The staff was very helpful and went out of their way often. The location is great close to everything and very comfortable. The quietest downtown hostel I have ever stayed in. The restaurant had very good Italian. Breakfast was good.

This is an older, very comfortable hotel that was once, I´m sure, a luxury accommodation in it´s heyday. The rooms are spacious with very high ceilings, all updated with flat screen TVs. I chose a room with a view of the street which was somewhat noisy, but preferable to the room they first put me in which had no window or fan and faced the 50s style, very prettily designed 2nd floor lounge area. The previous occupant of this first room had obviously been a heavy smoker, so when I asked for the change, the front desk was very accommodating. They were also very helpful when I took sick, recommended a nearby Dr., and were very solicitous, offering to do anything to make me feel more comfortable. The hotel offers a good midday meal for only 2.50, and breakfast comes with the room. They served dried out buns for breakfast, but if you want fresh rolls in the morning, there´s a bakery at the end of the block ( turn rt after exiting the hotel).
A word about getting to Cuenca:
I took the Azuaytur buseta from Guayaquil to Cuenca on Mon Aug 29 at 9am because I thought it would be safer than the local bus. There were six of us in a comfortable, modern van, but the driver was taciturn and brusque to the point of rudeness, and he drove like a maniac. He would speed up on the curves and screech around the s-bends, and when it started to rain he didn´t slow down much, almost colliding with an oncoming large truck that was also speeding down a dangerous curve. When we finally made it to the depot, he didn´t even have the courtesy to hand down my luggage, I had to do that myself. I wouldn´t recommend this company, as I´ve heard others complain of the same problem. It would be better to take the local bus, it takes longer, but at least you could enjoy the scenery, which is beautiful. There is also Cotours that provides buseta service.

Oddly, our family stayed in the same room as the other reviewer, 304. The bathrooms seemed to vent into the master bedroom and so the smell became overwhelming in the evening. At night I slept with Vicks vapor rub under my nose to drown out some smell.

We stayed there for one week and the smell never went away. The hotel was full. In the morning, because there was no toilet/shower usage, there would be no smell, but by 0830 to 0900 it would be in full swing. When we returned at 5:00 p.m. the smell would be slight but increase throughout the night. I finally took a towel, wetted it and placed it over the bathtub drain and the sink drain. I don't know if it helped.

Other than that the hotel has seen better days, but is well looked after. The staff is hard-working and helpful. Our shower door was broken so it only had one sliding door. The open half splashed water around the bathroom. Traffic noise was loud and we wore earplugs, but it is to be expected being downtown.

The people and food were the best parts.

The Hotel Cuenca is a 3-story hotel in the middle of downtown. My stay, arranged by my Ecuadorian fiancee, was for the 4 nights of June 19-22, 2007.

The hotel's entrance is up a couple of steps and through double glass doors. Check-in was very smooth (and the staffer did not ask for my credit card). The room key (a real one) was attached to a wooden turnip-shaped ball, making it hard to lose yet interesting to keep in one's pocket.

The hotel's lobby is spotless ("gleaming"). An around-the-clock coffee station is just beyond the front desk, and then a public computer amidst a comfortable sitting-area, with a fine restaurant beyond that.

Although the hotel has no elevator, the stairway is carpeted and well-lit. The bellman on duty will eagerly and energetically carry your luggage up/downstairs for you. The carpeted upper floors have central sitting-areas, which consist of new, plush furniture, lush potted plants, and classy wall and free-standing artwork. The stairway area is open and extends from the lobby level to a skylight above the 3rd floor. The skylight enables guests to see if it is raining before they venture outside.

Our room (#304) contained two full beds, a desk with chair, a very large stereo system, a nightstand with lamp, another chair, a TV (cable with remote), and tasteful wall artwork. The bathroom, up one step from the bedroom, had generous shelf and hanging-clothes space. The sink had enough counter area on which to spread toiletries. The large shower had a sliding glass door and a basket of towels set at the far end. A wicker basket of extra "Hotel Cuenca" soaps and shampoos was provided.

The only "negative" was that the water pressure in the shower was rather weak, and the water took awhile to heat up on a couple of mornings. The staff's explanation was that this was because so many guests were using the water simultaneously.

Both bathroom and bedroom were gleamingly spotless, and unused electrical outlets were reachable in each. There were no climate-controls; unlike the rest of Ecuador, where air conditioning is a necessity for foreigners unused to the heat, climate-control does not seem needed in Cuenca -- the city is in the mountains, and the year-round temperature generally ranges from 50 to 65 degrees F.

The mattresses were firm, the pillows were reasonably plush, and all linens (including the bedspread and the window curtains) were exceptionally clean.

The room was quiet, with these exceptions: [1] When people in the first-floor restaurant or the lobby spoke too loudly, the sound carried; and [2] from approximately 2:30 to 4 p.m. daily, the staff performed cleaning (sweeping around the edges of the lobby carpet with brooms!) and minor repairs (brief hammering). Neither the room nor the lobby floors creaked, and no room doors squeaked -- a plus anywhere.

The housekeeping was impeccable, and as thorough as it could be without becoming invasive or disruptive. The hotel's overall cleanliness was further evidenced when I saw the maids in the stairwells... using cloths to clean the fronts of the pictures on the walls. Holy mackerel!

Overall staff responsiveness was outstanding, even according to Ecuador's premier standards. Every request or question that we had was handled immediately and thoroughly.

After approximately midnight, the front hotel doors are barred, and a night watchman/bellman/clerk keeps his eye out for guests who want to come in or go out. He patrolled the entire lobby floor constantly and courteously kept his voice down in order to avoid disturbing sleepers above.

The hotel's restaurant is elegant, with fine furniture and cloth napkins. No menu item exceeded $8. My fiancee and I were sorry that the first time we dined there was on our last day.

Checkout consisted of my providing my Visa card and passport number; the bill came to the promised $35 per night. The hotel had a bilingual "guest satisfaction" survey in the room; I filled it out with highly positive remarks.

Other: Ecuador uses the U.S. dollar and U.S. electrical current. Cuenca is Ecuador's 3rd-largest city, and it seems very safe. Check first to learn whether hotels or merchants accept credit cards, and how steep the surcharge will be, if there is one. Even if a place accepts (for example) Visa cards, it may not accept YOUR Visa card (something about "international" cards); accordingly, when you pack for Ecuador, take double the cash that you think you'll need, and then take even more than that.

Summary: The Hotel Cuenca's rooms are above-average to excellent, and the cleanliness, restaurant, and service are outstanding. The hotel is downtown near everything. You get all of this for $35 per night. I give the Hotel Cuenca my unqualified endorsement, and I recommend it to you unconditionally.