Hilton Colon Quito, Ecuador - a Big Hotel in a Great Location
Written: Dec 15 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Near the airport, large rooms, free shuttle, great service, great views of the city
Cons: Rooms had slightly dated feel, warned about park across the street (El Ejido)
The Bottom Line: The Hotel Colon Quito is one of the nicer hotels in Quito, with a location near the airport, a free shuttle, and great service.
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| Javelina's Full Review: Hilton Colon Quito, Ecuador |
After spending a week in the Galapagos Islands, my husband and I flew to Quito to start a week of traveling through Ecuador. We were also flying out of Quito at the Mariscal Sucre International Airport, so we ended up spending our last night in Quito as well. Our tour operator, Lindblad Expeditions, had booked our hotel room at the Hotel Colon Quito, so we spent a total of two nights there, one week apart.
Quito is an amazing city, sprawling as far as you can see. The buildings are packed in very tightly, and is buzzing with activity. There is so much to see, and a lot of history in Quito (I believe it is the oldest colonial town in the Americas).
The hotel isn’t the most attractive – a sort of cement exterior – but it is large (tall), and is supposed to be one of the best hotels in Quito, aside from the newer Marriott, and also has over 300 rooms.
Location & Hotel
The hotel is just about 15 mintues from the airport, which is very convenient. Every time we went out and traveled back to the hotel, our drivers knew right how to get to the Hilton Colon Quito. There are plenty of things like banks and restaurants around the hotel.
There is a large area at the front of the hotel for loading and unloading. There were armed guards outside the front of the hotel, as well as one in the lobby.
The view from the hotel and the rooms is wonderful. You look out over Quito, and we could even see El Panecillo from our room - a huge statue located on a hilltop in Quito. Being the first week of December, it was decorated with lights, and a gorgeous sight from our room.
Check-In
Check-In is 12pm, and was very simple for us. I was glad that the check-in time was a little earlier, rather than later, because we had a really busy schedule. When checking in with our group, they had envelopes set up for us with everything we needed (including room key).
The last day we spent in Ecuador, a Saturday night, we stayed on the Executive Floor for about $20 more. You check in on the 17th floor, where they have a desk set up, and again, the service was very efficient.
The Rooms
The first night we stayed in Quito, we stayed in a “regular” room. The room was very spacious, with plenty of room (this was especially good since we had all kinds of luggage!).
The room comes with the regular assortment of amenities: alarm clock, television with cable, desk & chair, hairdryer, telephones, coffee pot, and so on. The bathroom is stocked with all kinds of necessities, including soap, shampoo, razor and shaving gel, toothbrush and toothpaste, and so on. There was even a phone next to the toilet, which was a little overkill for me, plus it may have gotten slightly drenched from the shower(!). We also had two bottles of purified water – a must in Quito.
There was also a guidebook to Ecuador, a binder of information on the hotel, and other useful information.
I did notice that the rooms seemed to have a slightly dated feel. From a glance, it looks great, but on “closer inspection” you can tell that the room has some wear. It might have been the colors used in the room – browns and grays – but it did feel like it was an older room. However, it felt clean and comfortable.
The hairdryer in the bathroom was a major tip-off. It was this strange, large machine mounted on the wall. You pull off a nozzle that is attached to a long hose (looks like a vacuum cleaner hose) and that’s your hair dryer. I’d never seen anything like it, and it seemed pretty old (not rundown, just very 㦲’s”).
The rooms have internet access. You go to the website they provide you, which asks you for your information and how much time you want to spend online. I believe it was $14 for 24 hours. You could also choose just 1 or 2 hours, and when we first checked in, we opted to just use the computer in the Executive Lounge (rather than setting up our laptop).
A regular king room runs about $105, and a room on the Executive Floor is about $135. You can check their website for room rates.
Executive Floor
The difference between our first room, a “regular” room, and the room on the executive floor, was nice. The room itself was a little larger, and had an area with a table and enclosed cabinets. We were also on a higher floor, and we had a very nice view of Quito. The room was pretty much the same, no extra amenities other than space and a table.
The amenities (other than in the room) for executive floor include an open bar in the evening, held on the 17th floor lounge. We went and had some drinks, watched TV, and stuffed ourselves on some very tasty hor'dourves. There is also a breakfast included, but we left the hotel at 6am, and breakfast is not served until 6:30am. There is also a computer in the lounge, as well as a TV, dishes of candy, couches, and a variety of international newspapers.
We also wanted to have lunch in town, so we asked the woman at the Executive Floor check-in desk about places to eat, and she not only looked them up, but she called several places to confirm their information. I found that the service was great and that they were much less busy than the people in the main lobby.
Check-out
Check-out is 1pm. We settled our room bill and were on our way. Keep in mind that tax is 22.00 % per room per night.
Each time we were checking out, a staff person was ready to grab our luggage. I don’t know if they desperately wanted a tip or if the service was just great, but they were always grabbed our stuff right away.
Other Thoughts
One of the nice features at this hotel is that they have a luggage hold. After a full week in the Galapagos, we were ready to ditch our swimsuits and snorkeling gear, as well as the souvenirs we had picked up along the way. We left some luggage with the hotel for an entire week while we traveled around Ecuador, and it was great not to have to lug around stuff we did not need.
There is a gift shop at this hotel, but when I asked about it around 4:30, the concierge said was closed. I had been to the gift shop at the Hilton’s Guayaquil hotel, and it wasn’t bad, so I was interested to see the one in Quito, but it’s too bad they closed so early. There is also a pool and casino, but we had no time to visit.
There are 3 restaurants in the Hilton Colon Quito, but we did not visit them. We had visited two of the restaurants in their Guayaquil hotel and found that the prices were just way overpriced, so we skipped the hotel restaurants. (We had so many hor'dourves in the Executive Lounge, that we weren’t even hungry!) There is also room service, but again, that looked really expensive. Honestly, I would rather eat somewhere in Quito rather than at the hotel, to try something in the city. We ate at a place about 5 minutes away, and it cost only $2 by taxi to get there.
Be sure, when speaking to any staff, either on the phone or in person, to ask if they speak English. Some don’t, but they will gladly find you a bi-lingual staff person.
There is a free shuttle to the airport, which we used. There are also plenty of taxis passing by, we were able to flag one down in just a few seconds of stepping outside the hotel.
Parting Thoughts… The Park
There is a park across from the hotel – “El Ejido”, which I have heard mixed things about. The consensus seems to be – don’t go in the park. Some people in our tour group were told to stay out of the park. One of the women traveling with us said that on the plane, the guy next to her, who lives in Quito, told her not to go in the park under any circumstances. The park looks relatively harmless, but after hearing so many warnings, we stayed out! There are so many other places to buy things.
Overall
This was a nice hotel for our stay in Quito. The Hotel Colon Quito is in a great location, has good service, and was one of the nicer hotels in town. I enjoyed the amenities, from the free shuttle to the service on the Executive Floor, which I recommend.
I have lots of photos and would be more than happy to share if you are interested. E-mail me for photos (of the room, Quito, Ecuador, or the Galapagos) or if you have any questions. Be sure to put "Ecuador" in the subject line! My e-mail: EpinionsJavelina@hotmail.com
Hilton: http://www.hilton.com/
Hilton Colon Quito
Avenida Amazonas 110 Y Patria, Quito, Ecuador
Tel: +593-2-2560666 Fax: +593-2-2563903
My other reviews of Ecuador:
Hacienda San Agustin de Callo
Lindblad Expeditions (to the Galapagos)
TAME (the airline of Ecuador)
Coming soon:
Galapagos Islands
Quito
Guayaquil
Black Sheep Inn
Bellavista Cloud Forest
Recommended:
Yes
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