The owners, John and Donna, could not have been more accommodating and friendly. We showed up with very little planned and they helped fill the void. The apartment is a full 2 bedrooms with living area. Ideal size for a family of 3-5. Great views from the terrace. Any destination in town is only $1.50 away by taxi.

I would also recommend taking an island tour with John if he is available. He is a local and a great guide.

Submitted: Apr 7, 2018 | Stayed: April 2018

The owners, John and Donna, could not have been more accommodating and friendly. We showed up with very little planned and they helped fill the void. The apartment is a full 2 bedrooms with living area. Ideal size for a family of 3-5. Great views from the terrace. Any destination in town is only $1.50 away by taxi.

I would also recommend taking an island tour with John if he is available. He is a local and a great guide.

Submitted: Apr 7, 2018 | Stayed: April 2018

Donna was a great host! She was very quick to respond to email and helped me organize our transfers from Baltra to Torre Mar in Puerto Ayora. When we arrived, she showed us around the suite and gave us recommendations on where to go and eat. The suite on the top floor is a one bedroom, but that was fine for us since we did not plan on spending much time indoors. She left plenty of towels out in the bathroom and there was hot water, air conditioning, and WiFi. There is also a refrigerator, microwave, utensils, and pots and pans. Her property is pretty central, a 15 min walk to the Charles Darwin Research and a short taxi ride to anything else in the area ($1.50). You can also walk down the main street where there are plenty of travel agents if you want to book a cruise to any of the islands. We didn’t take any cruises but there was still plenty to do in Santa Cruz for the week we were there. Thank you Donna, we will be back!

This was the perfect place to stay while we were in the Galapagos. Donna and her husband were fabulous hosts and stay right on the property, so they were available if needed. The suite was huge compared to virtually any other accommodation on Santa Cruz. She coordinated a ride to and from the airport, as well. The building is a few blocks off of Charles Darwin Ave, but the walk was really no bother. We would suggest this place to those headed to the Islands. On the Galapagos Islands things can be quite primitive. In fact, most of the hotels advertise hot and cold running water. This was no issue at this property as things were updated, clean and nice. Donna provided us with several gallons of drinking water, as well as an informational packet upon making the reservation that gave suggestions about travel to the Galapagos. The one thing to be mindful of is that there was no elevator in the building, like much of the rest of the islands. If you are disabled that may be an issue, although the driver helped get our luggage to our room. Again it was a fabulous place to stay and I have to say we were a bit apprehensive as this was our first booking of this type. We would definitely do it again and hopefully the owners of our next stay will be as conscientious and perfect as Donna and her husband.

Fabiola and Carlos were great! Unfortunately, both John and Donna were away during out stay there. But that did not stop us from having a wonderful time and experience at such an exotic place!!! Carlos was able to recommend a day trip with snorkeling and is available for hire to drive you to the highlands to see the Tortoises roaming in their natural habitat. The only thing that would made this stay over the top was having a pool to cool off after a day of excursions… Laundry services across the street was convenient, but expect to pay more. Lava wash near the pier was much cheaper and did an excellent job!!

Très bon séjour à Torre Mar. Nous avons logé dans le studio du dernier étage. Points forts : grande terrasse avec hamac et magnifique vue sur Puerto Ayora et l’océan, studio plus grand que les photos ne laissent croire. La chambre se trouve dans une alcôve séparée, très bien situé par rapport au centre, petit marché de fruits et légumes à 50m, très propre, fleurs fraîches, essuies à volonté. Seul point faible, pour ceux qui aiment cuisiner, peu de casseroles. Wifi capricieux, mais c’est général à Santa Cruz. C’est un très bon plan comme base pour visiter l’archipel à son propre rythme.

The hosts were totally awesome and helped us plan activities and generally organize a trip to save the most money. The suite is close to an awesome bakery and Cuban sandwich shop. Downtown is all around the property and the main tourist strip is a 8 minute walk or 1.50 dollar taxi ride each way. Our daughter was turning 7 while we were in Galapagos so Donna and John (the owners) not only allowed us to have a party here they even helped wrangle some kids some my kids so daughter could have the same happy birthday feeling as back home. We cannot say enough about how much we appreciated staying here. These folks would make great neighbors 🙂 and we have no problem saying that these folks are what make traveling away from home so special.