Hostal Tintorera

The newer rooms in the building behind the front one are a good deal for Puerto Ayoro, among the cheapest we found. Ours had two single beds and a double, its own kitchen and bathroom, and a TV. I missed having a table, but there was crockery, drinking water, a kettle, and the other basics. A few days later we stayed in an old room at the front. It was clean and had a comfortable bed, but needs more care and an upgrade. The kitchen is in the middle, so it gets noisy, with people cooking at 10 pm and others arriving at 3 am and knocking on doors to get in. Water is a serious issue on the island and has to be delivered. Some guests take long showers without realizing the hostal can run out, and there were no signs to alert us. It's a pity to waste a precious resource, especially with air conditioners running all night when it's not hot.

Each room is like a little apartment, with a bedroom plus a kitchenette and dining area. They cleaned daily and topped up our water. It's about a 10-minute walk from the boardwalk, or just 2 minutes on the free bikes. Such a great hostel for the price, well worth it!

I didn't expect to find a place this nice for the price in the Galapagos. The bed was huge and comfy, the shower had hot water, and soap and shampoo were provided. The kitchen was well stocked, the surroundings were quiet, and the touristy part of town is about a 10-minute walk away. Housekeeping came every day and left everything sparkling. One unpleasant surprise: touching the metal hotplates without a towel or other barrier gave us an electric shock. The room had a water filter, but the water still tasted really bad after filtering, so we ended up buying some.

Room 4, the family suite, sleeps six comfortably and has two bathrooms and a fully working kitchen. The stay was pleasant and the price very fair. It's a few blocks from Baltra Av and a 15-20 minute walk to the pier, which was fine with us since we could save on day excursions instead of paying for a waterfront place. It could use some work and was a bit dirty in spots, though that seems expected on Santa Cruz. I can't comment on breakfast because it didn't start early enough for us, before 7.