Casa Playa Mann — Hotel in Parroquia Puerto Baquerizo Moreno

We spent 4 nights at this wonderful place for our honeymoon. Let's get straight to the point: it deserves 5 stars !

The Staff : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐+⭐

The hotel is manned by a family that speaks very good English and that is extremely friendly, with an incredible sense of hospitality. They offer to help for any thing you can think of, ranging from tour or taxi organisations to food or groceries delivery ! The host, José in particular, has consistently shown the highest standard for hospitality for the whole duration of our stay. Talking with him, we learned he has spent years traveling around the world, often as a guide or NGO staff. No wonder !

The hotel : ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

The hotel is a very cute and spacious villa with a confortable garden and floor layout. It has all the common amenities plus complimentary beach towels and a certain number of confortable hammocks ! This part gets only 4.5 as the hotel doesn't have luxury amenities, like a swimming pool.... But of course, it doesn't need it as the beach is so close!

The location : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Barely two or three minutes away on foot lays the Playa Mann beach, where colonies of sea lions like to rest and play. When we were there in September, there were no less than 80 sea lions resting there all day and night, including many cute babies and playful juveniles, which like to swim with humans. It's the best location in the whole San Cristobal island, at least for someone coming to see the wildlife. It is also just 10min from the city center and the best restaurants.

The room: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

Our room had a superb view of the ocean and a large balcony with two hammocks and several other furnitures. The inside was dressed with a very comfortable bed doted with pillows of different sizes for maximum confort. We were also pleasantly surprised by a special gift from the staff as it was our honeymoon 🍷! The wifi is of fair quality, about the same speed as other top hotels in the city. The bathroom is very comfortable and similarly large, with amenities similar to the other very good hotels. It is not "luxury", which is the only reason why I'm giving only a 4.5/5 to be fair.

The breakfast: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Delicious. It is served on a cute terrasse at flexible time. It was the best breakfast we've had in the Galapagos during our two weeks trip. It shines in particular for its diversity and great service. As a bonus, a beautiful yellow bird always came to see us as we were eating. Probably for the delicious bread we were given though, but we still loved its presence.

That's it!

If you've read this review, heed my advice: if you like animals, or if you value human contact, or if you want the best hospitality, then book in...

My wife and I spent four nights at Casa Play Mann. Jose and his family provided excellent accommodations, great breakfasts, and outstanding service and assistance. The provided fridge and in-room ac made Casa Playa Mann a fantastic sanctuary for resting and cooling down between our various outings and adventures. We were on the third floor and the view of the bay was incredible. The private balcony had three hammocks plus chairs and a table and was great for drying our snorkel gear that we used daily (thanks to the nearby beaches). Jose also arranged a rainbow for us. ;-)

The location is on the edge of town which made it virtually next door to Playa Mann and and short hike to Muelle Tijeretas (**excellent snorkelling) and Playa Carola (also good snorkelling). Walking into town took less than 10 minutes, too, so being on the edge of town wasn't an issue for us. We also rented bikes from a kayak/bike rental that was 2 doors down and rode to Playa Loberia (strongly recommended). I think the ride took about 15 minutes one-way.

On this trip we stayed in Quito, Isla Isabela (Iguana Crossing hotel), Isla Santa Cruz (Ikala hotel), and finally Isla San Cristobal. Internet speed was extremely poor and I relied on the Claro SIM card I picked up in Quito but even that had its ups and downs. But Casa Playa Mann's wi-fi had a pretty decent internet connection, definitely much better than the bigger hotels we stayed at on Isabela and Santa Cruz. Quite frankly we were surprised that a cozy, family-run hotel would have better Internet than the bigger places but it was undeniable. Zoom meetings aren't going to happen but checking Instagram and Facebook worked very well. The other surprise was that our room had a coffee maker and kettle. Neither of the prior two hotels had these items and coffee first thing in the morning was GREATLY appreciated.

We were very glad that we stayed here. It felt like a much more authentic experience than the bigger hotels and we learned more about the island talking with Jose than we did interacting with the staff at...

This was a wonderful place to stay. The photos are accurate, it is not a new modern hotel, but the very few new modern hotels on San Cristobal will be very expensive and not worth it in my opinion. This is a very clean, very well maintained and delightful place to stay. Everything from air conditioning, WIFI, hot water, all worked very well. The view is amazing (we paid for the ocean view). The room is quite spacious and the property very quaint with places to rest/read.

A great thing about the hotel is that it is a 5 minute walk to downtown which is very close but away from the bustle. Also it is very close (few minutes) from Playa Mann which is delightful with people and sea lions hanging on the beach together. Much better than any downtown beaches.

Best of all Jose, Lu, and Lucia were the best hosts; they made us feel like family and could not be more helpful for any questions, planning, arranging a box breakfast when we were early, etc. This family-run place makes you feel that no detail is left untended to. They helped us coordinate laundry service for a small fee that made our stay easier. No regrets. Trust the reviews - you won't regret staying here!

Also - do not be scared off by Ecuador mainland crime. We Stayed at the airport hotel in Guayaquil and felt safe. Just book the Holiday Inn property right almost attached to the Guayaquil airport and you'll be good. So many are avoiding the Galapagos right now due to the mainland issues, which is a shame as it is hurting the locals and a missed opportunity to visit. The airport hotel we used in Guayaquil was literally adjacent to the airport and has reliable pickup with hotel van.

Supporting local businesses like this family-run hotel is a great way to experience the true warmth of the Galapagos while contributing to the local community. We felt so sorry to leave and so happy we...