Name: El Refugio de las Aves
Address: Barrio El Tigrillo, Montañita 241702, Ecuador, Montanita, Montanita, Montanita, EC241702, Ecuador
Rating: 8

24-hour reception

Smoke-free property

All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)

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Non-smoking rooms

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Rooms

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Common kitchen

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Kitchenette

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Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Picnic area

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Free parking

Parking

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General Ulpiano Paez Airport

El Refugio de las Aves

Montanita

 Facilities:   3/5 stars.  First, it is hard to find.  Google map and Map.me are wrong.  The sign on the highway, once you know it is there, is obvious; if you do not know it is there, it is easy to miss.  Once you turn off the highway, no other signs indicate its location.  Once you find it, the rooms are small and simple.  Bed was comfy, but no storage space present and road noise was a problem.  Do not leave a light on in the bathroom during the night as moths will come in through gaps in the ceiling.  Hot water was adequate.  Dining area is outside on the covered deck,.  The deck has a great view of the valley and forest and the fruit feeders are active and close.  Hummingbird feeders are present but are not as active as in other locations. The service and attention from the Paz family more than made up for any deficiency in the facilities.  Mornings are busy as many tours bring people up to see the different birds but most of the tours leave by 12:00 noon..  Afternoons were quiet and we were alone. Different members of the family volunteered to take us places to see unusual, uncommon birds.  If we had chosen, we could have been active until midnight each day.  Absolutely great attention from the family.
 Food:  3/5 stars.  The food was basic.  Dinners and lunches consisted of soup, entree of pork, beef or fish, and desert.  Breakfasts are designed to be served to large groups of people from the tour companies but were good.  
 Birding and photography: 5/5 stars.  Many unusual birds in wonderful settings.  Feeders, visible from the deck area, were stocked several times per day and were visited regularly by many colorful species, many of which are difficult to see elsewhere.  Because of the proximity of the feeders to the deck, photo opportunities were great.  Because we were being guided by family members, we were afforded “front row” spots at all the Antpitta feeding stations and the Cock-of the-Rock lek.   We expected to see the various Antpittas and Cock-of the-Rocks, but we did not expect to see many of the other birds that were pointed out to us.
 Overall:  4/5 stars.  Would we return?  Yes!  We would highly recommend staying at the lodge rather than just visiting during a morning tour stop.  The individual attention we received more than made up for the marginal facility.

The wonderful family and great birding make up for marginal facilities

A place full of trees, with plenty of shade with hammocks to relax in...The cabins are very fresh and comfortable....The facilities are made of wood, bamboo and straw....Everyone is open and can hear the birds singing,,,,Recomendable.

 Relative

A quiet place within what is Montañita, a little far from the sea, rustically set, something informal ideal for younger people than us, wooded that gives freshness for the hot days...

Calm down 

We arrived at 8am and were greeted with a rich breakfast.The room was very nice and rustic, with cane and glass-colored glass.The attention was the best, Ernesto, the owner's brother works there and made us feel at home.We talked a lot with him and had a great time.The only place is that it is a little far from the center and the beach.

Grand hostel, the best of the best.

Even when I went back to this site to get advice about my visit and was frightened by some opinions, it was a wonderful stay, full of incredible energy, surrounded by wonderful people, the attention couldn't be better and I understand that those of us who have suffered some affectation in places like these, say places of rest, we should not cheer or generalize, for such a person is missing out on the pleasant experience that others have enjoyed.

Like at home!!!!!! Better than I'd been told...

It's a beautiful place, the facilities are beautiful as well as your attention, the only inconvenience we had was with the manager named Jorge, who not only stole our kitchen utensils but also a jar of ice cream.

Be careful with Jorge!!

This hotel 10 minutes from the centre of Montañita is really very nice. A setting made up of traditional typical houses with palm leaves as a roof. For $15 per person per night (up to 5) we had a large bungalow with a kitchen equipped (fridge, plates, kitchen equipment, etc...), bathroom with toilet, extra toilet on the floor, 4 beds one place and 2 beds two places. There is also the WIFI if you need one. We are very satisfied and we absolutely advise if you go around the corner, you want to party, but to sleep in a place that is still really quiet.

That's really nice.

This hostel is a bit hard to find as the google map is useless. It's just past the main Montanita area (if you came from Guayaquil by bus, just walk to the end of the main area) then over a little bridge and down the first dirt path on the right. Once you know where it is, it's a great location as it's only 5 minutes from the main action and the beach, but far enough away to be quiet at night time. There are two halves to the property on either side of the road. We stayed across the road from the main office, where most of the rooms seem to be and where breakfast is served. The wifi didn't reach to our side of the complex, but there was a seating area in the main area where the wifi worked very well. Breakfast was nice - especially the fruit in yogurt. The bread was toasted and buttered and was really nice, but would have been good to have eggs or jam with it. The hostel is very attractive and for novelty value is a great place to stay - all made of wood and bamboo poles. However there is no sound-proofing at all (the ceiling was mosquito netting), so whilst the hostel is very quiet in general, we could hear everything at breakfast time or if someone was watching the TV or chatting in the communal area. Also on our last night a nearby hostel had a live band which started up at 12am... The rooms have fridges which is nice and the owner gave us a mosquito plug which was good (we didn't have any problems with mosquitos). The shower was very weak but warm to hot. There were quite a few ants and spiders in our room - one of the downsides of a building made of wood and reeds. I think $35 a night for a double room is a bit steep (the booking.com rate) but if it's quiet you can probably negotiate down with the owner as some other guests did when we were there.

El Refugio de las Aves

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