Pepe's House Guayaquil I Self Check-In MicroHotel

Pepe’s house has a hostel or Airbnb feel, with contactless check-in, a large shared area, and a balcony full of plants where you can lounge, eat, or work. Rooms 1 and 2 are set away from the busy street, so they're pretty quiet and easy to sleep in. My room was spacious and clean, and I liked that the bathroom window let shower moisture out instead of fogging up the whole room, a feature that seems missing in Guayaquil hotels. I really enjoyed my three nights here. I'd recommend it to anyone who prefers a hostel-style stay and doesn't want to deal with front desk staff.

We couldn't make our booking at Pepe's House because political unrest trapped us in Peru. We know they have a no-cancellation policy, but our situation was completely beyond our control, and we gave them a week's notice during the busy Christmas period. We hoped they might understand and refund us. They refused both a refund and a waiver of the cancellation fee, which made an already difficult situation worse. The staff replied quickly to our messages, but they weren't kind about it. Fortunately, people handling our other Ecuador bookings were more sympathetic.

The location made it easy to reach the Malecón right across the street and Las Peñas just a block away. There’s a security guard in the building, which helped us feel at ease. The room was cozy, warmly lit, and the AC worked perfectly in Guayaquil's heat. I also loved the balcony and shared spaces. Self check-in was smooth, and staff were incredibly responsive on WhatsApp. Everything we needed was there, and the price was very affordable. We had no problems at all and a perfect stay. I don't know where the negative reviews come from. Pepe’s House is a down-to-earth, locally owned and run hostel that knows what it’s doing 😺

The studio was dirty and a block away from the place shown in the photos. There was dried blood on the cabinet where the cutlery was kept, black mold around the bathroom and near the bed, and an open-door shower. The walls had black marks and oil stains, and the pillows had yellow stains and holes. The photos and description show clean rooms, a shared living room, and a terrace, but this place had neither shared space nor terrace. At about 9:30 pm I contacted the host. The woman I spoke with was kind and understanding at first, and said they would fully refund me so I could find somewhere else, asking me to let them know in the morning if I had. Half an hour later they messaged that I had to leave within five minutes or they would charge me the full price again, assuming I was staying. Since hotels weren't taking late reservations and the room didn't seem clean or suitable to stay in, I asked if they could move me to a cleaner room for the night. They told me to make another reservation and pay if I wanted to move. I wouldn't recommend this place.