Guayaquil Ecuador is the largest city in Ecuador with a population of about 2.6 million people. It is a popular city for layovers when people are heading to the Galapagos Islands. 

I have been to Guayaquil many times. Safety has always been a concern for me in the city.

My favorite hotel has always been the Oro Verde on 9 de Octubre. 9 de Octubre is the main street of Guayaquil. The hotel is an 18 minute drive from the Jose Joaquin De Olmedo Airport (the International airport in Guayaquil).

There are a number of closer hotels at the airport itself, but they are not satisfactory. I found them to be loud, expensive OR too cheap, and unsafe. English speaking has been a problem at these hotels.

Oro Verde is an International Hotel where most everyone speaks English. I have had many problems in Guayaquil due to the language problems. For me it is worth the extra money for a bit of a nicer hotel for safety and English speaking.

When booking at Oro Verde, I have found that the Oro Verde website is not always the best choice.

On a recent visit I saved over $40 a night booking through Booking.com. I tried rates on the Oro Verde website and TripAdvisor. The Booking.com website also offered free breakfast. The Oro Verde website itself had a higher rate and did not offer free breakfast.

When booking on third party websites always make sure and print out the RATE DETAILS where it mentions things such as free breakfasts. When on websites, they generally do not provide these details on your booking confirmation page. I have learned this in the past. I brought in my booking confirmation and the hotels in Ecuador did not honor the free breakfast because I did not have proof! Make sure you print out your RATE DETAILS page which is the page before you click the BOOK NOW button. You will be covered.

The Oro Verde breakfast buffet is one of the best in Ecuador. See some pictures attached.