Galapagos Habitat Hotel

Very nice stay The hotel is at a very nice location and the sea lions feel at home there. The rooms are spacious and very cle... read moreThe hotel is at a very nice location and the sea lions feel at home there. The rooms are spacious and very clean. The staff is helpful and takes good care about you. The restaurant is placed perfectly over the ocean and the food quality is outstanding. Thanks to Andrea for all her efforts to make our stay as pleasureable as possible and treating my cold. read less

Popped in for a home made lemonade and was surrounded by sealions! Fantastic As we sat by the water, half a dozen sealions were sunbathing in benches behind us. We had pelicans flying by ... read moreAs we sat by the water, half a dozen sealions were sunbathing in benches behind us. We had pelicans flying by and bright red crabs scuttling all over the rocks and iguanas by our feet. Perfect location for an ice cold drink watching wildlife. Others were eating and the food looked good too. read less

amazing and special place to stay My family was here for a week and half in mid/late August. Amazing and wonderful place to stay. There are so m... read moreMy family was here for a week and half in mid/late August. Amazing and wonderful place to stay. There are so many great things to point out:

Location: Can't beat the location. 5-10 minutes walk from the main town, shops, and restaurants. Close enough to enjoy Puerto Ayora, far enough to get away from the crowds and noise. The hotel is also ~10 minutes walking to the Charles Darwin Research Center, Galapagos National Park Visitor Center, and two small beaches.

Hotel Grounds: Most unique hotel in Puerto Ayora. It's very tranquil, as it is nestled inside a mangrove forest, and it is right next to the ocean. Sea lions and marine iguanas love to lounge on the deck area of the hotel and you can get a much more up close experience with sea lions here than even on some of the tours. Our family loved saying hi to the pack of sea lions and watch them play every morning as we started our day.

Rooms: Very comfortable and spacious rooms. We had a room with a patio/deck overlooking the ocean and it was delightful to wake up to pelicans flying by the patio and watching sea lions lounge and swim on the decks and below. Beds were comfortable and showers/bathrooms were clean and functional. Only two small critiques of the room 1) floors tend to get dusty (which was expected, as this is the Galapagos) but slippers were provided so not a big deal, 2) wish there was more shelf/dresser space for organizing and storing away clothes so I didn't have to live out of my suitcase as much.

Staff: This is where I felt the hotel really shined. The staff and front desk folks were incredibly helpful and hospitable. House keeping ensured a clean and organized room waited for us after a long day of treks and adventures. I believe they actually come in twice a day to tend to the room. Once during the day time for the main cleaning, and then once in the evening (if you're not in the room) to turn down the bedding and drapes to get the room ready for the night. The Almar/dining staff was very attentive to our dining and breakfast needs. The young man (wish I can recall his name!) in charge of the breakfast wait staff remembered our breakfast preferences (three scrambled eggs, two with veggies, one coffee with sugar and milk, one hot coco, one orange juice, one pineapple tea, and a side of ketchup) by the third day and had everything ready for us to eat within a few minutes of sitting down at the table. And the front desk staff helped with beach towels, calling taxis, and even prepped sandwiches for us to take for lunch on days we decided to go to Garrapatero Beach.

Almar Restaurant: Our package included complimentary dinner for half our stay so we were able to eat at a few other options around town and enjoy the food from the Almar. Almar's food is definitely one of the more delicious and higher-end dining options. Can't go wrong with any of the seafood dishes. The fresh fruit juices and fruit smoothies are absolutely delicious and refreshing.

Tours: We also booked our tour services thru Haguan that owns Red Mangrove and they absolutely delivered a great experience without any issues. Jefferson (our tour host) was incredibly helpful in setting expectations on what we'll encounter, what clothing we should wear on what day, travel logistics, etc... and even offered plenty of suggestion for different activities for days when we were not on organized tours. He would meet us every morning before we set off to ensure everything was in place and ready for the day.

All in all, this was an incredible place to stay as a "home base" during our time on the islands. It is one of the more pricier options in Puerto Ayora, but I would definitely stay here again when it comes time for our next Galapagos adventure. read less

Would definitely go back! The Windrose was an AMAZING experience! After a medical scare and needing to rebook our original trip, Galapagos Habitat was heaven sent. If you’re lo... read moreAfter a medical scare and needing to rebook our original trip, Galapagos Habitat was heaven sent. If you’re looking for all-inclusive (meals), land-based, with high quality service, this is the place for you. Their customer service is top notch, both remotely before getting there, to coordinate everything, and then in person as well. Hotel: location is very convenient, easy 10 min walk to the Darwin station or down into the main town. The restaurant has many options for a hot breakfast buffet and a lot of o for dinner. It almost on the water, and thus there is a daily array of sea iguanas & sea lions resting allowing a lot of photos Windrose yacht: surprised this amazing sunseeker doesn’t have its own page on Trip Advisor. As part of the package, the hotel works with this boat. Not sure if we could have arranged other stuff on our own, but it was hassle free to book all together. The crew is super helpful, can handle all abilities getting in & out of the dingy for wet & dry landings, and the boat is beautiful. The snacks & lunches are made fresh on the boat daily by an amazing chef! The only negatives? Hotel: The signs said, per usual, to hang up towels to re-use...but they kept getting replaced every day!! Didn’t feel very eco =( Boat: some days it felt like the closer port would have made more sense... After a medical scare and needing to rebook our original trip, Galapagos Habitat was heaven sent. If you’re looking for all-inclusive (meals), land-based, with high quality service, this is the place for you. Their customer service is top notch, both remotely before getting there, to coordinate everything, and then in person as well.

Hotel: location is very convenient, easy 10 min walk to the Darwin station or down into the main town. The restaurant has many options for a hot breakfast buffet and a lot of o for dinner. It almost on the water, and thus there is a daily array of sea iguanas & sea lions resting allowing a lot of photos

Windrose yacht: surprised this amazing sunseeker doesn’t have its own page on Trip Advisor. As part of the package, the hotel works with this boat. Not sure if we could have arranged other stuff on our own, but it was hassle free to book all together. The crew is super helpful, can handle all abilities getting in & out of the dingy for wet & dry landings, and the boat is beautiful. The snacks & lunches are made fresh on the boat daily by an amazing chef!

The only negatives?

Hotel: The signs said, per usual, to hang up towels to re-use...but they kept getting replaced every day!! Didn’t feel very eco =(

Boat: some days it felt like the closer port would have made more sense instead of driving across the island, eg for Santa Cruz, but they only use it one day a week. It would have been nice to have one more day to see Pinzon, Rabida, or maybe more of Santiago (assuming permits allowed); if doing all their routes it’s only 4 days that are unique, and would have loved another day or two!

PS they changed their name from Red Mangrove, so Google Maps etc can get a bit confused More read less

Perfect! We spent three days on Santa Cruz staying at this hotel and while this was a bit of a splurge, it was well wor... read moreWe spent three days on Santa Cruz staying at this hotel and while this was a bit of a splurge, it was well worth it. This hotel is at the edge of town, but the town is small enough that you can walk from one end to the other in 10 minutes or less.The location is spectacular because of the waterfront location of the restaurant where you can have breakfast if you are staying there or lunch and dinner regardless of whether you’re staying there, and the main attraction is sea lions and marine iguanas visible right there on the deck, lying in deck chairs, etc. Unlike San Cristobal, where sea lions are everywhere, Puerto Ayora does not have that many sea lions in town and this concentration of them along with the iguanas and birds etc makes the hotel special. We were in the Wolf room and I highly recommend it. Great view! This hotel used to be called Res Mangrove by the way. New management is doing a great job! The staff were super helpful. There are free bikes to borrow. What’s not to love?? The restaurant serves great food and the breakfast buffet was very good. More read less

Ecological luxury hotel in the middle of the beautiful archipelago islands of Galapagos Oceanview, private port, spacious rooms, luxury amenities, great location in front of Charles darwin center an... read moreOceanview, private port, spacious rooms, luxury amenities, great location in front of Charles darwin center and delicious high-quality cousin.
Enjoy the ocean view surrounded by sea lions and iguanas was a lifetime experience.
The hotel was built inside of forest of mangrove with great conservation concept.
To sit in the room and hearing the wild animals a few steps outside of our balcony was outstanding.
Recommended! read less

Gorgeous hotel, aware of the environment & surrounded by the most beautiful sea lions! We stayed in the Galapagos Habitat for 3 nights and had an incredible room with ocean views. The hotel itself ... read moreWe stayed in the Galapagos Habitat for 3 nights and had an incredible room with ocean views. The hotel itself has the perfect location, everything is close by and you can easily walk to beaches and the Charles Darwin Research Station. The staff is amazing and so helpful, they are taking such loving care of the room. Whenever you go on the terrace down by the restaurant you will be greeted by the cutest sea lions! I loved that, the hotel even gives them their proper space with a roof! It’s a paradise, home away from home with such a pretty design in the middle of a mangrove forest, highly recommended! More read less

Very special place in Galapagos islands The hotel was very welcoming and what made it even more special was to see a sea lion at the reception there r... read moreThe hotel was very welcoming and what made it even more special was to see a sea lion at the reception there receiving guests, that was totally unexpected! The hotel has a special niche for small details, amenities, service, the most delicious chocolates made right here in Galapagos! And the mini bars in the rooms are filled with super delicious treats with no additional cost. One of the most beautiful and relaxing experiences I've ever had was to sit down for breakfast at the hotel's deck, looking towards the sea and the animals around that come up to the patio straight from the water or the mangroves. They approach so fearlessly! There were pelicans, sea lions, marine iguanas, and the cutest little finches kept perching on the chair next to me. The hotel also offers tours on the Windrose yacht, I didn't have any plans for day tours but I changed my mind and it was totally worth a day cruise onboard that yacht, they have different options throughout the week depending on the day. Do it! You won't regret it! This beautiful hotel is very well located, it is walking distance from Charles Darwin Station and other local attractions. More read less

Seals as neighbors We recently stayed at the Galapagos Habitat formerly the Red Mangrove Inn. Perfect location near the Darwin C... read moreWe recently stayed at the Galapagos Habitat formerly the Red Mangrove Inn. Perfect location near the Darwin Center and close to shops and towns. Look out your suites at diving boobys and marine iguanas as Galapagos seals fight for the best bench on the deck near your room. Wonderful experience and a great place to start a land based trip of the Islands. read less