Hotel del Parque

The people who greeted us and handled our luggage were friendly and helpful, and dinner and service at Casa Julian were excellent. Those were the bright spots in a stay that left us very frustrated. The payment process dragged on for months. I tried wiring a deposit with the bank details they gave me, but they weren't valid. Calls to the hotel wouldn't go through, and repeated emails and WhatsApp messages got little to no resolution. I asked for the General Manager’s contact details; the office manager eventually replied, then stopped responding. The hotel sent several payment links, none of which worked with either of two credit cards. In the end, I could only pay by entering a debit card, so I couldn't earn credit card points. I also couldn't use my preferred card and lost the value of its points. During that period, my card information was used for an unauthorized $800 online purchase in Guayaquil, so I had to cancel the card and get a new one. There was construction around the property, which we hadn't been told about before check-in. Hot water worked the first night, but was gone from the shower by the second night and the next morning, though the sink still had it. Maintenance said they'd fixed it, but they hadn't. When they came back, they tried to tell us tepid water counted as hot, and it clearly didn't. I've traveled a lot and stayed at many five-star hotels around the world. This experience fell well short of what I expected from a hotel in this category. The payment problems, poor communication, failed maintenance, and lack of transparency outweighed the few good moments. We left frustrated. I wouldn't return or recommend it to travelers expecting a true five-star stay.