Name: El Faro Playa & Spa
Address: Jambeli Archipelago Jambeli Archipelago -Province of El Oro - Ecuador, Machala Ecuador, Machala, Machala, Machala, Ecuador
Rating: 7

Location

Coronel Artilleria Victor Larrea Airport

Capitan FAP Pedro Canga Rodriguez Airport

El Faro Playa & Spa

Truly amazing place. 40 minutes boat drive from Machala. For all those people who like Pacific coast I would definitely recommend visiting.  Swimming in the ocean at low tides is not recommended since you may encounter manta rays however swimming pool will offer you a refreshment during the hot day. Friendly staff and excellent cocktails!

Very nice place!
A good resort to rest at the weekend, there is the possibility of staying in the bungalows.
Characteristic the journey by boat to reach the location through the houses of the fishermen on the river.
They do not provide towels for the beach chairs.

Machala

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

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40-beds

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9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

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6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

park access

Heaven on earth

Beautiful place

It is too bad that the owners do not understand that what they have is a potential gold mind if they would just do simple things like clean up the beach in front of their property. it is filthy.  Trash everywhere and dog poop all over the place. We had to clean the portion of the beach where the volley ball court was just so we could play. It was filled with dog poop.  The rooms are way too expensive.  $85 per night, per person is ridiculous for such a poorly maintained place.  It is a shame. It is not a spa at all and just simply needs to be cleaned regularly.  I could not believe how darn dirty the beach was and they act like it was nothing.... All this trash and nothing is being done. "I asked the owner why, he said it comes back every day. Too much work." I said, you would have more clients if you clean it. It is a pretty nice place, just clean it.  Then they should have internet. That would be nice.. Along with actually having the kayaking and things as noted on the website. Like I said, too bad. It has the potential to be a really nice place. I hope the owners read this and take heed. It was 14 of us that went and we only live 4 hours from there. We would love to return if they change the filth out there.

Beautiful place - Dirty beach and surrounding areas

Came here with family midweek, after plans to another beach hotel felt through. Price was $170 per night for a couple. The 40 min ferry ride to this hotel was fine, but is was really sad to see the serious pollution in the waterway.

There is no dock entrance to the beachfront hotel. Prepare to get wet. Since the entrance walkway is being eroded away we had to find our way through rocks and garbage piles to get to reception. We quickly realized that the hotel and cabinas were basically abandoned, and for good reason. 

Even though I was a guest, I felt like asking for a garbage bag so I could at least bag up the trash that was scattered around the grounds. The was a worker present but he was just fixed on brooming one spot for hours.

The construction of the grounds was nice and the buildings had a very tropical paradise feel but in February 17 they in bad need of maintenance. There were ugly black plastic sheets tacked here and there on most of the grass rooftops. The pool area was chipping badly and the pool water green with bugs. The beach front looks like a war zone with stacks of concrete bags and rebar. 

Although we had to wait a couple hours for our room to be cleaned. Later our bathroom still had garbage in the shower. There was also a strange hole, 1" diameter, in the shower that went straight outside. A previous guest shoved a soap wrapper in the hole for increased privacy. Cabin #5. The roof also leaked quite a bit that night. When moved our bed in the middle of the night to try to stay dry. 

I really wanted to enjoy to beach more but there were several dogs that seemed to have dibs on the preferred areas around the hammocks. Every few minutes they were barking and running past us full speed. 

We really wanted to enjoy our stay more. We planned on staying several days but our party of six unanimously decided to stay only one night especially since the price was quite high based on the conditions, and considering what else is available in Ecuador. $85 per night per person.

Price did include breakfast (scrambled eggs and roll, juice) lunch (fried fish and rice) and dinner (chicken, rice, and vegetables) and six beverages per person. 

We have stayed at many beach front rentals, and despite the beautiful sunset, El Faro is bottom of our list. 

My suggestion to the management would be to please bag and remove garbage, get rid of stray dogs, fix roofing and remove black plastic, provide some actual activities, and pay the staff a little more so they can take pride in what they do. 

This place has potential to actually attract guests, and make money only if they seriously applied these changes, in my opinion. 

Neglected/abandoned, if this is a "resort" it the "last resort"

Here the short version: poor quality-price-ratio.
Longer version: We were told to meet the hotel manager at the "Yacht Club Machala" where we would be picked up by a boat and could leave our car for a fee of $5.00 per day (not 24hrs). The whole ordeal started by going on a 30 min boat ride through a channel that takes you past some very sad, dirty fishermen housing and manglares full of garbage. The boat ride itself was pleasant enough, no rough waters, but then getting out and on land was another story. Without any warning we were told to get off the boat, into the water with all our luggage, up through the sand, over some rocks, past some garbage, shoving away dogs and into the "reception" area - not a very welcoming sight either. 
In the hotel's defense, we immediately received a welcome cocktail of at least 3 fl.oz., which was most delicious! We were then taken to our cabins/cabañas. The manager had planned on putting 6 of us in 2 cabins. Granted, each cabin has 3 double beds, but we were 3 couples paying $85.00 per person. Why squeeze into 2 if we could each have our own? Our immediate impression was disappointment. The grounds are decent, lots of potential, but nothing that would explain a price like that. I tried to explain to the manager how we felt, but he insisted on the price. We were stuck. 
The cabins are basic, with AC and TV, clean, except for the bathroom, warm water. We really couldn't complain until we went to bed and the rain started coming into the room and onto the bed, as well as the "night guard" who tried to open our door and just about gave me a heart attack at night.
Long story short, this is not a resort-style place. It's called Hotel & Spa, but there is no spa. We were promised activities - none were offered to us. The pool was dirty, the beach getting washed away and the ocean sting-ray infested, so we couldn't go in either one. Due to high tide and danger of getting robbed on our way home (this we were told by the hotel staff) we couldn't leave the place and go to the little town of Jambeli. Yes, 6 alcoholic drinks were included, and that was nice. But careful when you order water - that's extra, even though you didn't have any cocktails. The food was good, nothing to write home about. In short, a disappointing, expensive day by the beach.

El Faro Playa & Spa

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