Hotel Victoria – Cuenca, Ecuador

Cuenca really is a beautiful place to be.  I reckon it’s probably the prettiest place in Ecuador, and yes, that includes Quito, because Quito is a big urban jungle interspersed with some truly incredible buildings, whereas Cuenca has been worked on as a whole, and everywhere seems to be uniformly pretty, clean and historical.  It has loads of absolutely stunning colonial architecture, some of it refurbed and modernised, some merely very beautiful and old.  But it’s all clean, sophisticated and classy.

It follows quite naturally that Cuenca is home to some very beautiful hotels, generally all in lovely buildings.  The Victoria is one of the most well-known of these.  It sits in a beautiful brick building which has a great location, backing onto the Rio Tomebamba on one side and facing Calle Largo, possibly the most popular street in Cuenca, on the other.  Calle Largo is home to some of the best museums by day, and the best cafés and bars by night.  All in all, the Victoria has a great advantage in where it sits.

This is a really high standard of hotel, and the rooms have all the amenities and lovely decorations you would expect from such a place.  Complete with chocolates on your pillow, this is a very comfortable and attractive place to be.  It needn’t be the most unique or individual place to stay with its reputation and location.  But you will definitely be spoiled for comforts here.  It has a selection of rooms, most of which are standard doubles but some of which are full-on suites.  Prices average around $80 per night, depending on the type of room you get.  If you’re lucky you might end up with a patio and a splendid view of the river.

The Hotel Victoria also houses one of the top restaurants in Cuenca: El Jardin.  The restaurant is truly beautiful and the food is known to be of an excellent standard.  Fortunately, you don’t have to be staying here to give the restaurant a go, and if you have a special occasion to celebrate, this could well be a good option.

http://www.grupo-santaana.net/hotelVictoria/index.php

Hotel Victoria, Calle Larga 6-93 y Presidente Antonio Borrero, Cuenca, Ecuador

Tel: (593) 7-2827-401  Email: gstaana@etapanet.net

Sophie Carville