Hacienda Jimenita Wildlife Reserve

The property is outstanding! Lots of character, lovely gardens and paths to walk. There is a beautiful place to sit and watch birds. We loved the beautiful gardens that were beautifully maintained. The staff is helpful and tried to accommodate our vegan diet. It is not near the airport. While they will arrange for transport, it is not free. Btw, it was a bit cold in the rooms. Strongly recommend if you are looking for a place with character and have time to walk around and enjoy the property.

We wanted to love this hotel so much after seeing all the wonderful trip advisor reviews. But while the facility and rooms are stunning, the lack of functional heat made for an uncomfortable stay. And unfortunately, the staff response to our concerns (as outlined later) did not address the issue or provide a viable alternative. We stayed at the hotel for two nights on New Years Eve and New Years Day, and both days were cold and overcast. We were really blown away by the beautiful gardens, the birds, and plants and flowers immediately upon arrival. We also loved our very spacious room. We walked the grounds and did the hikes at the facility, which while not extensive, offered some great views and opportunities to see more birds. We appreciated the signage that helped us identify specific bird species. We dined at the restaurant, which was very solid. And we did a great tour of the tunnels. However, our very spacious room was very very chilly. I understand that the hotel does not have central heating and relies on the wood burning fireplaces in the rooms for heat. So on our first night, I checked in at the front desk to ask them to turn ours on for us while we had dinner. After dinner, we returned to the cold room and the fire was not lit. We went back to the front desk to once again ask the staff to help us light the fire. The staff member came to our room about 10 minutes later with some egg carton material and matches and lit the paper as kindling to start the fire. He then left, leaving us with matches and more egg carton material for the fire. Unfortunately, once the kindling burned, the fire stopped a few minutes after he left. We tried unsuccessfully on our own to restart the fire for several minutes, after which point we returned to the front desk to ask for help. The staff member returned with some printer paper, used it to start the fire, then left. The fire burned out right away again as the wood wasn’t catching fire, only the paper. At this point, we were so exhausted with the process that we went to bed. Thankfully, the beds in the room are very comfortable and there were some great blankets (but we needed to pull out an extra from the closet). The next morning around 11am, we went back to the office to let them know how cold the room was and how we had struggled with the furnace. The staff member suggested that the wood might need to be changed out. At about 4:15 that afternoon, another staff member came by the room with more wood and spent 15 minutes trying to start the fire. He was successful actually lighting the wood, but the fire fizzled out after he left. So we had to return to the office once again. At this point, another staff member suggested an electric space heater. This was delivered to our room that night, but it wasn’t really functional, only had a low setting, and did nothing to warm up the large space. We were so disappointed that after talking with four different staff about the lack of heat, that no one follo

This is a relaxing paradise with many bird species, close to Quito airport and was also the last stop of our 2 week trip in Ecuador. The ground was extensive with many feeders and a nature trail in the canyon. We stayed for 4 nights. The accommodation was very comfortable. Breakfast varied with home made bread, eggs cooked to our choice. One morning, we had a 4 o'clock start for the birding trip. Takeaway breakfast were kindly provided by staff, nice touch! Also, a big thank you to Daniel who took us to see the crimson-mantled woodpecker that had eluded us so far, finally found in the woods!👍 This stay in Jimenita has made our Ecuadorian trip finished in 200% satisfaction, muchas gracias!!!