Scalesia Lodge — Hotel in Parroquia Tomás de Berlanga (Santo Tomás)

We just returned from two weeks in the Galapagos spending 4 days at Scalesia. We travel a lot and have a 13-year-old for context. Scalesia is an incredibly well-run operation by wonderful people. They know each guest individually, keep track of your preferences, and are always available. The Galapagos guides they provide for the daytime adventures are a real highlight of the trip. The island itself is quiet but has a nice small beach town with bars and restaurants when you are in the mood for going out. ||That said, Scalesia is Glamping, in huge tents, up in basically a mini cloud forest. It is quiet and peaceful. If you expected the Four Seasons, you didn't do your homework or look at the website. It will be a little damp and there will be a few bugs around. We found them to be minimal issues. We also did not notice mosquitos other than a few occasional ones which was great.||The food was perfect. There were a few options to choose from each day that accommodated all types of diets. Every day when we got back from an adventure, they knew when we would arrive and would have a small snack and drink (tea, juice) waiting for us. Dinner can be scheduled for any time and was always great. We found it to be a perfect blend of local inspiration and various "comfort foods" too. ||As other people note, there is not much going on at Scalesia after sundown. Bring a book, a deck of cards or whatever games you like to play. There is no wifi in the individual tents and our 13-year-old survived just fine. The wifi in the lobby area is great and all that is needed. In fact, the no-wifi in the rooms was a helpful aspect of the trip and encouraged us to unplug, which seems to be one of the reasons to go there in the first place.||In summary, do your homework on what the experience will be like for you. If this is your style - you will be blown away by how well...

Two issues:  |First. There are wild roosters and chickens that live in the area.  At least one wild rooster in the immediate area begins crowing in the middle of the night (about 2:00am) and crows about every 1-2 hours thereafter.  The "cabins" are tents and there is very little sound protection from this noise.  The first morning, I complained about the crowing but obviously nothing can be done in just one or two days time. These animals were introduced to the Galapagos and are not protected.  It would be easy to trap these animals and then donate the birds to low-income families on the island.|Second.  The minisplit AC did not work in my tent/cabin.  When I mentioned this to Edie, the manager, he said there is a unit under the bed, and i asked if he meant the stand-alone unit and he said yes. I informed him it was already running but that is not an AC, just a fan. He acknowledged same. The humidity was annoying, especially combined with waking up from the rooster crowing, to find my bed sheets feeling damp.  Although I liked the setting, I would not recommend this hotel for its failure in these two regards. Its too bad... because with the lodge's nice setting. Unfortunately the crowing for me spoiled enjoying a potentially wonderfully tranquil ambience at night. It is a rain forest...

We just returned from our Ecuadorian honeymoon where we did 3 nights at Scalesia (followed by 2 nights at Finch Bay as a package) and wow! This place is wonderful! There was a wave of people during the 3 days, at times just us and another couple and then a tour of people, so it was pretty low key, quiet and tranquil. This spot is about 25 minutes from the city center so if you are looking for action be prepared for a little hike anywhere you want to go. For us, that was perfect! The activities were very well organized with the hotel team always prepared with food before we left, a small snack and juice when we arrived along with a hot towel, and beautiful dinners every evening. The manager on site, Javier, really goes above and beyond to make you feel at home and make sure you have everything you need (flashlights for walks, water, umbrellas, beach towels, etc). He truly made our trip extra special and we appreciated it so much. Isabela island is very unique and we loved it. Everyone we talked to from the islands said the same and said it was the way Santa Cruz was 30 years ago. So glad we went off the beaten path a little to find this gem and experience this...