Illa Experience Hotel

Nestled in the old town, this boutique hotel offers a charming retreat with a few quirks. We stayed in a lovely room with a city view, a highlight of our visit. However, when booking, ensure your room has a window that can open; our children's room lacked this feature, and its proximity to the entrance made it quite noisy. The only window provided a view into the publicly accessible courtyard/lobby, which wasn't ideal for privacy. The staff was incredibly friendly, adding a warm touch to our stay. They even prepared a delightful birthday surprise, which was much appreciated. However, the service could be somewhat chaotic, especially when dining on the rooftop terrace, as everything needs to be brought up from the ground floor. The food was decent but not exceptional. One downside was the WiFi, which was very unreliable in our room, and the fridge in the room did not work, which was an inconvenience. Additionally, the hot stone massage was a disaster. The stones were not initially hot, and the therapist had to constantly boil water during the session, which disrupted the relaxation. Furthermore, some stones were dropped during the treatment, and others were too hot - not worth the money. Despite these issues, the hotel's charm and location might make up for the inconveniences for some travelers.

For our first trip to Quito, we wanted to stay somewhere very special. That meant eschewing the modern chain hotels in the suburbs in favour of someplace unique in the historic district. I narrowed the list to three places within a few blocks of one another, but the boutique size of ILLA Experience Hotel and Spa, and the glowing reviews here that lauded the staff for their exceptionally personal service, won me over. I can’t imagine having made a better choice. This is one of the best hotels we have experienced anywhere in the world. The outstanding service began well prior to our arrival. So many emails and WhatsApp messages were exchanged between the front desk staff and me as we worked out dinner reservations, airport transfers, potential tours, and one very special request. Since it was to be our first time ever not being at home for December 24th and 25th, I asked if it would be possible for me to pay to have a real Christmas tree put up in our room. It was an instant and enthusiastic “Yes!” from ILLA, and over the subsequent few weeks they sent me photos of the type of tree available, and potential ornaments and nativity sets. Eventually, together, we settled on a selection of typical ornaments, simple white lights, and a large cluster of red Ecuadorian roses at the top. The price was very reasonable as well. The next generous gesture came when we landed at 6AM on Christmas Eve day. The hotel had someone waiting at Arrivals with a sign with my name on it, and she led us to a spotless newer SUV. En route to the hotel, she gave us so much history and interesting information about Quito. We were greeted at the front entrance by two smiling staff members with a silver tray of hot towels. To our great surprise (and relief, as we were exhausted), they said that they could have our suite ready for us in about an hour. Being able to check in so early, and without any additional charge, was such a wonderful Christmas gift! We were escorted to Ines, the hotel’s little restaurant, to have breakfast while waiting, but we weren’t really hungry, so we just had juice, coffee, and some fruit. It’s a charming, bright spot with an open kitchen where guests can observe the preparations by the meticulous chef and crew. Before too long, we were brought to our suite, 248, and I was shocked by how large, bright, and new it was. I thought I had looked at every room photo here and on the hotel’s website, but I hadn’t seen any photos of this suite. It might be the best one they have. And we loved the interior location overlooking the beautifully designed outdoor pool and courtyard with a wall of enormous murals. The only drawback was a serious lack of storage space—especially in the closet. Two short bars did not provide enough room (or hangers) for people who packed enough clothing for a two-week trip. Perhaps a large wardrobe cupboard could be added to the spacious foyer? After unpacking, we slept fitfully for a few hours and then went out to explore the ne

The suites are amazing! The staff is super friendly! The food is outstanding! The location is perfect! Also the „experiences" such as rum tasting are really nice! Overall, the experience in the ILLA HOTEL was unbelievable superior and we are super happy!

The hotel itself is beautiful and charming. The rooms are clean with spacious bathrooms. Housekeeping was very good. The service is very poor at this property, and in some cases non existent. When you pay hundreds of dollars per night, I would expect the areas of the hotel to be properly staffed. The bar had nobody there, and I had to go to my room to call for someone to get us drinks. Then the person was annoyed we asked for the heat lamps to be turned on. He didn’t want to get new propane so he just closed the shades blocking out the beautiful sunny view. Eventually he turned them on. He did keep leaving, so it was just a bad experience. Also, while I understand they want to know approximately when you will eat breakfast, we were hounded by the team to tell them when we were going to eat. And it was at inconvenient times. When checking in, we are focused on getting to our room, and not when we will eat the next morning. And we came back from a tour, and my hands were full, but on the steps to my room, I was asked about the time for the following day. I asked if I could let him know later, but he said he needed to know. We saw 2 other families there at the property, so I’m not sure why it was so urgent. Also, given the other guests at the hotel were from the US, I’m assuming a lot of people from the US stay there. There were only a few people at the hotel that could converse in English. The waiter was not one of them, and we had issues with our food orders. The one item that really made me upset was when we were leaving, we were unexpectedly charged $50 for the transfer to the hotel from the airport when it was supposed to be free. They claimed it only covered the 2 adults in our room, but not our 12-year old son. And because we were traveling with 2 other people, they needed to get a larger vehicle. This is total BS as an Uber is $30 to the airport. So essentially they overcharged us for a transfer that was supposed to be free. Overall, it’s a beautiful hotel, but completely overpriced for what they offer. I would not stay here again, and I would highly recommend against staying here. Feel free to DM me if you have other questions as I am happy to go into more details.

What an amazing place to stay at it was beautiful. The view from the room was just amazing. The decor of the hotel was fantastic. The location was great for exploring the city. We unfortunately got lost coming back but that all sorted. The food at the restaurant was delicious. The staff were lovely and very helpful

In a great location to enjoy Quito. An interesting hotel with some unusual features. Very friendly and helpful staff. The bedrooms are large and comfortable and come with a good bath and decent shower. Bathroom was cold as there was no heating in there and restaurant lacked a bit of atmosphere as it was quiet, however the food was excellent.

Excellent hotel in Quito. Great location. Staff was wonderful. Bed was comfortable and room was quiet.Highly recommend this hotel for a stay in Quito. Breakfast was very good. We also ate in a wonderful dinner in the their restaurant. Great food and service

This hotel was absolutely sublime. Excellent location, gracious and professional staff, gorgeous room, beautiful bathroom, pool and Jacuzzi, outstanding views, welcome cocktail, and even a 5 PM experience with an authentic Ecuadorian delicacy made in front of the guests. Truly one of the best hotels I’ve ever stayed at. I cannot recommend it more highly OK.

February 2020, I loved this hotel. A warm welcome into a beautiful unexpected space. The staff spoke perfect English and we were helped to our rooms. Large, comfortable and architecturally interesting clean rooms with luxurious bathrooms. We were not expecting this at this price. The delicious breakfast is included and I strongly recommend you stay in for dinner one evening - it is an amazing, creative kitchen dishing out the most delicious food possible. Very accommodating, we had to leave at 4AM and they put out a coffee urn on our floor to self serve a coffee when we woke up and they packed us a little bag breakfast to take along - so nice. Located in the old section makes it a very short walk to all points of interest. BTW - if you knit - it’s time to stock up on supplies and yarns for a fraction of the price. Eat some delicious street food or any restaurant (ask the front desk for recommendations).