Galapagos Habitat Hotel

Darwin Suite = Impressive Formerly known (?) as Red Mangrove, this wonderful little hotel sits at the end of town over the water in a ma... read moreFormerly known (?) as Red Mangrove, this wonderful little hotel sits at the end of town over the water in a mangrove swamp. The Darwin Suite, was enormous and had really incredible views from two private balconies. Water pressure was good and the bathroom was large and modern. The staff at the hotel was very helpful, and bike rentals were free. The breakfast, also included, was very good.

This hotel is well managed, clean, and everything you would want in a tropical waterfront locale. read less

Good standard Unfortunately, the booked "superior room with sea view" was very small and in front of our balcony w... read moreUnfortunately, the booked "superior room with sea view" was very small and in front of our balcony was a canopy over which you could only see the sea on the horizon. The cleanliness just in the bathroom can be optimized, the floor was probably swept but not wiped. My wife cleaned the bathroom again with a towel, which was very dirty afterwards. At high tide the way from the street to the reception was full of water and we could only reach our room with difficulty. Nice the directly above the water lying outside lounge and the dinner was very tasty. Also the breakfast had a bit more choice than in other hotels during our trip. Conclusion: a middle class hotel with good kitchen. 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

Great location for visitors and sea lion spotting! A comfortable hotel on the waterfront but quieter than those on or near to the main drag of the town centre, w... read moreA comfortable hotel on the waterfront but quieter than those on or near to the main drag of the town centre, which is a 5 minute walk away. Helpful and friendly staff and a good bar and restaurant.

Bikes can be borrowed for free.

Sea lions and marine iguanas laze on the decking.

Definitely one of the best options in town 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

Nice spot to launch your tour Galapagos was fabulous. Haugan Cruises arranged this hotel and our tours. They did a great job with perfectl... read moreGalapagos was fabulous. Haugan Cruises arranged this hotel and our tours. They did a great job with perfectly smooth transfers, tours, cruise to islands etc. Local tour company staff greeted us as the hotel, communicated details and tweaked arrangements. It couldn't have been better.
The hotel was right on the water, great location, very good (maybe not great) food and nice staff. The rooms were quite interesting. I would recommend this to anyone. More read less

10 stars if I could This hotel was AMAZING!!!! The staff was super helpful and made stay more than pleasant. They seemed more worr... read moreThis hotel was AMAZING!!!! The staff was super helpful and made stay more than pleasant. They seemed more worried about our trip than we were. I had booked my stay from 12/20 to 12/24 and every single room was booked. Unfortunately, the day we landed our air conditioner in our room was not working. I went to them and told them I am willing to work with them since they were so busy to get things fixed and the next thing you know we were upgraded for free to an Ocean View suite. Maybe we just got lucky, but I think in any other circumstances they would have taken my offer.

Patricia and Andriana in particular made our stay AMAZING. Galapagos overall was amazing, but in no small part due to the amazing service, stay and food at this hotel.

Their restaurant Almar is comparable to any fine dining restaurant in any metro city in the world, be it Chicago, NYC, Paris, Dublin etc. They are dishing out fancy versions of ecuadorian classics without losing any of the authenticity.

I feel like no trip to Galapagos is complete without interacting with the folks at this hotel. 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

Great Hotel I stayed only for a night before my flight out of Galapagos. The staff were super friendly and accomodating, a... read moreI stayed only for a night before my flight out of Galapagos. The staff were super friendly and accomodating, always ready to help. The room was clean with a comfortable bed and a great view of the harbour (and not to mentions the sea lions who live on the hotel docks!). A great stay, hope to be back soon! read less