BEWARE! Nice decór - terrible catering - small bathroms
BEWARE!
After my 7 (seven) night stay at Villa Colonna, I feel more than qualified to register my comments and advice on TripAdvisor.
I opted for “in-house dinners prepared by a chef”. VC also offered to arrange two tours for me - one morning city tour with an English-speaking guide and one morning tour with an English-speaking driver.
Their website is beautiful and enticing as are the promises to be fulfilled: “highest level of elegance & sophistication; personalized experience; pamper and guide you; cater to your needs with discretion and grace and do everything we can to ensure your stay with us exceeds the highest standard.”
You will be blown away by the stunning décor and be fascinated by the beautiful building.
HOWEVER:
NO ENGLISH DRIVER: I did not get an English-speaking driver for the 2nd tour.
NO FRESH HOMEMADE BREAD: I was told many times: “we bake all our bread in-house”, day fresh bread every day. If there is “fresh bread” it is baked, frozen, de-frosted and heated in a micro wave oven.
On 3 mornings, there was no fresh bread. As usual the manager had excuses and explanations; the “chef” had a day off, they had nothing in the freezer etc. For guests who were in transit for a night, just bad luck if you had to have toast from a plastic bag and also no cheese and only one type of jam. Pre-toasted bread was on the table for more than 1½ hours.
SCRAMBLED EGGS: The manager offered scrambled eggs. His version is ‘olive oil in a very hot pan, crack two eggs into the pan and fry them for a couple of minutes.’ - where after he stirs them and cooks them til they are grey and dry.
HOMEMADE “FRESH” JUICE: VC claims to offer homemade juice for breakfast, which turned out to be one blended fruit, strained from fruit fibres and diluted with water, always made the day before, often sitting in the refrigerator for days?
COFFEE OR BROWN WATER: When in Ecuador, you expect great coffee. The “coffee” served had no fragrance and no aroma. Hot brown water.
UNCLEAN FRIDGE – TWO ROTTEN RED PEPPERS: I was introduced to the fridge where you find milk for tea/coffee. What I saw was a very dirty fridge with no less than two (2) rotten red bell peppers.
MANAGER SHARING PRIVATE DETAILS ON GUESTS: The manager does not mind sharing your personal details with other guests without your permission.
DINNERS PREPARED BY A CHEF: The “chef” turned out to be a very young (nice) person in training, not even a trained cook. Regarding the catering at VC, I can only say my dinners were pre-cooked and re-heated. I even had re-heated leftovers served as dinner. Bland, no seasoning, no herps, no spices.
WI-FI AND TELEVISION: It was not working when I arrived, and it still did not work when I left after the first 6 nights! It meant mailing issues, and it meant that the Netflix (television) was not working. It did work when I returned for a night’s stay 2 weeks later. However, the system on the television did not.
CLOCK ON THE TELEVISION: The time on the television was incorrect throughout my stay. When jetlagged, it is nice to be sure of the time - your phone may not change, - you may be confused at arrival etc. Showing a time that is more than two hours off is not great style.
TEA STATION: There is no in-room coffee or tea available; only a common station on the 1st floor for all guests to use. This arrangement can be problematic since insulation is poor in the hotel. Anyone walking in the halls can be heard at any time of the day or night.
NO AIRCONDITIONING: When it rains in Quito, the air becomes quite stuffy and damp; however, be aware, there is no air conditioning in any room at VC.
BATHROOMS: One bathroom has a “his and her sink” and a tub, the other five rooms have very basic shower rooms with no windows.
I do not negotiate prices, I confirm, what I expect, and I pay the bill that comes with my plans and wishes for my travels. I do not think my visit with VC was worth USD 300 plus per night, plus payment for “chef cooked dinners”. I simply cannot recommend this place.
Regarding payment - I was asked to pay in USD into an American bank, not a bank in Ecuador.
I wonder how that ties into taxation and responsibilities when running a business in Ecuador?
I did approach both the owners and the manager with the above, neither has found it relevant to offer compensation, and they have not been apologetic at all.
I write travel journals and hence I visited other places while in Quito.
I recommend you are not blinded by the nice comments made by other guests. Most guests are one/two nights’ stayers, jetlagged and overwhelmed by the décor.
The lack of air conditioning, the small bathrooms and the poor catering is an issue. Since I contacted VC to make my booking, the owners have left and left the place with a manager, who clearly has no management skills.