Hostal María — Hotel in Otavalo

We came up from Quito (2hr on bus) on the Friday to be there for the market. The animal market is wonderful but start very early so you will probably miss it if you don't stay over.||Hostal Maria has an absolutely perfect location, just around the corner from the square where the artisan market area is.||The rooms were spotless, airy, en-suit (with hot water which isn't always a guarantee in Ecuador) & had a comfy double bed.||I really liked that for safety they had a gate that locked at night. You just pressed a buzzer to be let in & there someone was always at the front desk.||& for $10 for the both of us - what an excellent value for money.||There is no breakfast - I recommend to go to "La Tabasco" in one of the squares. It's one floor up, has a balcony which overlooks the artisan market square & has a stunning view of snow-capped volcano! Actually I recommend it for the view for...

I had stayed at this hotel about 8 months ago, it was a good value for what it was...a good bed and a hot shower. I just stayed there a week ago and was very disappointed. My bed was extremely uncomfortable, with nothing between my ribs and the bed springs. The shower was cold and the shower head needed to be replaced as there was only a very small trickle. On top of that he bathroom was not clean. ||||The one redeeming thing about this hostel is the location. If you go for the Saturday Market, you step right out into the street into the vendors.||||If you get the right room, it might not be bad for the price, but if you get the wrong room, you 'll feel like you have been taken, even for the small...

We visited over a weekend, and were initially very happy with the clean room and good service. The problems came when we returned to check out after breakfast on the Sunday morning and found the whole place locked up with nobody responding to the 24 hour doorbell, or either of the two phone numbers. ||||None of the neighbours had any method of contacting the owners, and even a police lady gave up trying after an hour. The family returned 5 hours later with no apology and simply stated that they had gone for a day out... Very poor way to...