settled we met the owner and his sister. We went out for the day zip lining and hiking and after getting cleaned up (shower was great, plenty of pressure and hot water) I went to the bar and the owner invited my wife and I to the special chocolate tour they do in the evening where you roast beans and make chocolate by hand and finish with hot chocolate. The experience was incredible and will not be forgotten. After the demonstration we returned to the hotel for dinner which tuned out to be in the top three meals in our stay in Ecuador. They were even kind enough to give me the recipe for the macadamia nut chicken. The following morning I was awoken to the sound of more birds than I think I have ever heard and went out to the hammock to watch the town wake up. We had a great time in Mindo and hope to go back some day. If you can't stay at the hotel be sure to do the chocolate tour, Sergio will teach you more about the chocolate than you may...