Hacienda la Cienega

Arriving at the Hacienda de Ceirnegia and driving down the tree lined drive was like stepping back in time. This gorgeous hotel has been lovingly restored and offers guests a real treat of staying somewhere beautifully ornate but with all the modern luxuries. From relaxing in the stunning gardens to playing cards in front of an open fire in the Salon de Cotopaxi, out visit was amazing. The food delicious and the restaurant offers local delicacies and a scrumptious breakfast. The service is delightful and staff very accommodating.

This is painful for me to write because while I loved the hotel itself, these horses (I assume they are decorative to spruce up the dramatic entrance to the property) are suffering. They are tied to trees and in the 4 days we stayed, they never moved location. My sister in law stayed the week before, noticed the same thing and asked if she could pet them. We both asked to whom the horses belong and were told "we don't know, they do not belong to us". If this is true, it doesn't make sense because clearly they are on the property 24 hours per day. One horse had wrapped himself around a tree and was unable to move at all. I untangled him. This picture (attached) is of the female horse with her foal. She is clearly starving and was tied to a tree unable to access fresh grass (again, she did not move locations in the 4 days we stayed). I am not sure if her foal is nursing, but it never left her side. I can only assume these horses are meant to add to the beauty of the property, but please help me remedy this. Again, I spoke with management and voiced my concerns, but this might take some additional pressure as he did not seem to even know who the horses belonged to. Although I'm sure someone must, as the property clearly belongs to La Cienega. The hotel is lovely and every single member of the staff is top-notch. Sadly, all I took away was the feeling that these animals were suffering in order to make our experience more beautiful.

My family has been guests for many years, always greeted warmly and enamored by the beauty of the place. In the past few years, there is no longer a sense of hospitality or warmth, they no longer decorate for holidays, and the food is mediocre at best. The guy that manages the place has no social graces and is blatantly racist. When we arrived for our Christmas dinner reservation, he had the gall to tell us he gave priority seating in the nice dining room to foreigners (we’re Ecuadorian American but he assumed we’re just Ecuadorian). While everyone else (no one appeared Ecuadorian) seated was in the main room, he seated us alone in a side room even though the main room had an empty table adequate to hold our party. I strongly recommend they fire the racist manager and bring back the magic that used to be characteristic of La Ciénega.

If you wish to experience what it may have been like long ago for the wealthy, this hotel will give you an amazing glimpse. The room is lovely, the shower enormous, and the grounds were beautiful. The authentic decor with modern comforts was splendid. Honestly, stay at a chain hotel anywhere else, why come to the Andes for that? Highly recommend for the traveler who wants that genuine acquaintance with history.

We spent one night here while working our way down to Cuenca. It recaptures a bygone era with its lovely rooms, excellent service, circuitous hardwood halls, pretty central garden, and great service. I would definitely return.

A very nice historic place to stay. Beautiful hallways, decorated well, grounds are nice. Yes it’s cold, be prepared. But there are heaters and fireplaces. Friendly staff, great night’s sleep! The chapel was wonderful, as was the long driveway with trees on each side.

Entering the garden over a extremely bumpy unpaved 4th level road opens a fascinating view over this very nice looking building. Arriving mid day we just left our bagage and discussed already that the room is quite cold. Coming back in the late afternoon an electrical Oil radiator and a noisy small Heater were working. However, a very cold and big room is difficult to heat up within 3-4 hours. We asked to light up the open fireplace. We had dinner in the restaurant very close to fireplace there but it was still not cosy at all. We have to say that the food ordered was by far the worst we had in all 2 weeks from Andes, Amazonas to Galapagos. So the coldest night we ever had. However, the served breakfast is in contrary very good. Too bad.

Remarkable and beautiful place to spend a night. Depending on what room you have, some are better facilitated than others, the ones with the hearth are warm and characteristically decorated referring to the rich history of the Hacienda. When spending an evening in the richly furnished saloon you feel as if time regresses. The delightful company of the ginger cat and the fantasmas add up to the experience!