Hotel Silberstein — Hotel in Parroquia Puerto Ayora

Old, overpriced, and horrible food. We are traveling for three months through South America for our honeymoon and we wanted a treat ourselves to a nice and fancy stay in the Galapagos. It is a once in a lifetime experience after all. We therefore booked a package with full board and island tours at Silberstein. The hotel is outdated, the rooms are small, but it is clean and the beds are nice. No problem there. However, we were supposed to get a detailed briefing of the activities, but the staff did not know anything about the tours. They did not even know if we had to bring our own water. We can also see passed this since the hotel booked the tours with a third party. The restaurant however was the worst. The service was very bad, the waiter could not handle tables at once. But the food itself was the worst. For example: the squid was baked too long and tasted like rubber, it furthermore was accompanied by raw courgette. Also, several dishes were served without any of the accompanied ingredients. We ended up with deep fried sea fruit with mayonaise and ketchup. A dish that was placed on the menu for around 20 dollars! Also, lobster was unavailable because it was out of season. However, this was a lie because we later found a lot of restaurants selling the most delicious lobster. We had an early breakfast because of the tour, but there was almost nothing prepared at 06.30 h. Only until after we left at around 07.10 h the breakfast was prepared. Also, my eggs were full of egg shells. We complained by sending an e-mail to the owners. We did not get a reply but the receptionist apologized. The following day, the food was better prepared and the dinner served kind of matched the menu. The ceviche is truly nice. However, we first got our main course and afterwards we received our first course. The last day, there were problems with arranging the transfer to the airport and it took several phone calls the the supervisor before it was settled, even though it was specifically listed in our itinerary. We knew that hotels and restaurants in the Galapagos are overpriced and were therefore prepared to pay extra for good food and service. However, at Silberstein you pay more for less. We moved to another hotel after three days that was 3 times cheaper and just as good, or better. We had the best fish $7.5, squid $8, and lobster $15 at Los Kioskos and loved it. Please try to avoid Silberstein it is simply not...

Objectively there is no way that this hotel is a 4 star establishment.|It is basic and well run , but no more.||However…. There is an ambience about the hotel that adds up to much much more.|We were delighted with it as for 3 nights it was our longest stay on tour and it was great.||Everything they do and offer they do really well.|Our room was bright and spacious with a lovely big bed and modern, very cool ,air conditioning.|Wi-Fi was good although they did have to reset the router one morning.|Safe , hairdryer and balcony seating area.|Bathroom does the job, although a bit basic and hot water is intermittent.|The odd issue with insects ( expected) and our very own Gekko in room .||Location is ideal, at one end of Charles Darwin avenue 10 mins walk from harbour.|There is a restaurant ( unconnected) next door that offers guests ten per cent discount, but we found the service there poor.||Much, much better was El Muelle 2 doors further down with lightning service , bright , airy and spacious, happy hour ( 2 for 1 ) all day, ice cold cocktails and Tuna steaks ( served rare to order ) to die for.||Breakfast in the hotel followed same pattern, simple ingredients, cheese , toast, fruit with some hot options including bacon with eggs and omelettes cooked to order.Simple but very tasty , and lovely when eaten overlooking the pool area.||Lovely hot strong coffee and cold juices .||The pool space , again small , was perfectly used with a well kept garden , seating area and very clean pool.||It was a wonderful stay and a great base to explore Santa Cruz and bring our tour to a fitting end.||Highly...

Convenient location close to the Charles Darwin National Park and Reserch Center. It is also situated close to the water front and a right in the center of all the dive shops which makes booking tours and dives very convenient.

They have an amazing fish soup at breakfast time and not just one but two different types depending on the days! One was a tuna fish broth and the other was a tomato based or an acidic soup which was so bright when you squeezed lime into it. We think it was albacore tuna bones and meat in the soup each time and they were both very hearty. Like when your mom makes you soup at home.

Breakfast was great with an assortment of fruits, freshly squeezed juices daily, and the basic bacon eggs and toast. Depending on the day they may have some yuca bites or cheese buns that were extra chewy and savoury. One morning they even had banana nut bread!

The rooms on the other hand may take some getting used to. A small room is better given that the air conditioning feels more powerful, but remember to close the washroom door as the washroom only has a mesh screen window separating the washroom from outside. If you don’t close the door, you lose your AC and it’s not great for the environment turning on extra AC just for it to escape! Some rooms on the upper floor also experienced puddles of water collecting during heavy rainfall days so be prepared and don’t leave your belongings on the ground! They are quick to resolve the issues but depending on the season it could be quite wet...