Hotel Red Booby

Staff was very friendly and very helpful when we had some issues (issues not related to the hotel stay). The staff tried their best to be accommodating!

We booked our trip through tour/vacation company, and they selected accommodations for us. And the Red Booby did not disappoint!
It's not 5 star luxury accommodations, but it is nice, clean, comfortable and close to the center of everything so you could easily walk everywhere in Puerto Ayora.

We stayed 6 nights. Our rooms were cleaned every day. Beds and pillows were comfortable. Breakfast was a variety of delicious eats, cooked and kept fresh. And everyone that worked there was so nice!

The only thing that was less than ideal was that wifi network was pretty weak until you were in the common areas. This only proved challenging when we were trying to get in touch with the other part of our traveling group as cell service was not optimal either. But it probably did us all some good to put the phone down for awhile!

Just two key things to note. The hotel charges per person so if you bring children, please note an additional cost per night per person not written anywhere on your booking itinerary or confirmation. Second, the internet was terrible. If you're lucky, you may catch the hotel router when it appears as an available wifi even on the first floor, but if you hit the jackpot and see the router and connect, it is excruciatingly slow. I thought that maybe it was my phone, but tried it at different times of the day and night with all phones in the family to no avail. Posting anything on the internet was nearly impossible, let alone making a phone call. They claimed this is how it is on the islands but we did not have this issue at other hotels, even on more remote islands. As a result, we had no choice but to pay the per night charge for our children as we were unable to cancel without cost, and we were unable to get a reliable connection to have a meaningful call with Expedia throughout our entire stay. As long as you are aware of this and okay with it, the room we booked had three beds, was spacious, and clean.

The Red Booby is a multilevel facility located just a few blocks from Charles Darwin Ave. and the public park near the waterfront. For those needing a pool, it’s on the top level. I spent three nights here during a 6-day trip to Galapagos. Neither the rooms nor breakfast are fancy, yet easily serve the needs of guests spending most of their time exploring Santa Cruz. A noteworthy security feature is the fob on one’s room key ring that allows after hours entrance to the hotel courtyard when the entrance gate is locked.

I was so extremly happy with my stay here. I cannot say enough good things. I was along, had booked a place that was too far from the port and that had been misrepresented to me. I asked a taxi driver to help me find a good clean place with air conditioning. He brought me to the Hotel Red Booby. It was beautiful! I was three flights of stairs up and had a nice view. The room and bathroom were clean and very comfortable The breakfasts were great too!

I need to say something about the people complaining about the Red Booby in their reviews. If you were on a yacht and thought you would have the same experience on land in a hotel and are complaining about it then you might want to re-evaluate your situation. This facility was a blessing for me but I wasn't expecting yacht treatment in a mid range hotel. I cannot believe anyone expected to have an elevator anywhere in the galapagos much less complain on a public forum about not having one. Talk about out of touch with where you are. Just sayin.

I stayed here as part of the tour. Everything was great about this hotel and its location-except the lack of elevator! But the staff is very helpful and the rooms are quite nice. A nice place to stay on Santa Cruz.

The Red Booby was excellent for the price. Extremely clean, great location and a staff that can’t be beat.

The property was fairly nice, rooms were plain, tv was very small and old. The worst part was the management. I had reserved a room for 4 but for some reason Expedia only told them 2 adults but did not list the kids. Even though the correct number of beds were listed, the management said we had to pay over $500 more. We had already paid Expedia $621. We checked out after 3 nights because because the $ we paid Expedia should have covered that. They said we still owed them over $300 for those nights. Even their own website showed that it would be much cheaper than that and we should not owe them anything!! We argued and wasted several hours of our vacation. They refused to listen and finally said if we didn’t pay the extra money they would call the police. We ended up paying almost $950 for 3 nights. We are very angry and will never stay there again.

We had to stay here because the boat we had a cruise with broke down. The ship (Yate Darwin) and the hotel belong to the same owner! The price for the room is to high for what you get. Breakfast was poor.

Never book anything with vigaltravel!

this hotel belongs to vigaltravel and we stayed there because our ship, yate darwin, had an accident and the yate also belongs to vigaltravel.
i would strongly recommend to never book something over vigaltravel and especially not the darwin yacht! for those who just want to get the short information without reading the whole text: we got lied to, my boyfriend got hit by the guide with the dingi, crew hit on the single passangers and after the darwin had an accident they commited fraud and torn out a page of the captains logbook.

but lets start: we had a nice cruise until the first of march 2019. some passangers were not happy, but we were! then at 21.45 the boat hit something. many of the passangers felt the same. the next morning we woke up at the same spot again. (between baltra and santa cruz)
we were told that the boat caught a rope from a fisherman, even tough it sounded pretty different. that was the point when they should have moved us to another boat. (it is stated like that in the Policies of the company) they did not.
their suggestion was to drive around with the dingue for 3 hours without walking or snorkeling. no way! we insisted. so they drove us to puerto ayuro and we did a day trip from there. the guide promised us to do everything we missed on the next day.
in the evening we were on the darwin again and they promised us, that the boat will go to san cristobal this evening. they tried to fix the boat with two fishermen and a compressor with a motor (that is not only inefficient, is is also dangerous for the „divers“). the guide told us it would not be possible to do the things we missed because of the regulations. after 16 years of being a guide he should have known that before he made the promises. but we think he just lied.
we woke up the morning again at the same spot between baltra and santa cruz. now we were angry because they lied to us twice! we checked the captains logbook to see what really happended the night of the accident. a page was torn out the night of the accident!!! that is illegal! and defenitely not a coincidence..

we think they hit something and instead of calling the police (they have to do that) they wanted to cover it up.

they promised us that we can talk to the owner about a refund but then he was suddenly not on the island anymore and they were not allowed to give us his number.

also my boyfriend was hit by the dingi while snorkeling because the guide was talking to someone! that was sooo dangerous and he didnt even say sorry!
another thing that bothers me was that a single female passanger has been hit on by the crew which i find very unprofessional.

so thats our story..i would never book that company again. they are criminals! we told another guide on another island and he said that that was not the first time he heard bad things about the yacht darwin and advised us where to go with this story:) ministerio de turismo, observatiorio de turismo, the armada and the capitanía del puerto ayuro.

btw: the red booby was ok. breakfast was not good, rooms were clean. but definitely to expensive.

The service was good after we got things figured out at check I which too two hours. The amenities are bare minimum but it is clean and I felt safe. The breakfast is the same everyday so you may want to venture out.

Our tour group stayed here for one night. This hotel was nicer than the other ones we stayed at in the Galapagos. Rooms were a decent size, well air conditioned, and had TVs. Things all worked well. At night the hotel entrance doors lock, but guests are given keys. There is a pool on the fourth floor that I heard good things about. Across the street there is a nice karaoke bar, and there are plenty of places to eat nearby. It is not far from the dock.

Plumbing on sink leAked, water throughout the room; and air conditioner was blowing out dust or dirt, and clanging, moved us to a lesser room that smelled like an outhouse and said it was the humidity, finally moved us to another room that sufficed. I recognize these things happen, but to try and gaslight the smell was not acceptable.

Excellent location just off main street in Santa Cruz. Basic but clean and reasonable while visiting Galapagos. Easy and short walking distance to harbor with plenty of tours and tour boats to choose from. Many good restaurants to choose from and even a nearby street with fresh local seafood right off the boat. In addition plenty of good shopping for local crafts, etc. Don't miss the Charles Darwin Research Center and Museum.

When we arrived at Hotel Red Booby, the room we had reserved (1 double bed and 2 twins) was not available. (even with written confirmation and I had pre-paid a month prior). We were put into a room with 3 twins half an hour later with no compensation. (none was given after contacting the hotel administration either).
The breakfast staff person was rude and unfriendly.
The décor is sorely out of date and in desperate need of an update.
Wifi was a joke.
Positives: location, rooftop pool, front desk staff was great.

Although not warned by Expedia when I booked this hotel - they do not take credit cards - cash or pay pal only! Noisy, no head boards on bed so your ONE pillow will fall through behind bed. TV has interference and is maybe a 16 inch screen, no shades on the lights, etc etc,,,,,,, Only positive is; AC works and location but would not recommend to anyone, breakfast is also terrible.

Booked through Expedia and went to check in they said they don’t take credit cards. Couldn’t get Expedia to help. Rebooked on the spot for a cheaper rate. No wifi - did not work at all over 3 days. No headboards on beds so pillows fall between wall and bed. Only one blanket between 3 beds. Breakfast was awful. Windows are a joke as you will hear everything - so very noisy. One step above a tenement because ac worked and did not have to share bathroom or shower.

We found the Hotel Red Booby clean and comfortable. It was close to everything In town.
Staff was helpful and available when needed.
A good thing to know - they do not take credit.
A good choice for this price point.

Very close to the main street, lots of bars and restaurants nearby, Inkos was a very good one. Went snorkeling twice in January on the equator, water was not warm, so we used wetsuits. The hotel was a place to sleep, as they should be when on vacation

This was out base for a week on Galapagos Islands.
The hotel is a good 2.5 stars with filtered water and very friendly staff.
The rooms are set across three levels with stairs between each.
Each room has a small air conditioner.
There is hot water. TV is basic Ecuadorian.
Breakfast is provided and is basic by Euro or US standards but includes boiled eggs, breads and tomato. The coffee is relatively weak but you get a cup from several local places.
There is a laundry service - wash and dry.
There is some road noise until around 9.30pm.
There are multiple restaurants within 5 mins walk, the marina and Darwin museum are 7 to 15 mins away walking.
This is good place to undertake an adventure on Galapagos - it is basic with all that you need. You can stock up on drinks and snack type things at a shop across the street and there is also a Pharmacia on the same street.
Sitting on the balcony or around the pool with a drink in evening is very pleasant after a long day adventuring.