Hotel Casa Alquimia

Everything

Nothing

There were several barrels of drinking water in the hallways. You can take some water with you on your trip as well. It's a nice gesture from the owners. We recommend staying here.

At check-in, we had to pay an additional local tax of $10 for 3 nights. However, we were not informed of this obligation in advance on the booking confirmation.

Charming hotel with lots of character. Beds very comfortable with reading lights. Very interesting displays of crosses rocks shells local crafts. Room spacious. Great location within couple blocks of most sights in historic district. Staff was very accomodating. Arranged $30 airport pickup well worth it and driver to bus terminal an hour away. Good communication. Breakfast was tasty and filling. We liked it so much we booked again for our last night stay

Everything

Nothing

Breakfast was excellent. Staff very kind and helpful , very safe and secure The hotel is like a step into history, a visual treat I felt like a queen

I couldn't figure out how to get really hot water in the bathroom sink

The hotel is in a lovely position just outside the historic centre so we could walk in to explore. They arranged our taxi from the airport which was a reassuring welcome when we first arrived in the country. The hotel doesn’t look like much from the outside but it opens up inside and has a lovely inner courtyard (beautiful furniture everywhere) and terrace where we had breakfast, we could see the Virgin statue on the hill from there. The staff were very kind and helpful (e.g. they boiled the kettle for us when we wanted tea!). The breakfast was delicious, fresh fruit, eggs and fresh bread, a wonderful way to start the day.

There was very little we didn’t like. We knew that there might not be hot water so we were prepared for this though it detracted a little from our enjoyment. The television didn’t work when we tried to find out local news but this did not bother us too much so we didn’t ask about it which we could have done. On one of the nights it was quite noisy in the middle of the night from our neighbours but I think they may have arrived late so this was probably not normal. It is worth noting also that the hotel is not close to central Quito as it is at the south end of the old town. We were ok with this as we wanted to see the old town mostly.

The hotel is beautiful, with an embracing architecture that makes you feel like you're in your granny's house. It's really well located and the breakfast was very nice. The floor in my room creaked when you walked, and although that didn't bother me, some might be bothered by the noise. Still, I'd definitely recommend it.