Hostería Ecológica El Faro

The first impression of the neighbourhood when we arrived was to be honest awful. The street leading to the hotel was barely passable due to huge potholes and deep mud and as we did not have 4WD we could not park in front of the hotel (as we would have been stuck in the mud instantly). This also meant that you could not get from the car to the hotel (and vice versa) without getting your shoes covered with very sticky mud. Fortunately the impression started to change (quickly) once we entered the gate. We were met with very friendly staff who let us (me, my wife and our 5YO daughter) choose the room, showed us around and introduced to the services available. We later also met the owner Fiorella who was also super friendly and gave us good tips concerning restaurants and sights in Salinas. Just FYI - there is basically nothing nearby so you either take your car out or order in (Uber Eats worked nicely). The room was large but basic, no TV but air-conditioned. To our surprise we found mushrooms growing from the ceiling in the first morning (these were not there in the evening) but that's the result of the climate - very humid and hot. The breakfast was quite typical but tasty and satisfied our needs. The garden of El Faro is like another world with all the rescued birds and animals. They are doing great work helping the rescued wildlife to have a good life and seeing the cute kinkajou was one of the fondest memories of our entire Ecuador trip for our daughter. The terrace by the ocean and the small beach were our favorite place to hang out and relax. It is possible to swim on the beach but only when the tide is low, during the high tide the beach disappears and it's too dangerous to go into the water. So in conclusion there are mixed feelings - the muddy surroundings were really annoying but on the other hand everything else was great and quite different from your usual hotels. I think that I would stay there again if ever in Salinas and if the streets will be fixed then it would be an absolute gem in the area. You need to have a car to stay there, though, as it is far from everything.

It was a great discovery, it was better than I was looking for. I could enjoy the forest and animals in that place, far from the City routine that I was expected. Congrats to Gabriel and their friendly staff.