After our extraordinary week around the southern islands of the Galapagos, we said good bye to most of our new friends from the cruise and checked into the Finch Bay Hotel in Puerto Ayora. We had extended our stay on the Galapagos for another 3 nights, just so we could experience this hotel that was a part of the National Geographic “Unique Lodges of the World.”
Since the Galapagos had just reopened for visitors, the hotel staff were very much on board in exercising all the right safety precautions. Prior to stepping foot inside the hotel, we had to walk through a sanitizing tunnel, have our temperature taken, and our luggages sprayed down. Everyone had masks on and kept a reasonable distance from one another. We felt extremely safe.
The hotel was in a secluded location, accessible only by their private boat from the main dock of Puerto Ayora. It was luxurious in every sense, from its ocean views to its stunning interior design to its exemplary services.
The hotel provides a water taxi to bring guests to/from the dock at Puerto Ayora, so we did venture out nearly everyday to explore the small town. One of our new friends, Ayaka, from the Alya cruise, also extended her stay after the cruise and was staying at a boutique hotel in Puerto Ayora. She invited us over one night for a super delicious meal of lobster and sushi!! You can buy fresh seafood directly from the fishermen every morning by the dock, and Ayaka did just that with the lobsters. She then brought it back to the hotel to prep and cook for us that evening, and we had the most lovely time dining together on the rooftop of the hotel!
We also really enjoyed just lounging by the pool at Finch Bay and dining at their superb restaurant. We were just one of a handful of guests that were there, so at times, we felt like we had the entire resort to ourselves!
Staying at Finch Bay was certainly a splurge for us, even with the COVID discount prices. Would we stay there again next time? Probably not! Having to take the water taxi in/out everyday was a bit of a hassle, and there weren’t enough things to do at the resort to not venture out to town. But, after a strenuous week going around the islands, it was indeed very relaxing to get to stay at such a luxurious resort, and we’re glad we did it!
