Hotel Reina Isabel, Quito

We used this hotel as a base whilst staying in Quito and visiting the Galapagos Islands in April this year.

First Impressions
The hotel doesn’t look all that from the outside. There is a concierge man who is at the ready to assist you from your vehicle.

Reception Area
There is a nice clean marbled reception area. This area also has comfy leather settees complete with coffee table rather reminiscent of someone’s ...
...with the usual range of hotel toiletries and white fluffy towels. It was disappointing that such a room didn’t have tea/coffee making facilities although we had brought our own travel kettle. The rooms were cleaned each day.

Restaurant
We were only on a B&B basis so only ate breakfast so cannot comment on other meals. Breakfast was available allegedly from 7am but seemed to ready earlier to accommodate guests catching early ... more

We used this hotel as a base whilst staying in Quito and visiting the Galapagos Islands in April this year.

First Impressions
The hotel doesn’t look all that from the outside. There is a concierge man who is at the ready to assist you from your vehicle.

Reception Area
There is a nice clean marbled reception area. This area also has comfy leather settees complete with coffee table rather reminiscent of someone’s lounge. This area is great as a meeting area when gathering together for a tour. There are 3 computers with free internet access available 24/7. The reception is manned 24 hours with two lady reception staff one working day and the other the night. They speak limited English. We found the evening one barely broke into a smile.

Rooms
We had rooms on the 3rd / 7th and 8th floors. These are accessible by stairs or by lifts. The corridors leading to the rooms are clean but a bit dated. There is a window at each end of the corridor offering excellent views of the city on the higher floors. The corridors are well lit with automatic lighting.
We were well impressed with our room on the 8th floor on our first arrival. (After 27 hours of travelling!!!!!) Our family had upgraded us to a junior suite as it was our 25th Wedding Anniversary complete with wine and fruit. What a nice surprise!
There were 2 Queen Size beds, plenty of wardrobe/cupboard space, bedside tables and lamps a little seating area, dining table and chairs and TV which had mostly Spanish speaking programmes but we managed to get CNN. We also had a stunning view over the surrounding area. The bathroom was clean in marble with a sink area and Jacuzzi (which was dated) with shower over. Although the shower was fine we had difficulty using the bath because the water flow was so poor that we couldn’t get enough water for a decent bath and it was cold by the time the water was about 3 inches in the bottom. (We managed to use the Jacuzzi once on one of the other floors.) The bathroom was completed with the usual range of hotel toiletries and white fluffy towels. It was disappointing that such a room didn’t have tea/coffee making facilities although we had brought our own travel kettle. The rooms were cleaned each day.

Restaurant
We were only on a B&B basis so only ate breakfast so cannot comment on other meals. Breakfast was available allegedly from 7am but seemed to ready earlier to accommodate guests catching early flights. The breakfast was buffet style and consisted of a basket of various fresh fruit, trays of fresh sliced pineapple and melons. There were usually 3 bowls of cereals containing cornflakes, rice crispies and cocoa pops. Jugs each of plain /strawberry yoghurt. Various fresh cooked bread rolls, butter and jams. Cheese and meat slices. A container of scrambled egg. Juices. Tea and coffee. The staff spoke little English and you signed next to your room number when you had eaten. I am not a breakfast fan and it would have been so nice just to be able to do yourself a bit of toast. It wasn’t worth asking the staff as unless you spoke excellent Spanish they appeared not to understand anything. They did look like they were there under sufferance! I personally couldn’t abide the rolls because they were too sweet for my taste. I don’t do cereal and 7am is far too early for me to down fruit however fresh with great joy. The resounding feature was the strawberry yoghurt was a joy and I could manage a bowl of that. Tea and coffee was not to my taste either. Juices were made up to taste very sharp. Husband however managed breakfast though he wasn’t struck.

Other Facilities
The hotel had a sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi which was open from 4pm – 10 pm. I did have a look inside and like the hotel was clean. No one was using it when I looked round. The girl working there seemed much friendlier than the receptionists. They also offered full body massages at 20 USD for 1 hour. Unfortunately I never had time to use any of these facilities.

The hotel also had a complimentary left luggage room for Guests to leave their baggage that is not required whilst in the Galapagos. This is a secure room and tickets are issued for baggage stored here.

Overall Opinion
Not a bad hotel. I cannot recall any prices as it was booked via our tour operator. I believe it was the cheaper choice of hotel. I think it was a four star by Ecuadorian standards. There were plenty of places to eat nearby. There was an excellent beauty salon next door. I had a 45 minute pedicure complete with French polish for 3 USD!!! Full body massages lasting an hour were 10 USD.

Would I recommend it? Yes

Value for money? Probably, but not sure of the hotels rates as booked via our tour operator.. 

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