Hacienda la Cienega

I feel badly giving a terrible review, but the 2 nights we spent here were uncomfortable and unpleasant. The building - a sprawling place - is 300 years old and has been a hotel for over 30 years. There is very poor heating: the rooms and dining area are cold. There was a small electric heater in our room, with helped a little. Luckily, we are OK with cooler temperatures than most people, but I'm sure most people would find their room, the dining area and other parts of this hotel too cold. There are fireplaces in the rooms, which we didn't use, and might have helped at least a little. Hot water was a problem: it took over 15 minutes (I noted this on my watch) to get hot water in the shower at night, and then it could not be regulated, so the water went between scalding and icy. In the mornings, after letting the water run for over a half hour, it wasn't the least bit less cold than when we turned the hot water on over a half hour earlier. The decor in our room was mostly junky old crap, which I suppose was supposed to pass as antiques and 'period pieces.' The long hallways were decorated with the same crap. The breakfast was very basic, limited choices, and the same on both mornings we were there. The rolls - shaped like croissants, but tasted nothing like a croissant, were cold and sort of damp. Bread was served in a basket and was a bit stale. Dinner had limited options, the same choices both nighta, and was, at best, passable. One evening I ordered grilled chicken in a mushroom cognac sauce, which had no cognac, and was barely warm. There were no service beyond the basic. While the beds were made and towels changed, there was no one to help bring luggage to or from your room. The front desk person was friendly and ignored any request we made with a smile. This was the first hotel we stayed at outside of Quito and have since stayed in a few other hotel in Ecuador, all of which were far better in every way than this place. I would absolutely not stay here. In fact, if you are - as most people - traveling around Ecuador with a driver and guide, and the travel agency you are working with wants to book you a room at this place, I would not only decline their suggestion, but carefully scrutinize any other recommendations they make. I read some of the positive reviews for this place and wonder how anyone could really feel positive about it.

Ecuadorian tourism is down currently but this beautiful country should not be ruled out. The issues seen to be mostly in the coastal areas. I just returned from the Sierra, Quito & Amazon areas where things were o.k. Wonderful service. Good food. Perfect spot for an intimate wedding. Elegance from the past with large beautifully appointed rooms & a lovely small cathedral. Good place to make memories...

This is painful for me to write because while I loved the hotel itself, these horses (I assume they are decorative to spruce up the dramatic entrance to the property) are suffering. They are tied to trees and in the 4 days we stayed, they never moved location. My sister in law stayed the week before, noticed the same thing and asked if she could pet them. We both asked to whom the horses belong and were told "we don't know, they do not belong to us". If this is true, it doesn't make sense because clearly they are on the property 24 hours per day. One horse had wrapped himself around a tree and was unable to move at all. I untangled him. This picture (attached) is of the female horse with her foal. She is clearly starving and was tied to a tree unable to access fresh grass (again, she did not move locations in the 4 days we stayed). I am not sure if her foal is nursing, but it never left her side. I can only assume these horses are meant to add to the beauty of the property, but please help me remedy this. Again, I spoke with management and voiced my concerns, but this might take some additional pressure as he did not seem to even know who the horses belonged to. Although I'm sure someone must, as the property clearly belongs to La Cienega. The hotel is lovely and every single member of the staff is top-notch. Sadly, all I took away was the feeling that these animals were suffering in order to make our experience more beautiful.

My family has been guests for many years, always greeted warmly and enamored by the beauty of the place. In the past few years, there is no longer a sense of hospitality or warmth, they no longer decorate for holidays, and the food is mediocre at best. The guy that manages the place has no social graces and is blatantly racist. When we arrived for our Christmas dinner reservation, he had the gall to tell us he gave priority seating in the nice dining room to foreigners (we’re Ecuadorian American but he assumed we’re just Ecuadorian). While everyone else (no one appeared Ecuadorian) seated was in the main room, he seated us alone in a side room even though the main room had an empty table adequate to hold our party. I strongly recommend they fire the racist manager and bring back the magic that used to be characteristic of La Ciénega.

We spent one night here while working our way down to Cuenca. It recaptures a bygone era with its lovely rooms, excellent service, circuitous hardwood halls, pretty central garden, and great service. I would definitely return.

A very nice historic place to stay. Beautiful hallways, decorated well, grounds are nice. Yes it’s cold, be prepared. But there are heaters and fireplaces. Friendly staff, great night’s sleep! The chapel was wonderful, as was the long driveway with trees on each side.