GREEN HOUSE Araque Inn — Hotel in San Pablo del Lago

My husband and I spent two nights and three fantastic days based out of the Green House Araque Inn. The B&B is located in Araque, located near the beautiful San Pablo Lake and at the base of the non-active volcano Imbabura. The location will give you a sense of life in a more rural area, where residents (some dressed in traditional clothes) tend to cows, sheep and pigs, and corn and other crops. However, you are very close to Otavalo and other areas.||||The B&B itself is very comfortable; we stayed on the second floor with a beautiful view from the deck. Our room consisted of a queen size bed and a bunk bed, though we only used the queen bed. The meals were great. Each morning, we had fresh fruit, toast or rolls, coffee or fresh mint tea, eggs and fresh juice. One night we had dinner at the B&B, and Patricio, who attended cooking school, prepared delicious trout (from the local trout farm), with vegetables and potatoes (cost was $10 for the two of us).||||What made the stay at the Green House Araque Inn really special is the warm welcome and attention that owners Patricio and his wife Nellie give to their guests. Their three children are also really charming. Patricio offers reasonably priced, custom-made tours of the area, based on visitors' interests. At the time we visited, Patricio was accompanied by his friend and driver, Cristian, who helped us get to more remote locations in his 4x4 car. On our first day, we visited the San Pablo Lake Aquatic Center, and went to the beautiful Peguche waterfalls (a half hour walk from where we parked). We then went to the textile market of Otavalo and the weaving town of Peguche.||||The next day, we went for a four-hour hike around Cuicocha Lake. Because of the altitude and the length, we were glad that Cristian went with us as a guide. We then went to Cotacachi, which specializes in leather goods, and did some shopping there. After, we had a really special treat, when Patricio took us to meet his 86 year old grandmother, who lives a very traditional lifestyle in a more remote area. ||||Our last day together, Patricio and Cristian took us to Laguna Mojanda at the base of Fuya Fuya mountain. We did a small hike and saw two of the lakes in the region. This area is hard to get to, and was only accessible because of Cristian's ability to negotiate challenging roads in his 4x4. They then took us back to Quito for a reasonable fee.||||We highly recommend this B&B to couples, singles, families and adventure travelers. Luckily my husband speaks fluent Spanish, but those with limited Spanish or no Spanish will still have a wonderful stay. You will see so much more of the region if you stay here since you will have a local host to...

Wow,||This was an odd experience. ||I made a reservation via a third party and then received an email from the proprietor, Patrcio.||He seemed very friendly and after phoning him he offered to pick us up at the bus station in Quito. This had been mentioned in a review and seemed like a very gracious offer. ||When we arrived the place was farther from Otavalo than I thought but the owners seemed earnest and eager to help.||The walls were lovely and thick and kept sound out well. It was a noisy place but our room was quiet. ||While there was no place to have dinner, it had been a long day so we went to sleep.||Unfortunately, the bed was very soft and I slept badly and awoke to back pain.||After a quick breakfast; lots of suger but fine.||We left to search for another accommodation, one where I could sleep.||My husband hurried back to explain that while the place was nice I needed a different bed. He paid for the night and then paid twice that for the" free " ride.||Plus the $20 for the taxi ride to explain/get our things and check out.||The owner was upset but we intended to write a good review with a reference to the soft beds ( for those to whom it matters )||Then we received an email from the third party site. He advised them that we never showed up and they are now trying to get us to pay for another night! He charged us more than we were told as well as for the free ride and now wants payment for another night!||Be careful, he seems like a nice person who wants to help but he clearly has a problem and is unable to take even the hint of dissatisfaction about his property.||The place is a $5 to $8 ride from Otavalo and is in the middle of nowhere.||There was no way to get around and there were no resturants, shops or stores within miles the rode he lived on was impassible and the number of wild dogs and really noisy animals was incalculable....

The Green House was more of a home stay then a hotel for us, which we loved. We felt welcomed right away, Patricio and his family were so friendly and helpful and we loved their cute little dog Max. We chose this location because it is not in the city we wanted to be in the country away from all the tourists. Taxis will pick you up and the bus station is two blocks away. We ate breakfast and dinner each night at the Green House the food was fresh, local and great. They even went out of the way to meet our dietary needs. For lunches we at local food from the street vendors it was super and we did not get sick.||We walked to the Aquatic Park (20 min) and the Condor Park (90 min) in the evenings we watched a few local Soccer games on the field two blocks from the Inn. ||We had only planned on staying one night but ended up staying two because of the wonderful family. They help arrange a bike tour up to the lakes, made sure we got on the right buses to hike around the lake caldera and even took us to the Saturday animal market. The last day we were there (after we checked out) they lets us keep our luggage at the Inn while we went and explored the countryside. Then we came back and showered before returning to Quito, we did not have to pay for a 3rd night. Patricio and his family went above and beyond to make sure we enjoyed our stay and Ecuador, we received way better service at the Green house Inn then at two of our higher priced jungle lodges. ||Everywhere you go in Ecuador has roosters, stray dogs, rough roads, and friendly people embrace it, support the locals and have a grand adventure in an...