Hospedaje Carliza II Backpackers — Hotel in Parroquia Puerto Ayora

We’ve just finished an 8 night stay at Carliza 2. We initially stayed 7 nights, then came back for one night before our flight (having visited San Cristobal). Therefore we feel relatively well place to give a comprehensive review. ||The pros:|- Lovely hosts. Omar and Stephanie are very nice people who try hard to make your stay a good one |- Clean rooms. Apart from the odd mark and scuff here and there, the rooms were clean|- Decent kitchen. It was clean and well equipped|- Bathrooms did what they needed to do|- Well located. Close to markets and shops, and easy walk into town, but far enough from the main drag not to hear any traffic noise|- Relatively well priced. We paid c.$23 a night which isn’t bad for what you get||The cons:|- Our first room was quite small, which wasn’t great for a week|- We had ants in our room (not a big issue but worth mentioning)|- The kitchen tables were always a little bit dirty. Not the fault of the staff, just the other guests not cleaning up after themselves|- Although we couldn’t hear any road noise, we were woken up almost every night by dogs, cats and chickens (especially cockerels in the morning around 5am)|- The bathroom wasn’t cleaned at all during our stay, although our room was and we got fresh towels half way through|- Our room for the last night didn’t have external windows so it got very humid. You could tell the room didn’t have good ventilation as it smelt a bit mouldy|- This is going to sound like I am picking them up on small things, but there were no proper bathroom mats provided. A sign said not to use bathroom towels on the floor or we’d be charged (so we didn’t) but nothing else was provided. This meant the floors were very slippy after a shower|- WiFi isn’t great but nowhere on Galapagos has good WiFi so we didn’t hold this against them|- The design of the building means you can hear a lot of what is going on inside, from your room. We could hear some girls having breakfast at 0500 on the floor below, two days in a row (they were quite loud) because there is a shaft running through the centre that carries the noise up. On our second stay we heard the couple next door “having a lot of fun” a couple of times (if you know what I mean....she certainly sounded like she was having a good time anyway), which was amplified by the design of the building||So overall, not a bad place and it did the job it was supposed to do. We’d stay again but only for a night or so - a week was too long and you’d probably want somewhere just a little bit upmarket for a...

I was GRANDPAcking through the Galapagos for a couple of weeks and needed somewhere to stay the night before heading to the airport.||I booked myself into a Double (fan) Room at the Carliza II Backpacker. You do not need aircon at this time of year … in fact, some nights I was so cold that I needed extra blankets. I paid $18.20 for 1 night. ||I chose it because it was only 2 blocks (in the back streets) from the Mercado Municipal (where the Airport Bus dropped us off when I first arrived) … I was hoping that I could get on the bus to the Airport from the same location. N.B. You can't - you have to make your way 1km up the road to the Bus Terminal.||The Carliza has 2 floors with about 8 rooms on each floor.||My room was an average size.||It came with a ceiling fan and a wardrobe.||It had a TV which I managed to re-tune to get a couple of English speaking channels.||The ensuite was small but adequate.||The shower had good water flow and plenty of hot water.||There was a shared kitchen.||And, to my utter amazement, the free wifi had a strong signal in my room and was fast enough to be usable!||This is, also, a cheaper area of town. For instance, a take-away large Club Beer from my local minimart was only $2.60.||Even though it was the cheapest room that I booked in my whole stay in the Galapagos, it looked like the best value for money. ||However, to get the good in-room wifi, I had to be next to Reception and the Kitchen – which were noisy until about 10pm at night and early in the morning with people making breakfast before heading for their 7am ferry.||The other downside is that the road outside started to get very noisy at 5am - no problem if you need to get up to catch...

We are staying here for nine nights as we explore Santa Cruz and venture out on day trips to other islands. The room is really big for the price! There is hot water in the shower and we have been given fresh towels every day. No A/C but the fan does the job since the weather in the Galapagos is already fantastic! Large kitchen for cooking your own meals, fridge, and free purified drinking water. Two mini markets right outside for basic needs and a produce shop a block away. A great deal and kind employees at reception. Only a few blocks from the main tourist strip (gives you a chance to walk and live like the locals)very safe neighborhood! I feel safer walking around Santa Cruz at night then I do at home! A really great option for those looking to save and to experience the Galapagos outside of a...