Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hosteria Bambú is a first-class option at a mid-range rate and a great choice for couples,
families or business travelers. The hotel is housed in a stately colonial house and features
rustic rooms with modern touches. Guests have access to the pool, terraces, sitting rooms
(with fireplaces) and the renowned Bambú Restaurant.
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Hotel Zeus
41-29 Daniel León Borja Avenue and Duchicela
$$$
Hotel Zeus is a luxury hotel housed in the tallest building in Riobamba, affording
guests incredible views of the surrounding mountains. It's centrally located in the
heart of the business and tourist district, and offers sleek, spacious rooms equipped
with amenities like bathtubs with private windows, black out curtains, down comfort-
ers and a sitting area. They also have several event spaces, a restaurant, cafe and a
bar-lounge with excellent panoramic views.
Baños
Ecuador's top destination after the Galápagos Islands, Baños is often referred to as para-
dise. Nestled in an eastern montane valley off the cliffs of the Andes and in the high trop-
ics of the Amazon, where ever you walk in this small city you are surrounded by lush
mountain walls and their waterfalls. Meaning 'baths' in Spanish, Baños is renowned for
its natural hot springs, as a base at the beginning of the Route of the Waterfalls and as the
Gateway to the Amazon, as it is cut by two rivers that eventually join the legendary basin
in Peru. Because of its fortuitous spot in the wild, it has come to be known as one of South
America's top adventure travel destinations, but those looking for a more relaxed time in
town can take advantage of Baños' twin identity as a national spa capital that hosts a vast
selection of spas, from high quality but affordable treatments to sprawling all-inclusive re-
sorts. Did I mention Baños is paradise?
Baños de Agua Santa
is home to a majority Roman Catholic population of almost 10,000.
A figure of the virgin saint overlooks the city from atop a tall hill and is said to protect it,
after all, Baños sits at the foot of the towering Tungurahua (Throat of Fire) volcano,
which is still active and dark black from centuries of ash layering its surface. It erupts on a
near-constant basis, but hasn't done any damage to the town's people for a long time, save
for a few preventative evacuations. In fact, when the earth around the volcano begins
