Mantaraya Lodge — Hotel in Parroquia Salango

I normally reserve a five star rating for paces that are super luxurious, classy, superlatively furnished, maintained and serviced.||||I've made an exception for the Mantaraya Lodge because, in its case, the whole totals much more than the sum of its individual parts.||||We have just spent a week there, recovering from an arduous, intensive and hectic-paced three week birding tour. For most of our week, we were the only guests, and for all that time, including the one or two days there were others there, we thought ourselves treated royally.||||First, the setting of the lodge, nestled in the hills overlooking a valley to the ocean, is pretty idyllic. There is a bit of noise from the highway (hidden in the distance below), but to tell the truth, we never noticed it. During the day, birds flit about making their calls and everything else except for the owls and nightfowl, dies to nothing at night.||||Second, the architecture of the lodge is idiosyncratic, but it comes off as tasteful fun and is, to my mind at least, highly successful. (Slightly reminiscent of what I remember of smurf villages when my sons were kids.) It is colourful, well-built, well laid out and gives any number of guests lots of room to spread out. Rooms appear to be all well insulated from each other sound-wise. ||||Third, our room (15, el Cangrejo) was virtually completely private and invisible from virtually any other place in the complex. Furnishings are clean, well maintained and our Queen-sized bed extremely comfortable. Lighting is good. Our patio had hammocks and a chair, the best view of the ocean and a terrific place from which to sit and watch the unending procession of birds pass by. The air conditioning worked well when we wanted it and when we didn't, the cross breeze and fan kept the room temperature comfortable. The bathroom was large and well laid out and the shower large and roomy with unending hot water. Maid service was excellent, efficient and completely unobtrusive.||||Fourth, the pool is large and well maintained. A great way to cool off any time of the day. I only used the hot tub once, but it also would, I am sure make others happy. Staff is out sweeping up and skimming several times a day, but keeping leaves from the surrounding trees out is a thankless and unending task. We never found the leaves in the pool between skimmings to be problematic.||||Fifth, the restaurant makes every effort to accommodate special requests. We don't need three course meals and each and every of our special requests for breakfast, lunch and dinner were always met to the very best of the staff abilities. We had the salads and a taste of virtually everything on the menu over the week and never once got any kind of stomach upset from food at the lodge.||||Six, Staff: From the manager (Juan Roca) to the groundskeeper, everyone went out of their way to make us feel welcome, cared for and special. Only Juan spoke any English but all did their best to understand my Spanish and to meet our every need/want. Juan can also arrange any kind of daily outing (Los Frailes, Isla de la Plata, whale watching, etc.) you might feel inclined to do.||||Seven, Security. The lodge grounds are locked up at sunset, fenced and electrically secured and monitored and illuminated at night. Two resident dogs make sure that anyone who is new to the property or not supposed to be on the grounds gets announced right away. Staff is scrupulously honest.||||Eight, Value for money. We had most of our meals there (why go into PL when food, decor and service is as good at the lodge as anywhere in town.) We had laundry done. Not once did I think what we paid for accommodation, food, services or transportation untoward or uncalled for. The room rate includes breakfast and coffee/tea all day.||||Nine, Maintenance. Understand that this a lodge set down in the bush in a hot, humid climate. Juan clearly keeps a close look out for things that need fixing and seems to have lots of the wherewithal to effect repairs as necessary. There are going to be insects trying to explore every area of the lodge, including rooms and bathrooms. If you are at all squeamish about bugs, you might want to give all of Ecuador a pass. Otherwise, you will treat the (very) occasional beetle, ant or spider as a curious intruder and either shoo it away or squash it, depending on your temperament.||||So, all in all, the Mantaraya gets a five star rating. It's not new, pristine, super luxurious or what normally might be considered 'classy'. But it works and I have no qualms about...

Enjoyed 3 nights in room 11 as part of an independent 17 day tour of Northern Ecuador - based luckily just outside Puerto Lopez (about 2km South) which gave you peace from any city noise. Our room (adequate ceiling fans) had its own balcony over looking the sea and some scrub land - had 2 chairs but lacked a table. The pool was clean but a little cool. Using a telescope we were able to watch Hump back Whales leaping from the sea! Passing Pelicans & Frigate Birds also overhead. In the car park area we had Vermillion Flycatcher & Yellow-tailed Oriole. Food was usually a choice of chicken or fish cooked to your preference. Internet access was good around the dining area. Big thanks to Diego the manager who spoke good English & dropped us off and collected us for our boat trip and his general guidance. Would. Defiantly stay at this quirky hotel again - any minor defects your room has are easy to live with - don't let negative reviews put you off staying here!!...

We stayed at this hotel for three nights. It is a nice hotel but suffers a bit from wear, maybe due to deferred maintenance because of the pandemic. The staff was very helpful, and the manager almost anxious. The room we had had a view of the ocean with a large terrace with hammocks. Food was okay. Children seemed to really enjoy the pool. The hotel is 2-3 km out of town. The major negative for us was the internet. It was not available in the rooms and despite sitting in the dining area right next to the wireless router, it would occasionally fade out. Of note, summer is the season when humpback whales are present and they really are a...