Papallacta Hotels

Papallacta des Termes: Splashing out

There are cheaper places to stay in Papallacta, and indeed it’s possible to visit on a day-trip from Quito, but we decided to splurge on a night at its most upmarket hotel, the Termas de Papallacta, and were not disappointed. The hotel consists of a central building, with attractive lobby (and mezzanine with a few computers for public use), bar and large dining room. From here corridors lead to exits, passing a few cosy corners en route, and from these exits footpaths wind past small hot pools to the individual cabins. Ours was one of about a dozen grouped round a couple of these smaller pools, to which residents have exclusive access. It was simply but nicely decorated, and a good size with a large double bed and a single, plenty of storage and a bathroom with a Jacuzzi-cum-shower. Like all the cabins it was heated by a central system that utilises the freely available hot water, but fortunately a separate electric heater was provided, as the room was large and the basic heating inadequate to deal with the chilly weather – Papallacta is considerably higher even than Quito, at 3,225 metres. The public rooms too were a little cold, so do remember to bring a jumper.

A good buffet breakfast was included with our stay – fresh fruit (papaya, melon and pineapple), juices, decent coffee, breads, cheeses and cold meats, ham and eggs. This is served in the large restaurant in the main building. We ate our other meals here too, but I’ll cover those in a separate tip as the restaurant is open to non-residents.

The little hot pools right outside the door make this a special environment. In the end we didn’t make use of ours, as we’d spent much of the afternoon in the pools at the spa, and these seemed less hot (and the evening colder!) But a few couples were soaking there during the evening and if we’d stayed another night I have a feeling we’d have done the same.

Next tip: the hotel’s restaurant

• Opinion of Price: more expensive than average
• Related to: Spa and Resort
• Written January 25, 2013

Evening view from our cabin

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