We did not stay here but visisted twice during our stay in Ecuador to use the pools ands visit the Restaurant. All I can say is WOW my kids had a blast in the pools we walked around and visited and ended both day in the restuarant. I would say this would be considered a 5 star place in Ecuador what great service so very professional and the food I have to say another WOW. We liked it so much that we went there twice what great food and great prices. We will be going back again.

A friend & I stayed at Hosteria Duran for three nights in July. We had room 312 on the top floor. The hotel is located about 10 minutes from downtown Cuenca in Banos. Breakfast was included in the price, which included eggs, a selection of breakfast meat, toast, cheese, juice, coffee & tea. Rooms were spacious & clean with a large bathroom. The shower pressure and consistancy of the water temperature was the best that we had in any of our hotels in Ecuador.

Around the interior of the property are a number of small sitting areas. Several had fireplaces, but they were never lit when we were there. Although it was July, Cuenca got cold in the evenings & there isn't any heat in the individual rooms. The beds have adequate blankets for sleeping, but we were cold the remainder of the time that we were in the room in the evening.

We attempted to get a pre-dinner drink at the bar, but found that it didn't open until the same time that the restaurant opened for dinner - 7:00pm. At 7:00pm, the restaurant & bar still were not open. We waited 10 minutes & then inquired at the front desk. they scrambled to find staff while we and several other groups waited. The restaurant finally opened at 7:30pm. Service was good after that & the food was good as well.

The next day, we noticed dirty dishes in some of the seating alcoves throughout much of the day. We also noticed on multiple nights that the dirty glasses remained on the bar throughout the day & until morning. This detracted a bit from how nice the hotel seemed.

When we attempted to check out early for an 8:30 am flight, no one was at the front desk & the taxi driver had to assist us in locating a staff member to charge our credit card. This was a bit stressful in trying to make it to the airport on time, so I would suggest allowing a little extra time.

First of all, let me say it was very difficult to get to Cuenca because we were there when the floods damaged the roads, and literally, were the last bus to cross the bridge. It was all worth it. We had a group of 10, and stayed in four rooms, so we are in the position of evaluate the hotel properly, because we had a suite, two triple rooms and a double room.

The hotel was exquisitely decorated, all white and colonial in appearance, it reminded me of a Swiss Chalet. They had gardens and flowers all over the property and the thermal water pools, jacuzzi and private baths were beautiful, clean and relaxing.

The hotel manager (Marcelo) was very courteous and personally made recommendations about where to go and how to get there. In addition, he was very sympathetic to our situation (since we were basically stranded with the flooding) and helped us out in many ways. I cannot stress enough how courteous the entire hotel staff was.

While we were there, we did sightseen, shopping for crafts and went to the nearby mountains. It was gorgeous and amazing.

We ate in the hotel when we were there at the time of a meal, but we had breakfast at the hotel every day. The food was excellent and the service impeccable.

We used all the facilities, including the laundry service, which was punctual and inexpensive. We'll go back to this hotel anytime. It's worth the price!!!

We stayed in Banos outside of Cuenca during the last week of November 2006. The Hosteria Duran could not have been better. Immaculately clean, excellent and inexpensive food (all meals); lovely rooms with comfie beds and 4 huge mineral hot spring fed pools! We are returning in a few weeks.