Estrella del Mar — Hotel in Parroquia Bella Vista

The staff is friendly and pre-arrival emails were cordial. Our room was fabulous, opened to the shared balcony overlooking the rocky shore of Academy Bay. Every morning of our eight days here I woke up looking for "our" adopted iguana and his numerous offspring sunning on the rocks bellow us along with the bright red crabs and the occasional sea lion. I requested the maid not to change the sheets every day so there is no shortage of linens or towels. Shampoo and soap were replenished generously and hot and cold filtered water was supplied in the common room. The coffee machine was out of commission most of the time we were there but I had a supply of instant coffee so managed with the hot filtered water. The refrigerator in our room was welcome for keeping drinks cold. ||||The location across from the police office was excellent, within walking distance to the harbor for ferries, travel agencies, supermarket, the town plaza and numerous restaurants and shops. The small fish market with its attendant sea lion and pelicans and herons waiting for a tidbit from the fishmongers are just down the street and near that, the entrance to the Darwin Station. ||||Thanks to Angel, Luisa and Thorvaldo (head of family, owner of a successful finca and dairy business, who was recruited to knock on our door for a 6:30 a.m. wake up call) for a ...

I loved a lot of things about this motel (hostal in Spanish). The property and our front bedroom overlooked the water right near the main part of Puerto Ayora. The owners and workers were all friendly and welcoming. Check-in was easy with our prepaid third-party booking. The room was clean, and the shower had very hot water. The property is simple and not fancy. The Internet is minimal and often non-existent.||Our main issues were that we reserved a family room, and there was only air conditioning (A.C.) in the room with the two single beds. There was no A.C. or fan in the room with the one bigger bed, and, as it was hot and humid outside, we could not close the door between the two bedrooms or it would be way too hot in the room with the one bigger bed. Neither could we leave the windows open at night, because it was too hot and humid out.||The other issue was a foul smell from the toilet when we would leave the lid open, so we had to constantly remind the kids to close the toilet lid. ||If there had been AC or a fan in the main bedroom, as we expected there would be, I would probably re-reserve this no-frills motel for a group of one to four people. However, without AC or a fan in the main bedroom, I would strongly consider staying at other properties...

After having decided against a cruise, we at least wanted accommodation with nice water views. Hostal Estrella de Mar did not disappoint, and we returned to it twice after visits to Isabela and Floreana. Hostal Estrella de Mar is an older place tucked into the end of a lane, but therefore also much cheaper than anything else with comparable views. Staff and owners were very friendly and helped with information (although I am not sure if that would have been as efficient had I not spoken Spanish), and lots of wild life just in front of the balcony. There are coffee making facilities, but better bring your own cup and spoon. The wifi worked well in the common area and the inside rooms, but not in our seaside corner room with wonderful views. I'd still go for the room...