Golden Bay Galapagos

Loved this hotel! Rafael, the manager, was exceptional, he went out of his way to make our stay special for our anniversary. we loved our room overlooking the bay and sea lions! The staff was friendly and kind. Will recommend to family and friends.

Golden Bay was the first hotel we stayed at upon arriving in San Cristóbal, and it was a wonderful start to our trip. The hotel manager, Rafael, was very attentive and even took time out of his day to engage in conversation with us. William was an absolute sweetheart—always hands-on and made sure we had everything we needed. The hotel is very clean, and I definitely recommend it. They have a stunning view of the beach and sea lions right in front of the property. Also worth mentioning: the restaurant was so good! They offered a wide variety of delicious dishes, especially great options for vegetarians

So having done a bit of research there only appear to be large hotels on the seafront, this hotel and the IHG. We chose this as it provided the better package. The hotel is on the beach but there is the main pathway that goes along the beach that passes between the hotel and the beach, which we didn't notice in the pictures. It's not a big issue but just to be clear the public beach doesn't directly connect to the hotel grounds. Our check in was done by Karol who was very helpful and showed us to room 201 which has a balcony overlooking the beach. The room was spacious with a sofa and a large walk in shower. However we noticed during thee night the AC was really loud and the wifi didn't reach beyond the entrance to the room. We spoke to Karol the next day and without us even asking she upgraded us to room 303 which had none of the issues that 201 had. It also had a balcony but is to the side of the building, but had a fantastic freestanding bath in the room. The beach has a while colony of sea lions on it so there's plenty of activity to hear and sea, we even had one wonder into the restaurant! There are no coffee making facilities in the rooms but you can ask for a freshly ground coffee from the restaurant whenever you want. The breakfast was standard fare with a large selection available to order as well as eggs made to order. On Monday nights they have freshly made pizzas which were veery nice and on subsequent nights the main kitchen is open and the food was tasty. The hotel is well located for easy access to the main town and shops a short walk away. -Playa Mann beach 8 minute walk - this is a well developed beach with showers and a restaurant on site, but its small and was quite crowded on a Sunday. -Environmental Interpretation Centre 13 minute walk- This is well worth a visit as it gives through the development and colonisation of the Islands. Its much more informative and bigger than the Darwin Research Centre. -Playa Punta Carola 20 minute walk - You can a taxi to drop you along Avenida Alsacio Northia to a point near the beach and then the walk is about 5 minutes from there. This route walked back is shorter than the once shown on google maps. This beach is worth visiting if you want to swim with sea lions as there were plenty around as well as sea turtles. Its also just a short walk from the main harbour where you pick up your tour boats and where the ferry boats arrive from the other islands. We had excellent service at the hotel, its a boutique hotel remember so you wont get all the frills of a large chain and the service we got from Karol, Nicolas and Josue at the bar was perfect. I'd happily stay here again and would recommend it.

The hotel is well located. Looking out at the sea lions from our balcony was nice. Our room, although spacious felt like it was furnished from Ikea, or maybe the cheap version of Ikea. We had one night light. Weird couch. everything just looked cheaply made. Shower wasn't leveled properly so water was everywhere and it was generally slippery. We also had a corner room of the hotel (I guess) so their wifi did not reach the room. The only time it worked was when you stood against the front door to the room. Dinner at the restaurant was good. We personally wouldn't stay here again.