Kimkim Trip Reviews

BEAUTIFUL hotel. Modern and up to date. Amazing decor and ambiance. Outdoor hot tub for guests to use. Good restaurant. Such super friendly staff across the board. Offered norther lights wake up calls as well.

Newer building and older building combined. Incredible location with views of mountains and the ocean. Front desk lady was helpful and pleasant. We were in the new part with a mixed view of mountains and ocean as well as a balcony do that was lovely. But it seems they shouldn’t be renting out those rooms as they aren’t done yet. We had no TV, no hairdryer, 1 towel and bath mat for two people and no wash cloths. The barbaric “art” of decapitated cow/pig’s heads was questionable. The breakfast buffet was by far the worst we had all week.

Friendly staff, decent rooms (ours slept 5 people, clean, and they had 3 hot tubs for guests to use outside which was a nice bonus. The restaurant didn’t have many good options for our family so we had to venture offsite for food.

Beautiful, modern hotel. Very helpful and friendly staff. Good location, good views from our room.

We loved this hotel! It was clean, fresh, updated and had good personality. Pinny (?), the owner (?) was so fun to talk with. Great man. It was a great location on our road trip. He offered restaurant suggestions as the restaurant onsite was seasonal, not opening until May.

Nice enough hotel. We got to see the northern lights here. Dinner buffet was not good, and cost us about $60 CAD per person because there was no other option for food. The dinner was a huge disappointment. They had the rooftop area closed because there were too many Filipinos staying at the hotel. Yes, that was the exact comment to us. We were told we could go up on the roof by one staff member and then another staff member was so rude and ignorant when we asked for directions to the roof top viewing area. The same staff member was a complete witch the next day as well when we crossed paths with her. When I mentioned her behaviour to some awesome staff members it was confirmed she was the owner so ya…wouldn’t recommend this hotel.

Overall nothing to look twice at. More verging on hostel territory than hotel but the staff were great. Restaurant on site looks like a complete dive, but it was probably one of our best dinners. We tried the horse steak and it was pretty good! The included breakfast was just okay.

Room was basic but slept 5 people and had a private bathroom. The breakfast buffet was decent. The staff were super friendly. The location is awesome.

This was another awesome tour! So breathtaking and awe inspiring once inside. Our guide was awesome! I think his name was Andre.

Beautiful but strenuous. This is quite the hike up a mountain so be prepared for a work out for sure. Stunningly beautiful. Our guide Caroline was incredible and hilarious. The ice caves were humbling and beautiful. Our driver was hilarious as well.

Beautiful, less busy natural spa. They had natural hot tub, hot pool, cooler pool and natural saunas.

This was a fun jaunt off the beaten path. Our driver was fun and efficient. This was a cool stop for photo ops.

Amazing, amazing, AMAZING! Highly recommend. Our tour guide and all the staff we dealt with were incredible. It’s unfortunate we didn’t get our main guides name because he was hilarious and kind. I truly loved this excursion; genuinely every single thing about it. I would do it again.

Very beautiful place. Had high hopes for this and I wasn’t disappointed but it wasn’t as jaw dropping as I thought it’d be. We went early in the morning so it was less busy. Started to get busy around 10:30 am. The one staff we mainly interacted with seemed to have zero personality. The change rooms, showers, etc. were clean. The springs themselves were beautiful and lived taking that all in.

We stayed at the, Petra Guest House, in Petra! It was excellent! We loved its great location next to the Visitor Entrance and Museum! Very comfortable room! Breakfast started being served early so we could begin our visit to the sites early and before all the buses arrived. We also loved spending time at there, Cave Bar which is connected to the hotel. Here, they served excellent food and cocktails!

Very much appreciated at 4:30 am!

Would really rate 8.5 not 8. Good location and some attractive areas Food was very good. Unfortunately too cold to swim in the pools. Room good size but a bit of maintenance needed.

Central area of camp was good. Food and service was good with hospitable people. Room was too basic and unfortunate smell. They kindly got us a sheet as we are not accustomed to sleeping with just a blanket. We found it difficult managing our things on the floor. But other rooms had an extra bed to sit on or for cases which was easier.

Would really give hotel 9 out of 10. Convenient location, smart clean room and good food. Both dinner and breakfast.

Is ok. But I think I like more that one in Kakslauttanen

I like the hotel space and the surrounded view

Isolated hacienda on a hobby farm -- it is not within walking distance of anything, so expect to stay and eat here. Their food is good though, so for a rest day it's a lovely place to be. - They own a few friendly dogs that we played with outside. - Charming rooms; beds had heated blankets because it was a bit chilly -- no problems with temp for us. Rustic-feeling, but clean and comfortable. - Breakfast was simple and tasty (toast, eggs, cold oatmeal-type dish, GREAT coffee) - Dinner options were limited -- not really a menu, more of a "this is what's for dinner tonight, or you can have a sandwich" -- and tasty. They did accommodate vegetarians!

Catered toward tourists: it's located in a touristy / wealthy part of Quito, the staff speak English, overall it was a very comfortable stay. Within walking distance of Quito's historical center, good restaurants, and a supermarket. - Breakfast (included) was incredible, seriously the best hotel breakfast I've ever had. - They have a laundry service, but it's priced per item and very expensive -- we ended up washing clothes in the sink. - Rooms and grounds are clean and well-kept. - The lighting is incredibly harsh and white. This seems to be the norm in Ecuador, but wow was it brutal turning on the lights in the morning. - Dinner (not included) is just okay; I'd go elsewhere for dinner. - Staff is very helpful! We left bags at the desk for a day while hiking (one night of camping, before returning to the hotel) and it was no problem.

An ideal final day in the Galapagos. The whole day we spent on a sailboat with a dozen other tourists and crew and took a 3 hour ride to an uninhabited island. There we did a short "hike" (it was climbing 365 stairs) to an incredible viewpoint — our guide kept telling us it’s been named one of the most beautiful places in the world. By whom, we have no idea, but it was beautiful. After the hike, we went snorkeling again. We saw sharks and a Galapagos penguin, the only species of tropical penguin. The penguins are tiny — no more than a foot tall at full grown. The boat ride back was close to perfect — warm air, sea breeze, a few sightings of jumping rays — a great end to a Galapagos vacation.

Our guide for the day took us to the Charles Darwin Research Station, where we learned more about the ecology of the Galapagos and the efforts to combat ecological destruction. It’s pretty cool how committed the islands are to preservation and environmental sustainability. At the research station we also got to visit the tortoise breeding center where we saw baby tortoises (younger than 5 years, when they’re returned to the wild), as well as a few old ones who were recovered from their early life as pets and can’t be released into the wild. After the research station, we went to the Highlands of Santa Cruz Island to visit a lava tunnel and tortoises in their natural habitat. It was, in a word, amazing. Because of the relatively short time humans have been present on the island, and the lack of predators, the wildlife here is shockingly unafraid of humans. They’re certainly aware of us, and the tortoises moved away if we approached from the front (threatening), but in general are fine with us being close and wandering around with them.

The volcano hike was long (~9 miles) but still far easier than hiking in altitude! We walked up to the caldera (nearly 10 km across) then down the south side and saw the remnants of lava flows from the 2005 and 2018 eruptions. The landscape felt a bit otherworldly, due to the lack of vegetation and lava rocks / fissures. We also saw on our hike three Galapagos hawks — a rare sighting according to our naturalist guide.

We took a boat from Isabela to Tintoreras Islet with a small group. Walking along the islet we saw lots of marine iguanas (they’re in their nesting season, so it’s only the females) as well as white-tipped sharks, crabs, and pelicans and lots of other birds. After the island walk we went snorkeling again and saw a pair of blue-footed boobies doing a mating dance.

We started the day with a walk into the national park to Tortuga Bay, where we kayaked among sea turtles (!), little hammerhead sharks (!), marine iguanas (!), and so many birds. It was SO COOL. The water is shades of azure and teal — it truly felt like we were in a movie.

This was our first hike above 5000m. The way up was challenging but great: we had nice weather, were feeling pretty good after our past two acclimatizing hikes, and there was lots to look at. We reached the refuge at 4700 m feeling tired but good, ate some food, then put on our helmets and harnesses to hike the last 425 m. It got tough quickly, scrambling up rocks using hands and feet, and the altitude was starting to really hit us. Right when we neared the summit, a storm began approaching, so we took a couple quick pictures, then headed down. We didn’t quite beat the storm, as the entire way down was in dense fog and it hailed on us for a few minutes, but avoided the deluge that started once we were in the car on the way back. It is a tough hike because of the altitude, but non-technical and a great first hike over 5000m!

An absolutely beautiful hike up the dormant volcano Pasochoa. We had perfect weather for hiking — and for getting sunburned. Getting there by car may have been more treacherous than the hike itself — we drove down a narrow cobbled road with holes / ruts / ??? that could swallow a few humans. If we were driving, we never would’ve imagined a car could make it through. The summit itself was incredible, passing through a short, verdant rainforest-like section, then leaping over a small chasm. 10/10 would recommend.

We hiked Guagua Pichincha, an active volcano! It was very cloudy at the top, so we couldn’t see the crater, but we could definitely smell the sulfur. And could definitely feel the altitude — it does make hiking (walking, moving, breathing) harder. At least for us: one of the many stray dogs in Ecuador was with us for the entire hike, more often leading than following. Instead of hiking back the way we came, we “land skied” by sliding on our feet down a sheer slope of sandy rocks. Our shoes were filled with rocks, but it was super fun!

On our first day, we went on a walking tour of the historical center of Quito and visited the equator. The historical center had beautiful old architecture, gold gilded churches, and a market where we ate local tropical fruit. We then visited the equator at the Intinan Museum and the fake equator at Mitad del Mundo. (As a bonus, we learned the process for making shriveled heads.) Incredible start to the trip!

We took a boat around the Santa Cruz bay, stopping to observe blue-footed boobies, learn about some of the unique animals of the Galapagos, and snorkel. The water is beautifully clear, the salt water buoyant, and there is SO MUCH wildlife, snorkeling is incredible. We were within meters of iridescent rainbow colored fish, sea turtles, starfish, sea lions, stingrays… so much to see.

Excellent Hotel to Stay At

Very cool hotel in the heart of downtown. We weren’t here long but it was a comfortable stay and the staff was very friendly and helpful. We walked right around the corner for dinner at Ten Foot Henry; outstanding food.

Amazing! So beautiful. The staff were incredibly helpful, especially Julie at the concierge desk. She helped us secure a ski instructor at the last minute and that made our whole trip! We are so grateful for her help. The food at the new restaurant was excellent. We were really happy with our stay here.

We loved the big, crackling fire in the lobby! The restaurant was excellent and the room was big and roomy. The heat did not work well at first but it was repaired quickly. the hotel itself was under repair so there was scaffolding built along the side we looked out of. We could not access the balcony or even open the doors because of this and the workers started banging away Monday morning. They should have mentioned there was a floor heater for our use. That helped a lot. The spa/hot tub was awesome. The desk failed to give us both sets of lift tickets. We did not know they had the second set and we had already traveled to our next destination without tickets. It was just a headache we didn’t need.

Loved our instructor Christopher! The lodge was cozy and vibrant. We had a lot of fun.

Breathtaking! We really enjoyed this!

We did not expect much from this hotel since it was just a place to spend our last night before catching our flight the next morning. It was more or less what we expected. This appeared to just be a hotel for big tourist groups. Friendly staff but the rooms were dirty. The sink and shower drains were partially clogged and drained very slowly. The towels had brown stains and there were mosquitos and ants in the room.

It was beautiful with a great view of Chefchaouen. The room was clean and the breakfast was very good with a variety of local dishes you can choose from. We didn’t mind the 159 steps to get to the lobby because that is what gives this riad the beautiful view in the common area.

We expected more from a four star hotel (according to Google). The riad patio/ground level common area was beautiful and the breakfast was fine, however, the cleanliness of the room (Bahia room) left much to be desired. The room smelled musty and dank like old wooden furniture that was not taken care of properly. There were stains on the bedsheet and the hair dryer was very dirty and sticky. The riad has great potential but was not taken care of properly.

It was almost like a luxury hotel room experience in a tent in the desert.

The standard room was small and dim, since it did not have a window or a view. The riad itself such as the buildings, garden, and courtyard view of the mountains was very beautiful.

Our driver, Samir, showed us around and customized the activity according to our requests.

Our guide, Hassan, was great, and we really enjoyed the Moroccan salad and the pastilla at the restaurant he took us to.

We got to try the fresh camel milk and even saw a wild monkey!

It would have been nice if the local guide told us what time this activity was scheduled to start. It says that it’s after breakfast but it ended up starting after 11am.

Loved this hotel. Beautiful with a traditional and contemporary vibe. Excellent location. Staff were all helpful and welcoming

Fun way to see Oaxaca and the beautiful murals surrounding the town

Highly recommend this activity if you want to immerse yourself in local culture. It was wonderful to be able to cook and learn recipes of a local woman from a small village. One of the most memorable activities of the tour

Beautiful winery! Had no idea Mexico produced good wines. We were given 5 tastings. Enjoyed this excursion very much

Interesting and beautiful Aztec pyramids with historical significance

Fun and provides the opportunity to try local street food this is safe to eat

Amazing experience. Great staff and really good food. The sleeping huts are lovely and clean. So many things to see and do! Highly recommend this lodge.

A nice looking hotel in a very walkable good location. This is only a 3 star hotel. The beds were hard and there was no heat or air conditioning in the rooms although the temperature was adequate. The dining room also had no heat, it did have some propane heaters but they ran out of propane while we were there and guests had to wear coats to dinner and breakfast.