I visited Quito, Ecuador, four times from late June to mid July 2011, staying each time at El Arupo Hostel (Juan Rodriguez E7-22 y Reina Victoria, Quito, Ecuador; phone [593 2] 2557 543 or fax [593 2] 2225 716), originally recommended by a friend.
A renovated brick-and-wooden house, the hostel is spotlessly clean and safe. Guests could use the kitchen and laundry facilities. There was a free storage room, a safe-deposit box, free Internet access and WiFi. A refrigerator holds bottled water, soft drinks and local beer which you can buy.
Including breakfast and taxes, a single room cost $30; a double, $48; a triple, $60, and four beds in a room, $72. The breakfasts were simple and tasty.
The best things about El Arupo are the staff and the location.
The staff was very pleasant and extremely helpful. The owner, Selma Merino, is a gracious lady with lots of information and suggestions on what to do in and outside of Quito. She speaks excellent English and French. When I was there, among the guests were European and American couples, retired American professors and teenagers on a tour.
El Arupo Hostel is located in La Mariscal, the modern part of the city, and close to everything you’re likely to need. Two minutes away there is an ATM and a shop with telephone and Internet access. A nearby laundry will deliver your wash in four hours, and an excellent, American-trained masseuse, whom my daughter and I enjoyed, lives a block from the hotel (ask at the desk).
There are numerous restaurants within walking distance. After my family arrived in Ecuador, we had a delicious dinner two blocks away at La Boca del Lobo (corner of Simón Bolívar and José Calama; phone 2 223 4083). A bowl of asparagus soup cost $9 and an order of sea bass, $17.
The Galeria Ecuador Gourmet (Reina Victoria N24-263 y Lizardo Garcia; phone [593 2] 223 9469), about 300 feet from the hostel, sells coffee beans, cocoa and lovely art objects. The coffee shop in the back serves superb coffee.
On Saturday morning there is an artists’ bazaar in Plaza Foch, three blocks away. Within easy walking distance, Galeria Latina and La Bodega sell a wide variety of beautiful Ecuadorian folk art, jewelry and alpaca clothing.
The Museo Nacional de Banco Central del Ecuador, a short taxi ride from the hotel, has the country’s best collection of pre-Columbian and colonial art.
MARVIN L. ROGERS
Columbia, MO