Estancia Hosteria El Ceibo

Peaceful, loved the horse riding. You can truly lay in a hammock and do nothing if you want. Walk in the eucalyptus forest (where I saw a beautiful owl). Lovely resident dogs and cats. Carmen, Manu, Mario were all great, so helpful and welcoming.

From the warm welcome upon our arrival to our departure we were met and cared for by the owners and wonderful staff. The chef is very talented and food was presented beautifully and was delicious, breakfast lunch and dinner. Our room was clean, comfortable and tidied every day with clean towels and fresh pitcher of water. Nice touches everywhere. And we met and shared our experience with two lovely couples, most enjoyable experience. A good break from Montevideo city action into a peaceful step back in time.

A longer stay, we only spent two nights.

The estancia is a lovely and private get away, which is an easy 1.5 hour drive from Montevideo. We spent a single night, but we were able to arrange a lovely asado barbeque dinner and a horse ride (just ask ahead about prices and how to pay). Breakfast was also good --they will prepare scrambled eggs or omelet if you want, in addition to the normal uruguayan breads and whatnot. Our room was clean and bug free, although there is a mosquito net just in case, and the courtyard has lovely seating areas as well as a hot tub for use.

There is a dirt road for the final 5 miles of the drive, but it was well kept. I wouldn't want to drive it in the rain though. We didn't interact much with the staff or host, but they were happy to talk when we wanted to and some spoke English.

Carmen and Joselo were incredibly welcoming. I really enjoyed sharing mealtimes with them, and getting to know the stories of their life and the estancia. The location is wonderfully remote and peaceful, but an easy drive from Montevideo. Horse trekking around the estancia, the local wildlife (fireflies, humming birds, insects, frogs), and plenty of spots for reading a book made for a very relaxing weekend stay

Extras (food, alcohol and horse riding) were reasonably priced, but a price list would be helpful for transparency

It was all fabulous. We were treated like family from the minute we walked through the door. The dogs, Joselo’s nature walks, Mario’s horse riding outings, Kristen’s cooking, Karmen’s stories. The dogs, the chickens, the hummingbirds, the hot tub.

Honestly, the only thing lacking was our rubbish Spanish!

Excellent food, friendly staff and hosts, fun horse riding, swimming in the river, red wine in the hot tub, hummingbirds and friendly dogs.. We loved our 3 nights here, our kids ran free and we were all sad to leave.

We were warmly welcomed by the owners and staff. The parilla was amazing. There was an abundance of fresh and tasty meats that we enjoyed with people from other countries

We loved the peace and quiet. We felt very welcomed and we learned so much about Uruguay (and a little about sheep too). The food was very good and very fresh!

All of the food was made with fresh and natural ingredients. My husband and I along with the other guests found the meals delicious and going for second and third helpings. We took a tour of the ranch in a truck and learned about the local vegetation and animals. Twice we went horseback riding in the mornings and saw the sheep and horses. Both the tour and horseback riding we were joined by the ranch's 4 dogs. With them running along side the truck and horses everyone was smiling. It made for such a happy experience. The ranch had a large patio covered by a huge wisteria and flowers around it. This made a cool and quiet place to sit, visit and relax. When our friends at home asked about Uruguay the ranch was the top subject. My husband and I are 74 years old but while we were at the ranch there was an Irish couple in their 20's backpacking for 7 months in South America. This tells you how accommodating the ranch is for all ages. It was the highlight of our 3 week vacation in Uruguay.