Mashpi Lodge

World class experience and staff! Every detail thought of and every desire accommodated! The daily activities were unforgettable. Gabriel our guide was made sure everything was perfect! The lodge, room and restaurant are stunning! The 3 hour trek from Quito was fine. Note the last 45 minutes were very bumpy but worth every minute to be delivered to this amazing experience in the cloud forest Don’t walk…run to book your stay. Stay 3 night to get the most of your stay.

It is hard to define Mashpi. It is a staggering concept- a hotel which has no business existing in the middle of cloud forest, an hour on dirt roads from the nearest highway and an hour and a half from the nearest town of any size. If people are thinking of this as a relaxing wallow in sumptuous surroundings - think again. The hotel is not full of soft furnishings or drapes- they’d rot in the climate. It is functional concrete with as many glass walls as possible. The forest is the decoration and the forest is the point of being here. Each guest is allocated a guide for their stay and a programme of activities decided each day to get the maximum out of the location- sky bike, river hikes, humming bird viewpoint and so on… yes, some seem to resent the idea of putting out food for the humming birds as intrusive, yet it means all get to see these amazing creatures and have a chance of seeing them in the dense forest while hiking. The night walks, often preceded by a short lecture are amazing opportunities to move in small groups among the undergrowth and to see a wealth of species simply going about their business. On top of all this, the rooms are spacious, all with floor to ceiling windows, there’s a complimentary cleaning and drying service and the food is great- breakfast is wonderful and the hot food changes daily abd is beautifully prepped and served. It is wonderful . You will get wet and dirty and it’s not called a cloud forest without reason- there will be wet days and days when the clouds roll in and the views are non existent. That’s is a risk. The re of the reserve in preserving the cloud forest is amazing and makes the hotel good value. Think of it as a surcharge. If it was t 13 hours flight from home, we would come back!

We had the opportunity to stay at Mashpi Lodge as a pre Galapagos cruise add on and it was worth every cent. We had seen Mashpi Lodge on a travel show and had wanted to come ever since. We experienced a communications issue on the day we travelled to Mashpi from Quito - which caused a bit of consternation albeit adding to the adventure of travelling to a rainforest, a number of landslides had occurred - but that was resolved to our satisfaction by management on arrival - thank you Alex. Despite not getting to Mashpi until mid afternoon they kept the restaurant open for a late lunch for us, then we had our orientation and out for our first activity - observation tower and skybike. The weather was untypical and we had great views from the tower. The skybike is such a clever idea and very enjoyable. That evening we went out for a night walk to see what wildlife we could encounter - scorpions, spiders and frogs were spotted. On the first full day in the morning we went to see the hummingbirds, plus other species and a tayra showed up too. On the way back we went for a vigorous massage under a waterfall - great experience. In the afternoon we went to the life centre and did some more wildlife spotting before being taken through the life cycle of a butterfly and seeing each stage in reality. The second full day we went on a hike down to magnolia falls and then along the river, sometimes in the river, before climbing up the valley to join the dragonfly and glide above the canopy with just the sound of the wind and rainforest creatures below - amazing experience. In the afternoon it was back to hummingbirds, as that is what the group wanted to do, and what an array of birds - more than what we saw first time. Such a privilege to sit and watch the wildlife, although the hummingbirds have no concept of personal space and fly, what seems, right by you and you can hear the hum of their wings. That evening we did another night walk, different location, where we treated to an array of frogs and a scorpion. The last morning we opted to go to the science centre and talk with one of the biologists studying the Choco rainforest - very interesting- and we saw footage of puma, ocelot and other cats captured by their movement sensor cameras in the forest. We had Gabriel and Franklin as our guides, we were spoiled as we had two for our group of 6, both were incredibly knowledgeable about the local flora and fauna and went above and beyond helping us with photos and answering questions. The restaurant team were attentive and the quality of the food was superb - so much choice with different menus being available for lunch and dinner. We had the same waiter at all meals, the wonderful Dalton, which personalised the service and we were always addressed by name. Fernando, the barman, made excellent cocktails and advised us that he helped create some of the cocktails on offer. Room 22 was very nice and had everything we needed - although we spent minimal time

This was an AMAZING trip! Must love hiking and the outdoors (2-3x a day, 2-4hrs up to 12hrs per hike), getting wet (rain, river hike, waterfalls..did I mention rain?), and be without electronics or cell service - perfect for truly getting away from work and the city! Best, most attentive, service I’ve ever experienced from the front door reception to the restaurant to our amazing guide Jacky who was truly so loved by our four kids [ages 5-11] they requested she be in photos and that they travel the Dragonfly (open air gondola) with HER over us parents and grandparents!! And the entire family agreed - the staff predicted our needs, watched, listened, and helped without my asking; they were incredible with the kids (like, watched the kids like a hawk during meals and would exchange their chair pillow if it looked like it didn’t fit well, gave me a traditional Ecuadorian dessert because I asked what the guava foam was in my ordered dessert), had educational talks nightly, great food including a kids menu and an extensive cocktail menu, are carbon neutral, clean their own water so we are to use their washing products that are biodegradable, they support local communities by buying their produce/food and hiring the locals to work as rangers, guides, etc… Things you should know: - 3+ hour drive from Quito (they arranged transportation) across curving mountain roads. If you get motion sick, premedicate! - the last hour of the drive is on a super rocky logging road. Bad backs beware. - Literally no electronics in the room. No TV. No cell service. There’s wifi and electrical outlets. You’re not there to stare at walls, you’re there to stare at nature (told to my kids). - Beautiful rooms with floor to ceiling windows facing the rainforest. No trails or any development in front of the rooms. Just wildlife 24/7. - Be prepared to walk a lot in rubber boots. There’s no sense in bringing your own shoes, unless they’re combo water/hiking boots. My wife brought those and they were great - the staff ensured they were dried for each daytime hike. Night hikes required the boots though, due to animals in the dark. I hiked in boots and it was fine. - Bring a minimum of two pairs of decent light hiking pants and multiple hiking shirts. They’ll get soaked in the clouds but will be dried after every hike for you at no cost. To truly launder them does cost extra, at rates similar to any other hotel. - We went for 5 day’s and by the fourth day we needed the lighter “take the Dragonfly and do a light hike” to recover. It’s a lot of early mornings and tons of walking. The guides plan the week accordingly though. Well worth the travel time and the $$$. Bucket list item for sure!

5 star service from a really wonderful hotel with amazing staff in a very unique locations. Big thanks to Estuardo our guide, and Darwin and Edgar in the restaurant who really took care of me. I stayed for two nights and had an exceptional time. The tours were really safe, interesting and I gained a lot of knowledge.

Mashpi Lodge is a magnificent place to stay, dine and explore the Ecuadorian cloud forest. The guides are excellent making sure you see and learn as much as possible. The staff are friendly and helpful. Plus the food is delicious. The rooms are spacious with beautiful views of the cloud forest. Best view from a toilet ever.