JW Marriott Hotel Quito Review

Introduction: Sailing Celebrity Cruises’ Flora in the Galapagos

What to Pack for a Galapagos Cruise

Getting to Quito, Ecuador in Delta First Class

JW Marriott Hotel Quito Review

Exploring Quito, Ecuador on a Celebrity Cruises Excursion

Quito to the Galapagos and Back by Avianca Charter

Ship Review – Celebrity Flora

Cabin Review – Penthouse Suite 5125 on Celebrity Flora 2024

Celebrity Flora – Dining Review

Exciting and Unique Activities on a Galapagos Cruise

Revolting Copa Airlines Business Class – Delayed, Dirty Windows and Mold!

The Santa Maria, a Luxury Collection Hotel & Golf Resort, Panama City Review

Who Should Take a Galapagos Cruise?

Note – This JW Marriott Hotel Quito Review is actually a composite review of two separate stays.  We booked the 10-day Galapagos Outer Loop Adventure with Celebrity Cruises.  This included a two-night stay before the 7-day cruise as well as a one-night stay after the cruise before flying home.  Hopefully this isn’t too confusing and please have a bit of patience as I’m going to mention things like a Quito City Tour, dinner off-property, and more that will be covered in future posts.  With that preamble I hope you find this review helpful.

After arriving at Quito Airport around 8:30pm and zipping through immigration, customs, and baggage claim we were handed off to a Celebrity Cruises hostess.  She indicated that our car was a few minutes away and once in route it would take approximately 45 minutes to reach the hotel.  We asked if anyone else would be riding with us and she said no, that we were the only ones on the Delta flight and others would be coming in later on American Airlines and United Airlines flights.

We would later find out that there were in fact other cruise passengers on our flight; however, because we were suite passengers we were provided with exclusive transportation.  This, like the escort through the airport, was another unadvertised perk of our successful MoveUp bid to one of the Penthouse Suites.  During the course of the cruise there were to be a number of these unadvertised and non-guaranteed perks.

As promised the ride to the JW Marriott Quito took about 45 minutes.  As soon as we arrived at the hotel we were handed off to another Celebrity Cruises representative that gave us our room keys, welcome letter, and let us know about the breakfast options in the morning as well as the meeting time for our full-day tour of Quito the next day.

It turns out that suite passengers on the ship are also provided suites at the JW Marriott Hotel Quito.  This again was not an advertised perk.  We made our way to our suite located on the fourth floor of the hotel near the elevators.

Suite doors all have this inoperable side panel next to their doors.

It appears that there are two suites on each floor with one directly across from the elevators and another a bit further down the hall.  We stayed in both suites on the fourth floor between our two stays at the JW Marriott Quito.  We found both to be very quiet despite being near the elevators and an ice machine.

You immediately enter into a hallway with a door into the bathroom and the large sitting area straight ahead.

The living room contained a couch, chair, a desk, and a rolling desk chair.

There was also a television (one of two in the suite) below which was a coffee station and an empty refrigerator.  I’m not sure if these are equipped as minibars for non-cruise guests.  It was clear from our pre and post cruise stays at this hotel that Celebrity Cruises and sister company Silversea have a well integrated collaboration with the hotel.

There is a sliding door separating the living room from the bedroom where there is another TV along the wall, as well as a built-in luggage rack.

There were a good number of US-style outlets as well as USB in the alarm clock.  There were a generous number of water bottles throughout the suite on the nightstands as well as in the bathroom.  Our guide stated the water in Quito is safe to drink; however, the pipes in the city are old so it’s best to use bottled water in your room and for brushing your teeth.

The bedroom had a decent sized closet containing a small safe, iron and ironing board, robes, as well as slippers.

The bathroom was large and well appointed with a wide range of L’Occitane amenities as well as pumps for hand soap at the vanity as well as shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in the shower.

More bottled water was provided in the bathroom, this was re-stocked each day along with daily housekeeping.

There was a separate soaking tub.

A walk-in shower.

And a separate water closet.

As suite guests we were provided access to the Executive Lounge located on the 9th floor.  We could have our breakfast downstairs in the restaurant buffet or up in the lounge.  During our three mornings at the hotel we tried both and found that we preferred the quiet atmosphere of the lounge at the expense of having a smaller selection, albeit quite generous for a lounge.

During the time of our visit the JW Marriott Quito club lounge was open from 6:00AM until 10:00AM for breakfast, from 5:30PM until 7:30PM for evening drinks and snacks, from 8:00PM until 10:00PM for drinks

Upon entering the lounge you were asked for your room number by a friendly host and then you were free to enjoy breakfast, evening canapes, or snacks during the rest of the day.

We’ll start with our first breakfast experience.  We started by making lattes from the self-service machine. 

Then selected a table out on the covered terrace.

The lounge had nice views of the city, though they tended to be a bit hazy in the mornings.

We then visited the well stocked buffet as well as the omelet and eggs to order station.

We had no problems finding a variety of gluten free options with the help of some thoughtful signage.

I think that eating breakfast outside is one of life’s great pleasures and one that I rarely enjoy in my “normal life” so I very much enjoy it on vacation whether at a hotel or on a cruise ship.

We very much enjoyed breakfast al fresco before heading down to the lobby to start our all-day Quito Tour.

The lobby has a spacious atrium at its heart with lots of seating and a Christmas tree during our visit in late November.  As we were to later learn on our tour, roses are one of the largest exports of Ecuador and they are incredibly inexpensive.  This resulted in lovely displays throughout the hotel and the city.

Fast-forwarding to after our tour (which will be covered in a future post) we freshened up and went to the lounge for a small snack and complimentary glasses of wine limited to one per person per day with additional glasses available for purchase at a reasonable cost.

There was plenty of indoor seating with the windows open it was a pleasant place to take in the views.

The warm and cold canape selection changed daily while items like cheese, cured meats, nuts and a variety of tasty root vegetable chips were consistently available.

There are also a limited selection of snacks available all day in addition to the drinks cooler and coffee machine.

We then went down to the lobby to meet up for an off-site dinner.  We would then have one more breakfast at the hotel before heading out on our charter flight to the Galapagos.  We would be coming back to the JW Marriott Quito for one more night before heading home.  It was during this second stay that we were able to explore the hotel a bit more and had thoughts of swimming in the pool; however, it was largely shaded much of the day and as such was quite cool. While a bit too chilly for us, the pool was lovely.  There’s an outdoor bar by the pool; however, it was not open during either of our stays. Ultimately we decided to explore the city instead.

The hotel had a fitness center and spa located near the pool on the lower level.

This is the same level where they had an indoor garden as well as the hotel’s primary restaurant where we were provided dinner on our last night of the trip.

Celebrity had a special menu for their guests at the Botanica Bistro restaurant that included three courses as well as a glass of wine or beer.  This is also where the buffet breakfast was offered for those without lounge access or wishing for a greater variety of offerings.

I opted for a bowl of the Locro Quiteno soup which is a delicious potato and cheese soup that I enjoyed throughout our time in Ecuador.

Next I enjoyed the pork belly with a pea puree.

And to finish the only gluten free option for dessert was a huge fruit plate.

On our day of departure we were not flying out until the evening and did not have our included airport transfer until 3pm.  The standard check-out time was noon, so we inquired about a late check-out.  The polite gentleman informed us that Celebrity Cruises had a negotiated rate of $75 to extend check-out time.  We then asked if Melanie’s Titanium Bonvoy status could be considered to provide the “guaranteed” late check-out.  He said absolutely and added her Bonvoy number to our reservation and we were all set without paying the fee.

I’ll note that neither of our two stays qualified for Marriott Bonvoy credit either for elite night or redeemable points.  We had looked at booking the hotel independently; however, Celebrity Cruises did not allow a la carte booking of hotel transfers, hotels, and most importantly the charter flights to and from the Galapagos.  These flights were the most challenging part that precluded us from electing to book flights, hotels, and transfers independently and instead booking the 10-day option through Celebrity Cruises.

So that concluded our JW Marriott Hotel Quito review.  Ultimately the hotel facilities are a bit past their prime and showing their age; however, we had an excellent experience with the staff, the food and beverage, and especially the Executive Lounge.  If we find ourselves in Quito again we would absolutely stay at the JW Marriott Hotel Quito again.  – Michael