La Tortuga Hostel — Hotel in Parroquia Salango

At this time of the year (late August) Ayampe is like a dormant village, however the Tortuga hostel is open, it has beautiful well manicured gardens, a small pool and original nicely crafted little but pricey Cabañas where the sea breezes inside the bedroom through a triangular open hole under the roof. Nice on warmer days, however it was cold when we stayed there. We paid $50/n Excluding breakfast!||Unfortunately we find that the appointed beach front Cabaña n.2 was not well maintained, the sliding front door lock was broken, we waited 1 hour to have it repaired and noticed a similar cabaña next door was available with a functioning door lock.||We would have appreciated to be offered switching Cabañas immediately after reporting the broken lock instead of waiting 1 hour. In the other cabaña n.1 the bathroom door is jammed, it was 18’c cold at night, only a very thin blanket was given at check-in, reception was closed by 8:30pm and nobody on the premises could give us a warmer blanket when we needed it. We went to bed at 22:00, used the hammock fabric and our alpaca socks to keep us warm. By the morning we found an extra blanket on our terrace, a little too late! ||They could also improve their communication from booking till arrival and it would be helpful to hire front desk staff who speak at least another language then just Spanish, especially when things go wrong.||We booked more then 6 weeks in advance, by surprise 1 week before arrival we were asked to wire the $100 (2 nights) rental fee, when we already left Europe and were in the middle of our travels in mountainous Ecuador. Based on trust they agreed that we could pay cash but then at check-in they charged us $11 too much for the cabaña, which they returned after we notified them the next day.||On our 2nd day we discussed all this with management, they listened but we feel like they don’t care much then a simple sorry, there was no gesture to make things right (like a free breakfast). We decided we will NOT return here.||Itapoa hostal in Puerto López offered us for the same price much better value, nice Cabañas and Free breakfast, warm blankets. Staff was friendly and multi-lingual and it’s only 15min ride from Ayampe or the beautiful beach...

At this time of the year (late August) Ayampe is like a dormant village, however the Tortuga hostel is open, it has beautiful well manicured gardens, a small pool and original nicely crafted little but pricey Cabañas where the sea breezes inside the bedroom through an triangular open hole under the roof. Nice on warmer days, however it was cold when we stayed there.

Unfortunately we find that the appointed beach front Cabaña n.2 was not well maintained, the sliding front door lock was broken, we waited 1 hour to have it repaired and noticed a similar cabaña next door was available with a functioning door lock.

We would have appreciated to be offered switching Cabañas immediately after reporting the broken lock instead of waiting 1 hour. In the other cabaña n.1 the bathroom door is jammed, it was 18’c cold at night, only a very thin blanket was given at check-in, reception was closed by 8:30pm and nobody on the premises could give us a warmer blanket when we needed it. We went to bed at 22:00, used the hammock fabric and our alpaca socks to keep us warm. By the morning we found an extra blanket on our terrace, a little too late!

They could also improve their communication from booking till arrival and it would be helpful to hire front desk staff who speak at least another language then just Spanish, especially when things go wrong.

We booked more then 6 weeks in advance, by surprise 1 week before arrival we were asked to wire the $100 (2 nights) rental fee, when we already left Europe and were in the middle of our travels in mountainous Ecuador. Based on trust they agreed that we could pay cash but then at check-in they charged us $11 too much for the cabaña, which they returned after we notified them the next day.

On our 2nd day we discussed all this with management, they listened but we feel like they don’t care much then a simple sorry, there was no gesture to make things right (like a free breakfast). Therefore we decided we will NOT return here.

Itapoa hostal in Puerto López offered us for the same price much better value, nice Cabañas and Free breakfast, warm blankets. Staff was friendly and multi-lingual and it’s only 15min ride from Ayampe or the beautiful beach...

My friend and I stayed in Ayampe for two days and one night before heading on to Montañita, which I would highly recommend if you are looking for somewhere off the beaten path and far more relaxing than Montañita's party scene. That said, there is very little to do in Ayampe- so you should only come here if you are seeking beach and surf and jungle. ||On that note, La Tortuga was a great choice to stay in Ayampe. It was expensive ($50/ night) but our cabana was a private room with a nice private bathroom and electricity. We were supplied with mosquito nets at night-- this is definitely a rustic stay. ||The hotel has direct access to the beach and a great upstairs porch in the main lodge with a beautiful, unobstructed view of the ocean. The hotel staff was excellent and very friendly! ||There is also a pool on the grounds and an outdoor kitchenette and refrigerator for common use if you want to buy groceries in town. I saw other reviews about food- I don't believe there was any food served while we were there but we found other restaurants nearby that were...