Gran Hotel de Lago - el Coca — Hotel in Puerto Francisco de Orellana

Like me, you probably had a hard time finding much about Coca on TripAdvisor or anywhere else. We settled on Gran Hotel for two nights and we had a one day tour to Yasuni, picked up at 5:00am and returned at 5:30pm by amazontraveltours.com We didn't want to go out to the jungle lodges, just stay in town and have one long day out on a boat. It was what we had time for. We flew roundtrip from Quito to Coca and checked in about 1:00pm, got up the next morning for the one day tour, spent a second night at Gran Hotel, and flew back to Quito the next day. The staff were very nice. One front desk clerk spoke efficient English. The manager spoke to us each night at dinner and his English is excellent and he is very welcoming. The breakfast is about like other Ecuador hotels and is included in the room price. They will include eggs made to order for no extra charge. The dinner buffet was average. The hotel did not have many guests and I understand the difficulty in predicting what to serve and when. The downturn in the oil industry in Ecuador has hit this town hard and there are far fewer business travelers than there used to be. The second night my dinner buffet food was cold despite a sterno burner under it. You can add dinner in advance to your room reservation when you book for $20 per person per night. We did this and found that you can either get the full dinner buffet or choose up to $20 off the menu. I would skip the extra $20 and either order off the menu which can be done for less than $20 or take a very inexpensive taxi to a restaurant. || If you don't want to spend the money on the luxury lodges or endure the rustic ones out in the jungle, this is a good choice to stay in Coca and go out on day tours. Gran Hotel has two other locations in the Amazon region that you could also choose to stay at and tour from. Amazon Travel Tours offers two different one-day tours from Coca so you could stay for three nights and do the two different one-day tours if you wanted to, we just didn't have time. They might even customize something for you. I'm also writing a review of Amazon Travel Tours, it was a great experience. Our guide was actually an independent guide hired by Amazon Travel Tours for our tour, we were the only ones that signed up for that day. He is a young indigenous man who grew up in a community in the region and will customize tours, if you want to contact him direct it's Henry Pichisaca (henryecotours at gmail dot com). I would stay at Gran Hotel again. Buy some water in town if you drink a lot and want to save a few cents, they only give one free 16 oz bottle per room per day and charge $1 for each extra. Our room was on the back side facing the pool and yes we did hear a dog barking from across the back wall as others have noted, but it was very sporadic during the times we were in our room and since we always travel with good earplugs if he barked during the night we didn't notice. Didn't hear any roosters though I can see how that would be possible. This is not a tourist town at all. We walked around the business district and town plaza and waterfront on the afternoon we arrived and we did not encounter any other tourists at all. There are no souvenir shops or stands. There were two small stand-alone shops on the waterfront selling items that are supposed to be made by local indigenous people, and also run by them, and from the looks of it that seemed to be fairly accurate. We did not feel unsafe during the day. Our guide Henry assured us that it was safe at night in the plaza area as well, but we were too tired to...

Most tourists going to Coca are on their way to/from Amazon and need a place to stay a night, and the Gran Hotel is the definitely the best of these I've stayed in (it's also the most expensive - though still only $50/person/night). Will definitely be staying here every time I'm passing through Coca in the future.||The rooms are very functional - nothing too fancy - but everything was comfortable and everything works. The staff were friendly, accommodating and helpful. Breakfast was decent, and the one night we had dinner in the hotel it was too (although much more expensive than places in town). We didn't swim in the pool but did walk around it - and it's lovely. The pond has some huge Arapaima and they have food if you want to feed them and see them eat (which is kind of cool). ||The hotel is gated for security, which most of the other options are not. It's a tiny bit off the main center of town (it's like a 5 minute walk along the river). We didn't have any problems with crime or security, but I'd probably avoid walking alone or in a small group back from the center at night (you can take a cab for a couple of dollars). ||The hotel is a 5 minute drive from airport, and they have a free shuttle or again you can take a taxi for a few dollars. If you're heading out to the Amazon, most of the docks are a few...

I’ve read some of the other reviews and they make me smile. The hotel is rated as 3-star hotel yet the reviewers are reviewing the place as a 5 star.

For a three star hotel, I give it 4 out 5.

Anyway, I stayed here for 4 nights on business. For me, this hotel is excellent, it’s a ten minute journey to where I need to be and ten minutes or so from the airport.

The service has been nothing but outstanding. Staff are very friendly and have gone out of their way to be helpful to me.

The breakfast is great. I don’t eat like this nor do I have as many choices at home as is offered here. A bowl of fruit with yoghurt and a couple of slices of toast is more than I eat at home and sets me up nicely until lunch time.

The first day I arrived, I sat for lunch. There is a set menu which is real nice and much quicker than ordering ala carte.

I also had dinner on the first day. That wasn’t as good. The meat served was vey tough

Where does the hotel fail for me is my room. I was located on the third floor and at the front of the hotel. It fails only because I can hear the traffic outside as though a window is open. So if you are expecting an early night or an lay-in then you better put in your ear plugs.

Other than, the hotel is great. And the next time, I come to Coca, I will be happy...