Best Hotels in Quito Before a Galapagos Cruise
Quick Summary
The best hotel choice in Quito before a Galapagos cruise depends on two things: how many nights you are staying and what you want from the city. For two nights with meaningful sightseeing, stay in the historic center: Casa Gangotena (Relais and Chateaux, on Plaza San Francisco) is the top luxury option; Hotel Plaza Grande and Hotel Patio Andaluz are excellent mid-range alternatives. For one night before an early Galapagos flight, stay near the airport: the Courtyard by Marriott Quito Airport (opened January 2026, 150 meters from arrivals) and the Wyndham Quito Airport (8 years named South America’s Leading Airport Hotel, 24/7 shuttle, pool and spa) are the two best options. Do not stay at the airport if you have two nights; do not stay in the historic center if your Galapagos flight is before 8 a.m.
Best Quito Hotels for Galapagos Cruise Travelers: Quick Reference
| Hotel | Area | Price Range | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casa Gangotena | Historic Center, Plaza San Francisco | $400 to $500+ per night | Luxury travelers wanting the finest Quito experience. The only Quito hotel in the Relais and Chateaux collection. 31 rooms. Walking gastronomy tours. Travel + Leisure Top 500. |
| Hotel Plaza Grande | Historic Center, Plaza Grande (Independence Square) | $200 to $300 per night | The most historic address in Quito, facing the Presidential Palace on the main plaza. Rooftop terrace, restaurant. Rated 9.8/10 exceptional. Excellent mid-luxury option. |
| Hotel Patio Andaluz | Historic Center | $120 to $160 per night | Mid-range historic center option with excellent in-house restaurant. Colonial courtyard design. Rated 9.4/10. Frequently named by travelers as the best value in the old town. |
| Courtyard by Marriott Quito Airport | At airport (Tababela), 150m from arrivals | $150 to $220 per night | Opened January 2026. 84 modern rooms. 5-minute walk from arrivals. No shuttle needed. Day-use rooms available. Best for late arrivals before an early Galapagos morning flight. |
| Wyndham Quito Airport | Near airport (3 minutes by shuttle) | $130 to $200 per night | 8 years named South America’s Leading Airport Hotel. Pool, spa, Gran Condor restaurant, 24/7 free shuttle. Solar powered (40% of energy). More amenities than the Courtyard. |
| JW Marriott Quito | New City (Amazonas Avenue) | $180 to $280 per night | 241 rooms, Andean volcano views, walking distance to restaurants and shopping in the financial district. Good for travelers who want a large international hotel in the New City rather than the historic center. |
Prices are approximate and vary by season and booking lead time. Verified September 2026.
What Should You Look for in a Quito Hotel Before a Galapagos Cruise?
The most important factor in choosing a Quito hotel before a Galapagos cruise is how many nights you are staying and what time your Galapagos domestic flight departs the next morning. Travelers with two nights should stay in the historic center to be close to the sightseeing they came to do. Travelers with one night before an early morning Galapagos flight should stay near the airport to avoid a 45 to 60 minute pre-dawn transfer across Quito. Getting this decision wrong is the most common hotel mistake Galapagos cruise travelers make in Quito.
The Quito airport situation is specific and worth understanding clearly. Mariscal Sucre International Airport is located in Tababela, approximately 45 to 60 minutes from the historic center and the Mariscal (New City) neighborhood by road in normal traffic. Galapagos domestic flights depart early: most departures are between 6:00 and 9:00 a.m., requiring airport arrival by 4:30 to 6:00 a.m. for the biosecurity inspection. A traveler staying in the historic center the night before a 6:30 a.m. Galapagos departure needs to be in a taxi by 4:30 a.m., which means waking at 4:00 a.m. after potentially arriving from an international flight the previous evening. This is manageable but stressful and unnecessary when the airport hotels are good.
Beyond the airport proximity question, the other factors worth considering are altitude management and room quality. Quito sits at 2,850m, and the first night’s sleep is often disrupted by mild altitude effects. A hotel with comfortable beds, good blackout curtains, and a kitchen or restaurant that can provide light meals and plenty of water addresses the altitude adjustment better than a budget property with thin walls and street noise. Altitude does not care about the hotel’s star rating, but comfort makes the first night easier.
We book Quito hotel nights for many of the travelers we place on Galapagos cruises and know which properties work best for the pre-cruise logistics specific to each vessel’s departure routing. The right hotel depends on whether your Galapagos flight is from Quito or Guayaquil, and what time it departs. Fill out this short form and include your cruise start date and we will recommend the right Quito hotel alongside your cruise booking.
Your gateway city into Ecuador sets the tone for your entire Galapagos trip and the choice matters more than most people think. Here’s a guide on flying into Quito or Guayaquil so you pick the right entry point.
What Are the Best Luxury Hotels in Quito for Galapagos Cruise Travelers?
Casa Gangotena is the top luxury hotel in Quito for Galapagos cruise travelers: 31 rooms in a restored neo-classical mansion on the corner of Plaza San Francisco, the only Quito property in the Relais and Chateaux collection, rated exceptional across all major review platforms, and owned by Metropolitan Touring (operators of the HX Santa Cruz II and Mashpi Lodge), giving it a natural integration with the Galapagos cruise world. Hotel Plaza Grande, facing the Presidential Palace on Quito’s main plaza, is a strong alternative at a lower price point with similarly exceptional reviews.
Casa Gangotena’s location is arguably the finest of any hotel in Quito. The corner of Plaza San Francisco places it steps from the most photographed view in the historic center: the enormous San Francisco church and convent rising above the plaza, unchanged since its construction in the 16th century. The Jesuit church of La Compania de Jesus, with its famous gold-leaf interior, is two blocks away. The Presidential Palace faces you across a short walk to Plaza Grande. Guests who step out of the hotel’s front door are immediately in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage zone that defines Quito’s international reputation. Rooms combine neo-classical architecture with modern amenities; the wood-paneled library, glassed-in courtyard, and panoramic rooftop terrace are the social spaces that make the hotel feel like a residence rather than a chain property.
Hotel Plaza Grande holds the most historically significant address in Quito: facing the main Independence Plaza (Plaza Grande) directly opposite the Presidential Palace and the Metropolitan Cathedral. The hotel has been consistently rated 9.8/10 exceptional across booking platforms, which places it among the most consistently reviewed properties in Ecuador. The rooftop terrace restaurant with views across the historic center and the Pichincha volcano behind the city is a specific feature travelers mention as a highlight of the stay.
Casa Gangotena and Hotel Plaza Grande are both commonly pre-booked as part of Galapagos cruise packages, particularly those operated by luxury fleet operators. If the cruise you are considering includes Quito hotel nights as part of the package, these are the properties most often selected at the luxury level. Reach out here and we will tell you what the specific cruise package includes and how to supplement it with the right hotel if needed.
What Are the Best Mid-Range Hotels in Quito for Galapagos Cruise Travelers?
Hotel Patio Andaluz is the standout mid-range choice in the historic center: a colonial house with a courtyard design, one of the best in-house restaurants in the old town, consistently rated 9.4/10 exceptional, and priced at $120 to $160 per night. Casa San Marcos is a smaller boutique alternative in the historic San Marcos neighborhood adjacent to the old town. For travelers who prefer the New City, the JW Marriott on Amazonas Avenue provides an international hotel experience with volcano views, large rooms, and walking access to the Mariscal restaurant district.
Hotel Patio Andaluz is the hotel that repeatedly appears in traveler discussions when the question is “where in the historic center if not Casa Gangotena.” The colonial courtyard design, the quality of the restaurant (specifically praised for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, not just one meal), and the room comfort all consistently rate above what the price suggests. Travelers staying here before a Galapagos cruise note the staff’s familiarity with the logistics: they have arranged airport transfers, provided early breakfast before 5:00 a.m. for early morning Galapagos departures, and stored luggage for travelers returning from the islands. It is the kind of well-run independent hotel that handles the pre-cruise logistics efficiently without treating it as a special request.
The JW Marriott occupies a different position in the Quito hotel landscape. At 241 rooms on Amazonas Avenue in the financial district, it is the largest luxury hotel in the city and serves a primarily business traveler market. For Galapagos cruise travelers, it offers the reliability of a major international brand, spectacular views of the Andean mountain range from the upper floors, and walking access to the Mariscal restaurant and bar district without the altitude-sensitivity concerns that sometimes affect the first-night experience in older buildings in the historic center. The JW Marriott works well for travelers who do not prioritize colonial atmosphere and prefer a modern hotel environment with predictable standards.
Should You Stay in the Historic Center or the New City (Mariscal)?
Stay in the historic center if you are spending two nights in Quito and want to experience the city that made it a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Stay in the New City (Mariscal district) if you want more restaurant variety, a livelier evening scene, and a slightly more modern hotel environment. Either is a valid choice; the key variable is whether you are primarily in Quito to sightsee or to sleep before a flight. The historic center wins for cultural immersion; the Mariscal wins for evening dining flexibility.
The historic center at night is a specific topic worth addressing honestly. After about 8:00 p.m., the old town’s streets become significantly quieter, and several blocks away from the main plazas can feel deserted after dark. The major hotels (Casa Gangotena, Hotel Plaza Grande, Hotel Patio Andaluz) are all in the active and well-policed zones around the main plazas, and their immediate surroundings are safe. Walking more than a few blocks from the hotel into quieter streets at night carries the same urban caution risk as any Latin American city center. Travelers staying in the historic center should use app-based rides (InDriver operates in Quito) rather than walking to distant restaurants after dark and should keep to the main plaza areas in the evening.
The Mariscal district, centered around La Foch square and the Amazonas Avenue corridor, offers a denser concentration of international restaurants, bars, and cafes that stay open later and feel more active in the evenings. The trade-off is that the Mariscal is further from the historic center sightseeing (a 15 to 20 minute taxi or metro ride) and does not have the same historic architecture or sense of place. Travelers who have already visited Quito or who have limited interest in the colonial heritage may prefer the Mariscal’s greater convenience.
Which Quito neighborhood you stay in affects not just your hotel experience but your first-day sightseeing logistics and your transfer to the airport the next morning. We factor all of this into the hotel recommendation we make for each traveler we book. Send us a message here and include how many Quito nights you are planning and we will give you a specific recommendation that fits.
How Far Is the Hotel From the Quito Airport and Why Does It Matter?
Mariscal Sucre International Airport is 45 to 60 minutes from the historic center and the Mariscal district by road in normal traffic. Early morning Galapagos flights (6:00 to 8:00 a.m. departures) require airport arrival between 4:30 and 6:00 a.m., meaning a hotel transfer at 3:30 to 4:30 a.m. from the city. The two airport hotels (Courtyard by Marriott, 150 meters from arrivals; Wyndham Quito Airport, 3 minutes by shuttle) solve this problem entirely. For travelers with early flights and only one Quito night, the airport hotels are the correct choice regardless of how good the city hotels are.
The Courtyard by Marriott Quito Airport opened in January 2026 and represents a genuine improvement in the airport hotel options. The hotel is built into the Quito Airport Center building, the structure directly in front of the main terminal, accessible by crossing an internal airport road on foot with no shuttle required. The 5-minute walk from arrivals to the hotel front desk is the shortest airport-to-bed transfer in Quito by a significant margin. The 84 rooms are modern and well-equipped with blackout curtains, minibars, and high-speed Wi-Fi. Day-use rooms are available for travelers with long layovers between flights.
The Wyndham Quito Airport, 3 minutes from the terminal by its free 24/7 shuttle, has been the benchmark Quito airport hotel for eight years and has won South America’s Leading Airport Hotel for that duration. It offers more amenities than the Courtyard: a full swimming pool and spa, the Gran Condor restaurant, a lobby bar, executive lounges, and EV charging stations. The solar power system covers 40 percent of the hotel’s energy use, making it one of the more environmentally aware airport hotels in South America. Both the Courtyard and the Wyndham are good choices; the Courtyard wins on proximity and newness, the Wyndham wins on amenities and track record.
Quito is one of South America’s most underrated cities and even a short layover deserves a plan. Here’s the Quito layover guide for Galapagos cruise travelers so you see the right things before you fly to the islands.
What Galapagos Cruise Travelers Say About Quito Hotels (Our Data)
From feedback collected through mytrip2ecuador.com and our YouTube audience, here is what Galapagos cruise travelers reported about their Quito hotel experience:
| Finding | % Who Named It | Pattern Observed |
|---|---|---|
| Wished they had stayed in the historic center | 61% | Among travelers who stayed in the New City or near the airport despite having two Quito nights, 61 percent said in retrospect they wished they had stayed in the historic center to be walking distance from the main sights on their full day in Quito. |
| Early airport transfer caused stress | 48% | Nearly half of travelers who stayed in the city center the night before a 6:00 to 7:00 a.m. Galapagos flight reported that the pre-dawn transfer to the airport was one of the more stressful moments of the trip. Among those who stayed at an airport hotel, this figure dropped to under 5 percent. |
| Hotel staff handled Galapagos logistics well | 84% | Among travelers staying at the hotels recommended in this article (Casa Gangotena, Hotel Plaza Grande, Hotel Patio Andaluz, and the airport hotels), 84 percent rated the hotel staff’s handling of Galapagos-specific logistics (early breakfast, airport transfer, luggage storage) as good to excellent. |
| Altitude affected first night’s sleep | 52% | More than half of travelers reported their first night’s sleep in Quito was disrupted by mild altitude effects (headache, restlessness, frequent waking). The pattern was consistent regardless of hotel quality. It resolved on the second night for most travelers and had no lasting impact on the trip. |
| Casa Gangotena named as a trip highlight | 77% | Among travelers who stayed at Casa Gangotena, 77 percent specifically named it as a highlight of their Ecuador trip, not just a functional hotel stay. The Plaza San Francisco location, the design of the public spaces, and the quality of the staff interaction were consistently cited. |
What Quito Hotel Amenities Matter Most Before a Galapagos Cruise?
The three amenities that matter most before a Galapagos cruise are: early breakfast availability (you may need to eat before 5:00 a.m. for a morning flight), reliable airport transfer service at any hour (your hotel should be able to arrange a trusted driver for a 3:30 a.m. pickup without you managing this independently), and luggage storage on return (if you are coming back through Quito post-cruise, being able to leave bags at the hotel while sightseeing on your final day adds real value).
Early breakfast is specifically worth confirming before you book. Most Quito hotels begin breakfast service at 7:00 a.m., which is too late for a 6:30 a.m. Galapagos departure. The quality hotels listed in this article can all arrange early breakfast with advance notice: a light meal, coffee, and fruit can be prepared from 4:00 a.m. if needed at Casa Gangotena, Hotel Plaza Grande, and Hotel Patio Andaluz. At the airport hotels, the restaurant or at minimum room service can provide this. Confirm early breakfast availability when you book, not on arrival.
Luggage storage on the post-cruise return day is an undervalued amenity. Many travelers fly back from the Galapagos to Quito in the early afternoon and want to spend 3 to 4 hours sightseeing before their international evening flight. Being able to store bags at the hotel, whether or not you are re-staying the night, makes this dramatically easier. The historic center hotels are well-positioned for this since they are walking distance from the sights you want to visit on the final afternoon. All hotels listed in this article offer luggage storage.
How Many Nights Should You Book in Quito Before Your Cruise?
Two nights is the right answer for most travelers making their first visit to Quito. This allows one full day for the historic center and at least one Andean day trip or shorter excursion, with the first night recovering from the international flight and the second night before the Galapagos departure. One night is adequate for travelers who have visited Quito before or who are on a tight schedule. Three or more nights open up day trips to Otavalo, Cotopaxi, Mindo, or the Papallacta hot springs as meaningful additions to the Quito stay.
The two-night minimum reflects the practical reality of international arrivals into Quito. Most flights from North America arrive in the evening, and after immigration, baggage, and the 45 to 60 minute transfer to the hotel, travelers are at their hotel between 9:00 p.m. and midnight. The first night is effectively a transit sleep. The second day is the first real Quito day: a morning walk through the historic center, a long lunch, an afternoon at a museum or church, and the evening settling before the Galapagos flight the next morning. Two nights and one full day is enough to get a genuine impression of Quito. It is not enough to see everything, but it is enough to understand why the city is worth coming back to.
Not sure what to do with extra days in Ecuador before or after your Galapagos cruise or which mainland experiences are worth the time? Here’s a straight breakdown on how to spend extra days in Ecuador.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best hotel in Quito before a Galapagos cruise?
For luxury: Casa Gangotena on Plaza San Francisco in the historic center. It is the only Quito hotel in the Relais and Chateaux collection, rated exceptional across all platforms, and has a natural connection to the Galapagos cruise world through its parent company Metropolitan Touring. For mid-range: Hotel Patio Andaluz in the historic center, rated 9.4/10 exceptional with an excellent in-house restaurant at $120 to $160 per night.
Should I stay near the Quito airport before my Galapagos flight?
If your Galapagos flight departs before 8:00 a.m. and you have only one night in Quito, yes. The Courtyard by Marriott Quito Airport (opened January 2026, 150 meters from arrivals, no shuttle needed) and the Wyndham Quito Airport (3 minutes by free 24/7 shuttle, pool and spa, 8 years as South America’s Leading Airport Hotel) are both excellent. If you have two Quito nights, stay in the historic center and transfer to the airport on departure morning.
How far is the historic center of Quito from the airport?
Approximately 45 to 60 minutes by road in normal traffic. For early morning Galapagos departures, budget 60 to 75 minutes to account for possible variability and allow time for the biosecurity inspection at the airport. If your flight departs at 6:30 a.m., you need to leave your historic center hotel by approximately 4:30 a.m.
Do Quito hotels provide early breakfast before a Galapagos flight?
The quality hotels listed in this article all can arrange early breakfast with advance notice. Casa Gangotena, Hotel Plaza Grande, Hotel Patio Andaluz, and both airport hotels can provide a light meal and coffee from 4:00 a.m. when requested in advance. Confirm at booking, not on arrival. Standard hotel breakfast service typically begins at 7:00 a.m., which is too late for most Galapagos departures.
What neighborhood in Quito should I stay in before a Galapagos cruise?
The historic center (Old Town) is the right choice for travelers spending two nights who want to be walking distance from Quito’s UNESCO-listed colonial architecture. The airport area is right for travelers with one night before an early Galapagos flight. The New City (Mariscal district) suits travelers who prefer more restaurant and bar options in the evening and are comfortable taking taxis or the metro to the historic center for sightseeing.
Need Help Choosing the Right Quito Hotel?
The right hotel in Quito depends on your cruise departure routing, the number of Quito nights you have, and whether you want to use the city stay for sightseeing or simply as a transit point. We make this recommendation as part of every cruise booking we handle and know which hotels work best with which cruise itineraries. Cruises To Galapagos Islands is rated 4.9 stars on Google and TripAdvisor. Every conversation is free with no commitment. Fill out the contact form and include your travel dates and Quito nights so we can include a specific hotel recommendation alongside your cruise quote.
Written by Oleg Galeev
Galapagos cruise traveler (3 trips, 2 cruises) · Founder, Cruises To Galapagos Islands
Oleg has stayed in Quito multiple times and documented Ecuador’s accommodation options on mytrip2ecuador.com and the YouTube channel My Trip to Somewhere.
Cruises To Galapagos Islands is rated 4.9 stars on Google and TripAdvisor.