Hotel Quito?
Sep 7th, 2005 | 06:14 PM
#2
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 22,126
Likes: 0
Hotel Quito is perched up on a hill and if you stay on the top floor, the views are terrific.
Also the dinning room is on the very top floor ( I think it is 9 floors high)and once again you have panoramic views.
The hotel was built about 1959- 1960 because at that time they were going to have a big meeting called OAS ( Organizations of American States) but Fedel castro threw a wrench into the whole meeting plans by his little Bay of Pigs fight with the USA!!
You really will want to visit Old quito which has the lovely historic buildings and you will want to go to the Equator line and also to the top of the hill to see the Winged Angel.
For all of these places you should hire a private tour guide and you can do them all in one day.
Percy
Also the dinning room is on the very top floor ( I think it is 9 floors high)and once again you have panoramic views.
The hotel was built about 1959- 1960 because at that time they were going to have a big meeting called OAS ( Organizations of American States) but Fedel castro threw a wrench into the whole meeting plans by his little Bay of Pigs fight with the USA!!
You really will want to visit Old quito which has the lovely historic buildings and you will want to go to the Equator line and also to the top of the hill to see the Winged Angel.
For all of these places you should hire a private tour guide and you can do them all in one day.
Percy
Sep 9th, 2005 | 02:42 PM
#3
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Ah, Percy, the Quito and Galapagos expert! 
We hope to go to Otavalo and the equator on the Saturday we're in town. We'll only be in Quito for two days before our Galapagos trip. We're a bit nervous about the crime and pickpocketers. I can't imagine not having my camera with me! Besides spending $200 on a guided tour, can you recommend a good and safe way to find a guide to take us around? Thanks!
We hope to go to Otavalo and the equator on the Saturday we're in town. We'll only be in Quito for two days before our Galapagos trip. We're a bit nervous about the crime and pickpocketers. I can't imagine not having my camera with me! Besides spending $200 on a guided tour, can you recommend a good and safe way to find a guide to take us around? Thanks!
Sep 9th, 2005 | 03:56 PM
#4
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 13,425
Likes: 0
jenstemp,
Our hotel arranged a taxi for us for an afternoon to visit the old town and Panecillo. If I recall correctly, we paid approx. $30 (for the taxi, not per person). The driver waited for us while we walked around. I'm not sure what the rate would be for a trip to Otavalo but I imagine less than $200.
On another day, we visited the Casa de Cultura and a few other places in Quito and just took a taxi or walked from one location to the other. This taxi driver gave a hard sell for a tour, but we insisted that he take us only to the museum. The cost from our hotel near the airport was $5 which we later found out was a huge rip off as the return fare was only $2
We walked around a lot that day and never felt unsafe. I carried my camera but not out in plain view. I think Quito is OK as long as you exercise caution and don't carry too many valuables around, similar to any big city.
Hope you have a great trip!
Our hotel arranged a taxi for us for an afternoon to visit the old town and Panecillo. If I recall correctly, we paid approx. $30 (for the taxi, not per person). The driver waited for us while we walked around. I'm not sure what the rate would be for a trip to Otavalo but I imagine less than $200.
On another day, we visited the Casa de Cultura and a few other places in Quito and just took a taxi or walked from one location to the other. This taxi driver gave a hard sell for a tour, but we insisted that he take us only to the museum. The cost from our hotel near the airport was $5 which we later found out was a huge rip off as the return fare was only $2
We walked around a lot that day and never felt unsafe. I carried my camera but not out in plain view. I think Quito is OK as long as you exercise caution and don't carry too many valuables around, similar to any big city.
Hope you have a great trip!
Sep 9th, 2005 | 06:37 PM
#5
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 22,126
Likes: 0
This is what I would do:
Send an e-mail to:
[email protected]
and ask for a private tour guide called
Carlos Avila,and his driver Luis.
They both work for Grayline Tours and they were terrific.
They drove me everywhere in Quito and much of the surrounding countryside including:
Otavalo... from Otavalo you can go to Cotacachi which is another lovely town nearby.
In fact from here you do not have to return back to Quito the same way you came,but instead have the tour guide( hopefully Carlos) take you on this big loop through the mountains so that you can see the Equator line.
But the Eqquator line is on the opposite side of Quito from your location at Otavalo/ Cotacachi, so in fact doing this long loop through the mountains was a real experience!!!!
I once asked Carlos, "Are you sure this is the correct way"
Luis the driver assured me that it was.
Boy did we pass some mountain villages way up high in the mountains and the scenery was fantastic...
after about 2 hours of driving I was thinking to myself, "hmmm" are these guys lost."!!!?
Just then Luis rounded a curve and down below was the other end of the city of Quito and we came right on to Mita del Munda , the Equator Line place. (Whew!!)
You see Quito is only 3 miles wide but 22 miles long, so had we gone back from Otavalo the same way , we would have had to traverse the whole 22 miles of the city to get to the Equator line and that would have taken 3-4 hours Carlos said.
Also if you are touring around on a Thursday then you can virtually skip Otavalo and have the tour guide take you to this nice little town called
Saquisili.
They hold their town Market every Thursday and it is way way bigger that the one at Otavalo.
If you want to see something that looks like it came out of the National Geographic then go to Saquisili for sure.
When you visit that Winged Angel on the Hill,either day or night, I did both , the views are breath taking.
But the road up and down is a little hair raising !!!
If Carlos is not with Grayline Tours then ask where he went to because he will still be doing tours.
I had him for 4 full days from morning till night and then he drove me to the airport for my Galapagos flight and then picked me up on my return and drove me around Quito at night showing me all the spots ,as my flight did not leave for home until 11:45PM!!
Bellavista Cloud Forest
Cotopaxi, the snow capped volcano
The Equator Line ( Mita del Munda)
When you visit Old Quito,Carlos will walk around with you and explain everything.
Do try to get a hold of him by sending the e-mail.
Patty also gave you some good points.
Hi Patty
Percy
Send an e-mail to:
[email protected]
and ask for a private tour guide called
Carlos Avila,and his driver Luis.
They both work for Grayline Tours and they were terrific.
They drove me everywhere in Quito and much of the surrounding countryside including:
Otavalo... from Otavalo you can go to Cotacachi which is another lovely town nearby.
In fact from here you do not have to return back to Quito the same way you came,but instead have the tour guide( hopefully Carlos) take you on this big loop through the mountains so that you can see the Equator line.
But the Eqquator line is on the opposite side of Quito from your location at Otavalo/ Cotacachi, so in fact doing this long loop through the mountains was a real experience!!!!
I once asked Carlos, "Are you sure this is the correct way"
Luis the driver assured me that it was.
Boy did we pass some mountain villages way up high in the mountains and the scenery was fantastic...
after about 2 hours of driving I was thinking to myself, "hmmm" are these guys lost."!!!?
Just then Luis rounded a curve and down below was the other end of the city of Quito and we came right on to Mita del Munda , the Equator Line place. (Whew!!)
You see Quito is only 3 miles wide but 22 miles long, so had we gone back from Otavalo the same way , we would have had to traverse the whole 22 miles of the city to get to the Equator line and that would have taken 3-4 hours Carlos said.
Also if you are touring around on a Thursday then you can virtually skip Otavalo and have the tour guide take you to this nice little town called
Saquisili.
They hold their town Market every Thursday and it is way way bigger that the one at Otavalo.
If you want to see something that looks like it came out of the National Geographic then go to Saquisili for sure.
When you visit that Winged Angel on the Hill,either day or night, I did both , the views are breath taking.
But the road up and down is a little hair raising !!!
If Carlos is not with Grayline Tours then ask where he went to because he will still be doing tours.
I had him for 4 full days from morning till night and then he drove me to the airport for my Galapagos flight and then picked me up on my return and drove me around Quito at night showing me all the spots ,as my flight did not leave for home until 11:45PM!!
Bellavista Cloud Forest
Cotopaxi, the snow capped volcano
The Equator Line ( Mita del Munda)
When you visit Old Quito,Carlos will walk around with you and explain everything.
Do try to get a hold of him by sending the e-mail.
Patty also gave you some good points.
Hi Patty
Percy
