6 DAYS / 5 NIGHTS

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

Oasis with great restaurant Popped in for lunch and ended up moving from our hotel to stay here for our last night. Food is great, staff ... read morePopped in for lunch and ended up moving from our hotel to stay here for our last night. Food is great, staff are so helpful and view is incredible. Crabs and iguanas join you for lunch and the view includes sleeping sea lions, fishing herons and pelicans, marine iguanas swimming across the water and a raft of crabs scuttling around. More read less

A Waterside Gem! This superbly located, very well managed hotel offers everything anyone visiting the Galapagos might hope for!... read moreThis superbly located, very well managed hotel offers everything anyone visiting the Galapagos might hope for! Perched directly on protected water, it is (literally) home to a number of the creatures one comes to see: sea lions, finches, and iguana, among others! While it's ideally located within easy walking distance of the town, Puerto Ayora, and the nearby Darwin Research Center, it's snuggled among mangroves that lend it surprising privacy. And for essential daily activities at sea, the hotel's handsome, well-fitted powerboat, Windrose, is a perfect waterborne counterpart. This property is the Whole Package! 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

Sea Lions Live Here! This hotel is beautiful. We were in the Santa Fe suite which felt like we were in a tree house (no ocean view)... read moreThis hotel is beautiful. We were in the Santa Fe suite which felt like we were in a tree house (no ocean view). Indeed, the hotel is located within a mangrove forest and is very beautiful. The sea lions have their special place on the patio where they play and rest in the sun, and guests can swim in the waters off the patio. We had one dinner here which was amazing, and the breakfast buffet is perfect, with yogurt and granola, breads, meat and cheese, and made to order eggs and french toast. The service is super friendly and helpful. While this hotel is quite luxurious, it is a bit rustic, and as one would expect in a mangrove forest, there were some bugs but nothing alarming or bothersome. The lovely birds do wake up early though, about 5 am they are chirping.

Leaving the hotel, to the right, is the Charles Darwin Science Center, an easy walk and a must see. To the left is the downtown area with many shops and places to eat. There is also a waterfront park and marina which was a fun after dinner activity. This hotel offers bicycles, which was a great way to get to the marina quickly. I would love to stay here again if I am fortunate enough to travel to the Galapagos again. 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

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 hotel!! My daughter and I stayed 5 nights here and it was not enough!!

Room--Our room overlooked a deck where the... read moreMy daughter and I stayed 5 nights here and it was not enough!!

Room--Our room overlooked a deck where the sea lions love to hang out--we could have sat on our gorgeous patio and watched them all day! The waterfront view of the harbor was beautiful too. When we arrived our mini fridge was stocked with complimentary food and drinks (such a nice surprise).

Location--Easy walk to Charles Darwin center and the main street of restaurants/tour operators/shops/etc.

Tours-We booked two tours through the hotel's yacht (Windrose). The guides were so knowledgeable excited to teach us about the islands. On the Plazas/Santa Fe tour we were lucky enough to snorkel with sea lions and get up close to so many iguanas and birds. On the Bartolome tour we hiked to an amazing view and were able to snorkel with penguins and sharks! The yacht is roomy and comfortable even on a full tour (16 people), the crew on the yacht is wonderful and the food was delicious.

Staff-Andrea and Boris were both so helpful!! Anything we needed they were happy to help! They arranged our amazing tours and gave great suggestions for how to spend our non tour days on Santa Cruz.

Would love to visit here again!! More read less

beautiful setting, very helpful staff The hotel is set on the water with great views, including pelicans and frigate birds. The deck that houses th... read moreThe hotel is set on the water with great views, including pelicans and frigate birds. The deck that houses the restaurant and lounge chairs has resident sea lions and marine iguanas. The restaurant was the best we tried in Puerto Ayora. The restaurant and hotel staff was helpful in every way possible, particularly in upgrading our room when there was a problem with our first one. The second room overlooked the sea lions and had a large balcony with wonderful views of the harbor. read less