We stayed at the Hosteria Duran for 5 nights in August. Two adults with two kids ages 13 and 10. We all loved it! The staff was helpful, friendly, courteous - we could not have hoped for more. The thermal pool was very nice and by staying at the hotel, you can get in early before it becomes crowded. The little town of Banos is a great place to walk around and sample the local open air restaurants and the pretty blue church up the hill, which we could see from our balcony - was worth the walk. The food at the Hosteria was very good - breakfast is included - though you will still want to try some of the local almuerzos and, if you don't want to go out to eat for every meal, there is a small supermarket just down the hill. Plus there is a wonderful fruit and vegetable market outside the church on Sunday. This place was recommended to me in the forum by Rulkell and I am glad I took his or her advice and stayed there. It was a short bus ride to Cuenca - only 25 cents each and my 10 year old daughter rode free. Taking the bus is more fun than the taxi and a lot cheaper! I could go on and on, but in any case if you are looking for a place to stay near Cuenca with terific amenities, reasonable price and wonderful staff - you can't go wrong here. My only word of caution is that if you are an early or light sleeper you might be bothered by the noise coming from the pool - it kept my wife awake a little but I and the kids slept through it just fine.

My family and I recently spent six nights in the Cuenca area. We spent three nights at the Crespo and three nights at Hosteria Duran. While the Crespo was a good experience, I would suggest the Duran. The Duran is a few miles outside of the city in the small town of Banos(not to be confused with the larger town of Banos near Ambato). The cab fare to town is only 4 dollars--so if you want to go to the city to see the sights, it is no problem. But at the end of the day it is awfully nice to experience the clean air of Banos and the wonderful facilities at the Duran. Those facilities include three swimming pools all fed by hot thermal springs, Individual hot tubs with the hottest water of any thermal spring in Ecuador(about 160 degrees F), a pool with water slides, Turkish baths, racketball courts, a game room, and a tennis court. Use of all of these facilities are free to Hotel guests, and the price of a room is less than what you would expect to pay at the better hotels in Cuenca. We paid $56 for a double and $72 for a triple, and that included all taxes, etc. and a great American breakfast. The restaurant is excellent and reasonably priced, and the staff was very efficient and friendly. Also the $25 full-body massages were wonderful after a long day of sight-seeing.