Hostal La Casa Toleña

So many things to like!! Low cost/good value; excellent breakfast (eggs-cellent!); very reliable WiFi (we stayed in room #10 and had a strong signal every day in our room every day); steady hot water shower any time I needed it; "Mirador" = glassed-in look out room at top of the hostal = AWESOME!; friendly and helpful staff who helped us learn how to get around town & book tours; bed was comfy and firm; large-enough room (matrimonial size); 3-prong American outlets in the room (two outlets in our room); safe neighborhood; close (walkable) to Historic Center of Quito, close (walkable) to the San Blas Plaza which seems to be a day-trip tour pick up and drop off point for several tour companies, walkable to the closest bus station where you can hop on to busses that will take you just about anywhere (and for cheap). I have traveled a lot in South America and stayed at many hostals - some low cost and some comparable in price to this one and some higher cost than this one. I have never encountered a better breakfast, better hot water shower, and better WiFi than Hostal La Casa Toleña! Good location - close enough walk to public bus station, close enough walk to Historic downtown of Quito, and I never felt in danger in this neighborhood - streets are lighted well in this area. (But, reminder, you do always want to keep a good eye on your personal property whenever you are in the city.) It was a quiet and calm hostal - I rarely saw another patron other than ourselves. But, we did stay in the low-travel season. So, I cannot vouch for conditions during a very high-travel season. We stayed for 7 days in late October. Only a few little things that are not quite negative, but just lacking... Our room could have used a few more hooks around the room to hang up things, especially in the bathroom, there was only the broken nub of a former towel holder (?), so it would have been nice to have a towel holder near the sink. Wish there had been an electrical outlet in the bathroom, but we made do anyway. (Not a deal-killer for most people, I would think.) TV was missing the American adapter to plug it into the outlet (so we used the adapter we happened to bring so that we could watch TV when we wanted.) You can get several channels. Instant coffee instead of hot-brewed coffee, but I was told this is an Ecuador thing (most families there tend to use the instant coffee for some reason). But plenty of juice served at breakfast anyway. I happened to buy some instant hot cocoa mix and asked for hot milk at breakfast and the staff happily brought it to me each time. Yum, hot chocolate for breakfast! I'm telling you the BEST breakfast you can find anywhere in South America - included in your cost of stay. Our room (#10) had a window which faced the street, which sometimes made for noisy mornings (but, come on, you are IN the city, there are going to be noises once the city gets moving each day.) Plus, I liked having the window to know what the weather was like before we even stepped outside. If you are a light-sleeper like me, earplugs help. Or, ask for a inside room which have no windows so that it would be quieter for you. You can let the hostal help you make arrangements for tours. This worked pretty well, but also don't be afraid to approach a travel agency in the town of Quito to do this also because I encountered some other people on our tours that paid (like $5) less than we did for the same tour. If you are a picky person looking for a fancier place to stay with a staff that will speak English to you, or if you are young single traveler looking to socialize with other back-packer single travelers, you may want to look elsewhere. But this is a fantastic place to stay in my opinion - I highly recommend it! It would be a great place for large groups of people traveling together - if you can book in advance because they have plenty of rooms (several floors of the hostal).