Very special place Wow! Such a lovely place to stay, with the most amazing staff who were helpful and friendly. Great room with w... read moreWow! Such a lovely place to stay, with the most amazing staff who were helpful and friendly. Great room with wonderful views( thank you for the upgrade to the suite). Great food in the restaurant and great service. We enjoyed our evening meal and breakfast. Thanks for the free bike loans. Wonderful comfortable beds. Reception staff were amazing. Thank you for some very special memories and great service. read less

Lovely meal in nice surroundings We did not stay in the hotel but enjoyed a lovely meal in the restaurant , with a harbourside view. Menu was i... read moreWe did not stay in the hotel but enjoyed a lovely meal in the restaurant , with a harbourside view. Menu was interesting and food and service of high quality . Very reasonable prices for the quality too. 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 trip Went there with my wife, love it, the location is very good (i mean, you are in the Galapagos, nothing better ... read moreWent there with my wife, love it, the location is very good (i mean, you are in the Galapagos, nothing better than that right) with very warm friendly staff. Loved the situation amongst the mangroves and all the wildlife. The suite was verry good (could be better, but i guess the logistic is very complicated) -amazing views.
Restaurant was very good for all the meals. 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

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

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

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

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