Originally Posted by
lamphs
Summary
I was here for 2 nights, MR Gold, paid stay. Overall, very good.
Arrival and departure
Arrival was a bit problematic. I took an authorized taxi from the airport ($25 cash or $26 credit). It was a 90 minute ride (Sunday, mid-morning). Not only were many roads closed due to a marathon (although someone else told me that many roads are pedestrian-only on Sundays), the taxi driver could not figure out how to get anywhere close to the hotel. I ended up walking 6 blocks with my roller bag (good exercise). But what bothered me is that as I was walking up, as in uphill, the driveway and to the lobby, there were 2-3 doormen standing at the door. Not so much as a greeting. But I was allowed early check-in, 9th floor room (concierge level). Not sure if the room was an upgraded room or not. Seemed fairly standard to me (which is fine with me as a solo traveler). Again, no one offered to escort me to my room. Not a complaint, I am perfectly capable of carrying my own bags. I only mention it because I did not see the lack of a greeting at the door nor lack of an escort for any other customer. I did chat with the Guest Relations Supervisor about this and expected that she would have gotten back to me, but has not as of this writing.
Departure was great. I had a 0035 flight. Late checkout (4 PM) was provided and I was given the choice of storing my bag and then using the shower in the spa, should I wish, or pay an additional $45 to keep my room until 8 PM. I am not sure if this option was based upon availability or not. I retained my room for the $45. In either case I could use the lounge until I left. Very nice feature.
That said, apparently hotel taxes can be refunded at the airport, prior to security, and very easily. The front desk made no mention of this, and therefore I am disappointed. The only reason I found out is because when I was sitting in the airport lounge, I got my receipt e-mailed to me and I took a look at it and the e-mail expressly said the receipt was e-mailed for use at the airport.
Room
As mentioned above, my room was on the concierge level, 9th floor. Clean and well appointed. It did have a separate shower and a sunken tub, so maybe it was a slightly upgraded room? There was turndown service the first night, which was fine. But I placed my ‘do not disturb’ on the door for the remainder of the stay.
Lounge
The lounge is located on the 9th floor. Excellent breakfast buffet, including made to order omelets. There was also ‘grab and go’ throughout the day; small salads, sandwiches, fruit, etc. At dinner time, there was enough variety of food to make a balanced meal, if one wanted. The selection of food changed each evening. Staff was attentive and took the time to learn my name and thanked me for being ‘Gold’ at each meal time. You receive two complimentary beer/wine at dinner time, per day.I did notice that the number of allowed guests was strictly enforced.
Tours and sights
I did not have time to do as much touring as I would have liked as I had some work to do one day. I ended up booking a full day tour to include the real equator, the fake equator, the Panecillo, and a good walking tour of the old town. I booked this through the concierge, $130 + tip + entrance fees + lunch. Note that the tour is cash only – not billable to your room.The actual tour company is Great Horned Owl. The actual tour goes to the cable car, but the guide recommended the Panecillo, for a much better view.
With regards to taxis. It is recommended that if you do not want to use the hotel car, use a local taxi that has ‘Registro Municipal’ on the front doors. Apparently these drivers have some sort of background check and regularly use meters.With regards to the airport return, I used the hotel car, I think for $45. The taxi that brought me to the hotel gave me a $5 discount business card (so $20), if I used it again. But I don’t use Whatsapp or anything like that to communicate while I am away. Anyhow, it’s an option for you.