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Inti Sisa – reviews, photos

Arno | Guamote, Riobamba, Ecuador
Hotel amenities
Inti Sisa
Ranked #2 of 4 Riobamba B&B and Inns
4.0 of 5 stars 12 Reviews
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12 reviews from our community

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Leamington Spa, United Kingdom
Top Contributor
113 reviews 113 reviews
Reviews in 77 cities Reviews in 77 cities
62 helpful votes 62 helpful votes
“An awe-inspiring place and also very comfortable!”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 23 November 2011

Four of us stayed at this inn, run as part of an awesome community project, for two nights, in two adjacent rooms ("Quito" and "Guayaquil"), each with private bathroom, for about $100 B&B in total. We spent another $75 on evening meals, soft drinks, beers, coffees, teas, hot chocolates, and yummy handmade chocolate. All profits from the inn go into the community project. The rooms were simply furnished, with cosy quilts to keep us warm at night.

There isn't really anywhere else to eat in Guamote, but the shared evening meals were delicious anyway - fabulous soups, meat, veg/salad and rice/potatoes, and pudding - warm chocolate brownie and fruit sauce the first night, fruit salad the second. Our first night was a Wednesday and the inn was full - everyone comes for the mad market on Thursdays - but on our second night we were the only guests. The first night there was a real buzz and the word-burning stove was toasty. The second night was very quiet and the stove wasn't lit - but we weren't cold.

Both nights we saw the project in action - Ana and Miguel are two local schoolchildren who come to Into Sisa for English and homework support, and others came for somewhere safe, warm, and light to study. The Inti Sisa project is a simple one - offer education to the community as a way of empowering people. We also saw the kindergarten and adult education room the morning we left. But Inti Sisa also sends volunteers up into the mountain villages, to teach people who cannot walk for several hours to come into Guamote. We found Eva the volunteer inspiring and her enthusiasm for what Inti Sisa does infectious.

Please go and stay at Inti Sisa, not only because it is a lovely place to stay, but because it will restore your faith in humankind too! We would love to go back.

  • Stayed November 2011, travelled with family
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
San Francisco
Senior Contributor
21 reviews 21 reviews
Reviews in 12 cities Reviews in 12 cities
17 helpful votes 17 helpful votes
“best place in guamote”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 15 March 2011

Guamote is a pleasant town and excellent base from which to climb Chimborazo. Having been to the Saturday market (including animal market) in Otavalo, as well as many others in S. America, I'd say the Thursday market in Guamote was as interesting (and less touristed) as any of the others. The Inti Sisa is a community-operated (with foreign volunteers) guest-house near the sprawling market in the middle of town, but only a block from the western edge where we parked our rental vehicle. The accommodations, including food, are quite basic, but certainly decent. This means that the room was of modest size, had some fixtures that really needed to be fixed, but it was basically clean enough, if not perfectly so.

  • Stayed January 2011, travelled as a couple
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
netherlands
Contributor
17 reviews 17 reviews
Reviews in 12 cities Reviews in 12 cities
11 helpful votes 11 helpful votes
“simple but clean place, very good value!”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 12 February 2011

Simple but nice hostel. Rooms could be shared between 3 people but we could also get 2 rooms for the same price. They served a healthy ecuadorian dinner (soup and a plate of rice with vegetables and meat). Breakfast was a fresh fruit juice, eggs, croissants, coffee and tea. The proceeds of the hostel go directly towards the community. If you are traveling by local bus they will take you in their car to the busstop on the Pan American highway. The people are very nice and it was all very clean.
On Thursdays there is a huge market in the village which starts 100 metres away from the hostel. There are hardly any tourists so if you are looking for an authentic ecuadorian market, this is the place!

  • Stayed February 2011, travelled with family
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
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Watford, United Kingdom
1 review
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
“The Only Pace to Stay”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 23 January 2009
1
person found this review helpful

Inti Sisa is an excellent guesthouse, simple clean and comfortable. However it is so much more than this. The proceeds from the guesthouse are used to fund the Inti Sisa project which has been set up for educational purposes.

The local indigenous people are absolutely charming but their life is very hard. They mostly live of the land (Guamote is not a tourist town) and education is, sadly, a luxury for most.

The project operates in three areas, child education, computer literacy and handicrafts. The students are extremely keen and during your stay at Inti Sisa you will probably be invited to see for yourself the excellent work being done.

Please do consider Inti Sisa, not because of the well priced comfort, the excellent meals, the good company and home made chocolate. But to see real people making a difference to the community they have chosen to stay in.

  • Liked — Friendly and untouristy.
  • Disliked — Nothing
  • Stayed January 2009, travelled with friends
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Check-in / front desk
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 2 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Toronto, Canada
Senior Contributor
45 reviews 45 reviews
Reviews in 29 cities Reviews in 29 cities
130 helpful votes 130 helpful votes
“Memorable Inti Sisa”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 19 September 2008
1
person found this review helpful

The Inti Sisa guesthouse was truly a memorable experience. At first, I was hesitant to stay there due to the fact that it's the only accomodation in Guamote and it seemed fairly basic so I only booked for a night. When we arrived at the Inti Sisa I soon realized that I had made a mistake. I should have booked at least three nights. The guesthouse is basic but in a very homey and comfortable kind of way. It is run by very friendly and knowledgable volunteers who make your stay a pleasure. The meals prepared at the guesthouse are delicious. The volunteers also have other projects going that benefit the community. There's a school next door and crafts are manufactured and sold. Visiting the school was a highlight of our trip. The guesthouse is right in Guamote and makes for a perfect base to explore the extraordinary market on Thursday which we thought was far superior to the Otavalo market. The terrain around the town is perfect for day hikes and Inti Sisa provides its guests with maps. We went on one of the walks that took us through wonderful scenery and was made more memorable by the smiling faces of the indigeneous folk we encountered on the way. The people in town were super-friendly and after travelling around Ecuador for six weeks, my wife and I agreed that Guamote and the Inti Sisa gave us the most unique and "authentic" look into the daily lives of indigeneous Ecuadorians. All this for a very reasonably priced accomodation option. Go for the market but stay longer for what the travel guides can't convey to their readers on paper-- the feeling of discovery when there are so few other tourists around.

  • Liked — staff/location
  • Disliked — nothing
  • Stayed July 2008, travelled as a couple
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Check-in / front desk
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 3 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
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