Finch Bay Galapagos Hotel

We absolutely loved our stay at Finch Bay Hotel. The setting is stunning, right by the sea and surrounded by nature, yet still close to town. The staff were genuinely warm and attentive, the rooms were comfortable and spotless, and the food was excellent. Waking up to the views and the peaceful atmosphere made it a truly special place to stay in the Galápagos. We would happily return.

We had a wonderful stay at Finch Bay Hotel and would happily return. What really sets this place apart is the staff: without exception they were warm, friendly, and highly professional, always attentive without being intrusive. You genuinely feel well looked after from start to finish.

The pool area is absolutely beautiful and one of our favourite spots to relax. Swimming there feels very special, especially with ducks and other birds frequently joining you — a lovely reminder that you’re truly in the Galápagos. Everything throughout the property is kept immaculately clean.

The rooms are spotless but it’s worth noting that the standard rooms are on the small side. The bed was quite short for me (my feet stuck out the end), and the room would benefit from a small fridge and a coffee machine. If you plan to be out exploring all day and only use the room for sleeping, the standard room is perfectly adequate. Otherwise, I’d recommend upgrading to a larger room for extra comfort.

We did two boat trips organised through the hotel, and both were excellent. The boat itself was very comfortable, and the crew were professional, attentive, and friendly. The yacht excursions were run with great attention to detail, with knowledgeable guides, clear information, and good food on board — a real highlight of our stay. One small point worth noting: I left a generous cash tip for the crew, only to realise the following day (after receiving the formal invoice) that a 10% obligatory service charge had already been added at the time of booking. It would be helpful if this were made clearer upfront.

Dinner at the hotel was very enjoyable, with a good variety of dishes. The fresh tuna in particular was outstanding — truly delicious.

Overall, Finch Bay offers a fantastic combination of comfort, nature, and very well-run excursions. A beautiful base for exploring the Galápagos, especially if you value excellent service, cleanliness, and unforgettable surroundings.

The hotel was top notch. Service was great and the grounds were wonderful. The hotel was able to arrange for anything we needed. The spa was really nice too. Also, getting to and from town was simple and fun. Being near town, but not right in it, was great because it was quiet but we were still able to enjoy dinners in town

The amenities were excellent! The staff were very friendly and the service was top notch. Very clean and well maintained.

We stayed here for two nights after our cruise of the Galapagos on a catamaran. The hotel is a short boat ride from Santa Cruz and then a good 5 minute walk but this only adds to the feeling of exclusivity.
Our room (suite 5) was beautifully simple and clean, with wonderful views over the water.
The pool was gorgeous and even though wild birds were dipping in every so often, the water was very clean, with someone constantly mopping up the edges and catching feathers in a net!
There were plenty of sun loungers/shaded areas around the pool area and it never felt busy.
The food and cocktails from the poolside bar were amazing but certainly a tad more expensive than the restaurants outside the hotel.
The breakfast buffet was excellent - a lot of choice and beautifully presented.
Our only regret was not having an extra night here to relax.

La zona de la piscina del hotel es muy agradable con el bar y mesas con parasoles. La comida del restaurante es espectacular, tienen además algunas opciones vegetarianas. El desayuno es muy variado y de excelente calidad. Hay actividades que pueden coordinarse en la recepción del hotel, algunas sin costo. Debe tenerse en cuenta que para llegar al hotel debe tomarse una lancha desde el muelle por lo que debe coordinarse con la recepción. El personal del hotel es muy amable y desde la Línea de WA facilitan mucho desde antes de la llegada.

Our elevation suite at Finch bay was amazing! But the staff at the hotel really made it special. Great excursions, food and drinks. Be prepared t walk 5-7 minutes from water taxi to hotel ( they take your bags) and as you walk you will see sea lions and iguanas. We loved the walk! Being close to town but not in town was a plus!

Galapagos is quite the experience. You can do it by cruise or in a limited amount of resorts. Our family wasn't excited about being couped up in a small cruise ship, so we chose Finch Bay, and we are very glad that we did.

The staff is friendly and welcoming. The food is delicious. They went out of their way to host a beautiful New Year's Eve event. The tour guides were very courteous and knowledgable. The facilities, buses, and boats were all top notch, and the resort itself is beautiful.

The event staff is very thorough in coordinating and planning your daily excursions. They remind you of times throughout the day, provide free sea-sickness pills, coordinate wet suits, and take care of all the travel.

We don't feel like we missed anything. We saw the major islands, saw all of the beautiful wildlife, were close enough to town for shopping or other dinner areas, and felt like we got the true Galapagos experience.

The rooms were awesome, particularly the new suites. They were clean and beautiful. The resort was small enough to get personal attention, and big enough to get lost in relaxation.

For a family, I highly recommend a resort as a "home base," and we would certainly visit again. Two pointers - First, many of the excursions leave from the North side of the island. This adds ~45 mins of bus time to every excursion (there and back). Second, I highly recommend the airport transfer. It's a bus, ferry boat, 1 hour bus ride, another fairy, and a 5-min walk to the resort. Without it, you are doing a lot of work and won't easily find the place.

Good pool and dining area

BEWARE
We booked finch bay four nights through a high- end and reputable travel agency over a year in advance since our trip was over the Christmas holiday. Our original booking was for two suites. Two adults in one suite and our three teens in the second.

About two months before the arrival date we were told through our agency that one of the suites wasn’t available. While disappointed and surprised given our advanced booking, we adjusted, and took a regular room which now meant one of our kids had to be in the suite with us, with the other two in a regular room.

Fast forward to a few weeks before our trip . Over the Thanksgiving weekend, we are contacted again by our agency, mortified, that the hotel does not have the remaining suite available for us for the last night. Our options are to switch hotels, (to a less than stellar option as the trip is only a month away and obviously there are not many options at this point), for all 4 nights or pack up after the 3rd night and move somewhere else for the final night, and we have to make a decision by Monday so they can secure the other hotel. We get some information that the hotel has been under management changes over the year, and some bookings were lost, or something to that effect. The travel agency, having apparently worked with this hotel for many years, can’t make headway even through they escalate extensively through both sides. We are told that this is one of the worst errors they have experienced when working on behalf of a client and have lost all faith in this hotel to manage bookings properly.

We refuse both options as unacceptable and wait for a response through the agency. We push back and ask why we are the ones who have to change our entire trip around when booking it more than a year in advance and our agency has full paperwork, from the hotel itself, confirming our booking. A few days later are told by the agency that ‘there was a cancellation and they can move you into a regular room for the last night’. Our only option at this point is to accept the solution, so on the third day we have to completely pack up our room and move three people into a room that barely fits two twin beds.
(We do receive some financial compensation for the changes, but financial compensation was not our goal for this trip, and this is at a bare minimum what a high end hotel should offer for an error of this sort).

During our stay we never receive an apology or acknowledgement from a manager for the inconvenience they’ve caused us for a trip of a lifetime. We’ve had minor issues when traveling before and there would be a note left in the room, a basket of fruit, a greeting direct from a manager welcoming us and apologizing. Something to acknowledge the error directly. Instead, when checking in we have to sign a document that we are aware we have to move rooms the last night, and we are reminded two additional times that we have to pack up by the time we leave for our activity that last morning so they can move our bags during the day.

The hotel is lovely - but losing a booking, and two significant errors at that, soured us on the resort before even arriving, and made what was supposed to be a comfortable stay where we did everything right, into something that was not very comfortable, and stressful. I don’t know how, because of these very egregious errors, I can give this hotel anything other than a 1star review. I would encourage people to take caution when booking here, especially over a holiday, as even with full paperwork and booking confirmations you may be left high and dry.

This hotel routes all calls to an off-site call center. I spoke to a representative who gave me incorrect and misleading information about booking arrangements, including being told to split my stay into two reservations and possibly change rooms. None of this matched the written email communication afterward, which was confusing, contradictory, and highly unprofessional.

I paid close to $800 per night for a premium room. Upon arrival, after already leaving my luggage with the hotel and engaging in activities, I was placed into a ground-floor room I would never have booked:

No sea view at all

Faces interior catwalks with direct views into neighbors’ rooms

Zero privacy (you can see people on their beds, towels hanging, etc.)

Small room, low ceilings, cheap-looking furniture

Outdoor chairs that feel budget/Temu-level, not luxury

This room has nothing in common with what was advertised or priced. The hotel simply presented it as a done deal — a classic fait accompli — which is unacceptable at this price point.

The “festive” food offering was another disappointment: generic Christmas food you’d eat at home, with no local or unique character. Completely misses the point of traveling here.

To be fair:

The property is clean

The location is pleasant and interesting

But service defines a luxury hotel — and this is not luxury service. It feels like a property run by owners trying to maximize margins at the expense of guest experience.

Would I stay here again?
Only if it were around $150/night.
At $800/night, this experience is indefensible.

A luxury hotel does not mislead its guests.

Amazing hotel resort. Rooms are spacious, food is amazing and top notch and the staff are friendly and very accommodating.

Plenty of activities that you can schedule from half day yacht excursions to nearby islands to see wildlife, kayaking excursions and snorkeling. There’s also a nice spa and small gym that has great equipment on-site.

We booked this resort with Melissa Altamirano at Metropolitan Touring (www.metrojourneys.com). Melissa was very knowledgeable, attentive and went above and beyond in her recommendations for our trip to Galapagos as well as Quito.

This is a lovely boutique resort that is worth every dollar.

Amazing experience, beautiful hotel, full of wildlife and right by a beach.

Food and drink was fantastic, staff were super helpful and rooms well furnished and inviting.

We did some trips on the hotels yacht. These were superb.

The hotel provides a free shuttle boat to the local town and it’s available throughout the day.

We loved our stay here and would definitely recommend this hotel to others. A real haven and a great land based option for travelers to the Galápagos.

Luxurious and gorgeous setting for a hotel. Well designed and well appointed rooms with comfortable beds. They nail every little touch with little chocolate treats and welcome drinks. The staff is incredible and I have to shout out the excursion manager Alphonso who took me on a private tour. I also have to shout out the wait staff who noticed my wife wasn’t feeling well and brought her tea and medicine. The hotel has a complimentary activity each day and a fantastic pool to lounge by with resident ducks. The breakfast is top notch and the grounds are beautiful. Highly recommend the masseuses as well.

Perfect location on the beach

Beautiful location wonderful staff. Amelia did a great job helping us arrange everything. Food delicious. Location interesting since need to come by a little boat but honestly, it was fun every time.