Martita's House Hostal — Hotel in Zumbahua

I reactivated my dormant TripAdvisor account just to write this review after seeing it had 1 star somehow (note that it has 4.5 stars on Google reviews). ||||With Maritas, it all depends on your expectations. If you're expecting a five-star resort in the middle of nowhere Ecuador, then of course you're going to hate it. But I thoroughly enjoyed my stay there.||||After a long day Cotopaxi, our tour guide brought us to Quilotoa. The town itself is extremely basic, located in a rural part of Ecuador near the volcano its named after. The two hikes in one day of Cotopaxi and Quilotoa wiped me out physically, and having this place to crash afterwards (which is exactly what I did), was a lifesaver.||||The people that ran the hotel/hostel were extremely friendly. They let their son Israel run out and 'greet' the guests which gives the place a very homey feel, despite us not speaking the language. They served us dinner AND breakfast, and both were very good. Sure, the beer was warm, but we were hundreds of miles from civilization and they had beer! Not sure how you can complain about this. ||||This is more of a backpackers hotel/hostel. The two rooms I saw both had private bathrooms with showers (water was hot the next morning as well - a pleasant surprise!). Wifi was iffy, but again, keep the location in-mind. The view from the top floor in the morning was unparalleled. If you're looking for luxury, go stay at the JW Marriott in Quito; otherwise strongly consider Marita's. I would stay here again in...

We stayed at this hostal with our guides from Polylepis Tours. Marta and Elsa were very welcoming and we stayed in the very top bedroom. Marta and her husband’s son Israel was adorable and provided us with some entertainment and a chance to practice our Spanish! ||It gets chilly at night in Quilotoa but they had plenty of warm wool blankets on the beds that kept us very warm. We ate dinner and breakfast at the hostal and they have an mini store with snacks and drinks for purchase. Breakfast was scrambled eggs with bread, coffee and juice. ||Be prepared for the hot water to take a minute or two to warm up but such is the nature of staying in remote town at 13,000 ft, it’s all part of the experience. ||The hostal is a quick 5 minute walk from the entrance to the lagoon, be prepared for a strenuous hike back up or pay $10 to take a mule!||I highly recommend this hostal for place to rest while recovering from hiking in the high altitude, thank you for your...

Probably the worst service I've ever received at a hotel, anywhere. I've been fortunate enough to see a lot of latin America and Ecuador specifically, and I can't say that the level of service is on par with any other hotel I've been to. While booking the room the lady that was helping me kept leaving and I had to ask for her to come back so I could pay her. Last night I waited a couple of hours for her to return back to the hotel to light the stove (which is the only source of heat in the room).

All of that I was willing to look past, then I got up this morning and the water isn't running, of course the staff is nowhere to be found and when I tried to go back into the hotel they had (likely unintentionally) locked me out of the hotel, since my room is only accessible via a porch.

On the plus side the room I'm staying in is very pretty and the WIFI is quite good for such a remote location, but I wouldn't recommend this...