Hostal el Andariego — Hotel in Otavalo

Visited midweek so didn’t get the full effect of the market vibes in Otavalo. Felt like 95% of things sold there were not hand made or artisan but cheap knockoffs shipped from China. ||Anyway about the hostal... ||Clean and tidy hostal centrally located in town. Nice little kitchen to cook backpacker meals. ||Smart and tidy dorm rooms - we stayed in a triple dorm. Comfortable beds with nice bright colourful bedding. Our room was on the front corner of the property so a little noisy in the morning. ||Pleasant and helpful staff - helped organise a local laundry service.||WiFi didn’t work on our arrival but was soon restored by the evening. ||Shower was a little basic - only 2 washrooms so we often found we would be waiting for the facilities at peak times. ||Hostal was a little cold throughout as the doors were left open - may be the time of year but we ended up sleeping in thermal clothing and wearing our down jackets most of the time when indoors. ||Otherwise a good stop off en route north...

Stayed here one night on a last minute stop in Otavalo. We first found ourselves at the El Andariego 1 but since they didn't offer rooms with private bathrooms, we headed here. ||||Location was great - a block and a half from the main square, and within walking distance of most everything. ||||Rooms - clean, decent sized. Bed was comfortable. Room was bright with large window looking directly onto the street (maybe a little loud at night, but to be expected) Bathroom was good, we had hot water for our shower.||||Common area - perhaps the hostel's weakest point, they have a fairly small social area although their upstairs kitchen is large and they have a nice terrace looking up into the surrounding hills. The kitchen had everything you needed for cooking||||Staff - friendly. The first guy who checked in spoke only Spanish but the night guy spoke excellent English.||||Overall an excellent stay at a very reasonable price. It's nothing fancy, but we couldn't honestly ask anymore out...

(FYI this location has only private rooms; I believe their original location has the dorm rooms.)||After a long day of traveling, including over 6 hours on my feet to wait to cross the border from Colombia, this hostel was such a delight. I felt safe and welcome as soon as I saw Jose smile, even when letting me in at 12:30am. And my room was orderly and clean and quiet--so needed when I felt so exhausted and depleted. The next day, when I checked in, Jose gave me a map of the town and explained what was going on and where. He's such a genuinely helpful and kind guy. The hostel is located right in the center of town, and it has a large and clean kitchen that opens onto a chill roof deck, where you can meet and chat with fellow travelers and stand in awe in view of one of the nearby volcanoes. Decent WiFi and hot water too, but note that it is a pretty basic and simple place, but it's good value...