Hacienda la Cienega

Ecuadorian tourism is down currently but this beautiful country should not be ruled out. The issues seen to be mostly in the coastal areas. I just returned from the Sierra, Quito & Amazon areas where things were o.k. Wonderful service. Good food. Perfect spot for an intimate wedding. Elegance from the past with large beautifully appointed rooms & a lovely small cathedral. Good place to make memories...

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.

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.