This hotel is run by a couple Fernando and Alejandra who are extremely generous and friendly. Alejandra picked us up from the airport, helped us with our bags and was quick to explain all the services they provide (free usage of bikes, breakfast at the hour you want, cost of taxi rides etc.) They have a big door that locks the complex and you have your own key to enter and exit. However it's very safe to walk around the town. The hotel is a 10 minute walk to the town which we found to be not that big of a deal. You can always take a $1 cab ride if you get tired our don't want to walk at night. The rooms where spacious, bed was decent, bathrooms clean however the on and off hot water was a bit frustrating. Bring warm clothes because we where there during the winter and they have ventilators that run and bring some cold air into the room (more for circulation, but I felt cold). They have a mini fridge, great to store fruit etc. They provide drinking water, give fresh towels and make your bed daily. They have a pool which we never used but was pretty to look at from our balcony. Try to get a room with a view, much nicer. They do your laundry for $10 and have a solid machine which we loved. Internet was OK, you have to sit outside to catch the signal.....was kinda frustrating.

Olga cooked us a fantastic bfast everyday...HUGE! Hot chocolate, tea, coffee, 2 eggs the way you like it, toast, fruit, yogurt, cereal. I was stuffed each day but ate it anyway. They let you use their kitchen if you want to cook, which was perfect for the days we didn't want to eat out.

Fernando was extremely generous, gave us a ride to the beach, to the airport (helped us check in), gave us a T-shirt and stickers....always friendly and very service -oriented.
Both him and Alejandra have traveled alot so seem very aware.

Good food in town: Calypso and La Playa. (However if Calypso looks too busy, don't go because it will take hours to get your food).

Take Chalo Tours - he is cool, the snorkeling to Kicker Rock and Lobo Island is WORTH IT.

We had a great stay here for 3 nights after our cruise. At first I didn't like that it was away from the main part of town, but it was only a 10 minute walk (downhill) to town and 15 minutes or $1 taxi back. The hotel is so clean and spacious, and the owners are so helpful, such as juice on arrival, cold drinking water available at all times, laundry service, arranging tours, calling the airport. The breakfasts were big and delicious, as the other review says. The little postcard size pool is unusual in Galapagos, but great for cooling off. Highly recommended. Please contact me if any questions.

Pimampiro Hosteria is not a hostel at all, but a group of pristine white cabins about a half mile walk from downtown Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal. The hotel opened in Fall 2007, The proprietors are a husband and wife team, Fernando and Alejandra Retamales. Fernando spent the last two years hand-building the hotel from the ground up. We only know of this place because we have family who recently moved there, and they arranged for our stay there during a wedding.

Some of the cabins are two stories--all of them are spacious and immaculately clean. Our luggage failed to get to Quito in time, so we were in the Galapagos without extra clothes. Pimapiro did our laundry twice for free.

Breakfast is included, and every morning features a fantastic feast--homemade jams, juices, and egg concoctions created in a large kitchen by Alejandra. Near the kitchen is a long table of about 16-18 chairs where all the guests sit to enjoy breakfast. Fernando runs around pouring coffee while Alejandra makes plaintains, sausage, and egg dishes that look like fritatas. The breakfasts were absolutely delicious--an awesome and very filling way to start a day of active sightseeing around the Galapagos. The homemade juices and jams were phenonmenal--I wished they had sold them.

When Alejandra and Fernando aren't busy running their hotel, you can also find them at their tourist shop on the Malecon Charles Darwin also called Pimapiro. Their shop was the cleanest and best stocked on the boardwalk, selling everything from T-shirts to postcards to tortoise figurines.

The hotel also features a small lovely pool with plenty of lounge chairs. The hotel is gated, so usually after 9 or 10 pm, you have to buzz to be let in. Often it was one of Fernando's kids who let us in (the family lives in a house across the street).

We can't rave enough about this fledgling hotel. We hope to return and stay at Pimapiro. The family Retamales are the nicest people we've met anywhere. I also wrote about the Galapagos on my blog, http://katrinawoznicki.blogspot.com.