Cuenca Hotels with Balcony

We picked this hotel for the location and great reviews. The location is good, but the customer service at the front desk is very bad. First, at checkin they could not find my reservation until I provided a printed copy. Then the person replies “Oh, you booked thru the website.” Like that’s different from the usual way??? I don’t know. We go to our room, it’s nice, but the lamp on one side only works if you find the correct position for the cord. We see a bracket on the ceiling for a smoke alarm, but no smoke alarm. The safe in the closet is locked. On our way out to dinner, we stop at the front desk and ask them to unlock the safe while we are out to dinner. He says he will do it ‘right away’. I also ask about laundry service, and the front desk person says there is a price sheet in the closet. We thank them and leave for dinner. We return to our room after dinner. Safe is still locked. The guy at the front desk sees us return, and suddenly remembers he was going to unlock our safe “right away.” He comes up, unlocks the safe and leaves. There are no instructions to set a code, and setting a code is different from safes I’ve used in other hotels. I look for the laundry price list. Nope, nowhere in the closet. I hike back down to the front desk and try to explain there is no laundry price sheet in the closet. He follows me back up to the room, looks in every drawer in the closet. No price sheet. He tracks one down for me. Yes, these are minor inconveniences, and they were addressed (finally) but at unnecessary inconvenience to us. Thus the 3 star review. Hope other guests have a better experience than I did in my first two hours at this hotel.

Casa Montalvo is a beautiful B&B, where you feel right at home. Sonia, the host, is a wonderful lady with exquisite taste. The home is a renovated colonial home. Each room is decorated with perfectly-preserved-antique furniture of the highest quality. The house is a retreat as well as a mini museum. It is difficult not to admire every piece of furniture and decor perfectly curated around the house. The rooms are comfortable and different parts of the home can be enjoyed by guests like the traditional colonial backyard and garden in the back of the house, which houses multiple flowers and fruit trees. The location of this B&B is very central and allows you to explore the city of Cuenca by foot or by requesting a taxi. Sonia offers a natural and delicious breakfast to jumpstart your day. When in Cuenca, we will certainly stay in this hotel again. It was simply wonderful!!