Hamadryade Lodge

I would never have believed that an upscale hotel so elegant could coexist so harmoniously with the wild jungle. This place exceeded my most lofty expectations. The property is so remote, and the structures and amenities so dispersed about the property, that you truly feel as if you're in a jungle village rather than a resort. The food is wonderful and accommodating to all palates. The staff are genuinely pleasant and happy. Each of the manmade structures such as the pool, spa, bar/restaurant/lobby, and individual guest dwellings are unobtrusive to the jungle around them, peacefully intermingling. It's almost as if this place has been there so long that the jungle bloomed around it. I honestly felt at times as if I was living in a fantasy, a science fiction novel turned reality. There truly are no words that can justifiably honor this place, but it was perfect. THANK YOU to the staff, and to the visionaries who conceived of and built this place. I did a substantial amount of research on dozens of lodging options across hundred of square miles hoping to find the ideal place...and I did. This is no ordinary resort. It is special beyond imagination.

We booked the glamping option. Our tent was lofted and surrounded by beautiful nature. There were a lot of bugs, which was to be expected but thankfully there was a mosquito net right around the bed. The staff were friendly! Breakfast was pretty good! It included fruits, eggs, coffee, juice, pancakes or crepe. (However, they were always about 30 minutes late with the food despite having to reserve a time the night before.) Food, drinks and activities offered by the hotel were mediocre and overpriced. I would definitely recommend going into nearby towns for more authentic, affordable food (Tena, Archidona). We did do the full day tour with them which included a long boat ride, tubing, a stop at the Amazonicoo Rescue Center (highly recommend!) and Kichwa community (very ackward/noninformative). If we could do it again, we would definitely have saved some money going into town ourselves or w better guides. Day 2, we went to Archidona + Jumandy Caves by taxi ourselves and would highly recommend it!

We stayed in cabin 2 for 3 nights. The rooms are very nice with wonderful jungle views. The receptionist is very helpful and provided information about what to do. There was a power outage and he brought a flashlight to our room without even asking. The road can be accessed with a normal car, despite what other reviews suggest. Things to improve: - water pressure is very low and it takes some time to shower, especially with long hair - the dogs sometimes scared me - breakfast is good, but you order the night before (there is a piece of paper where you easily put checkmarks on what you want to eat). BUT our breakfast was different than what we ordered every morning, at some point it even became funny that we told the server (in Spanish) that this is definitely not our breakfast and she apologized saying that she found our order. Then, she proceeded to replace the French toast and pancakes with crepes, even if we ordered bread. Forgot the fruit salad and brought boiled eggs instead of fried eggs. - food takes almost an hour to prepare, even when you order soup - we drank two bottles of wine (one Roze and one Red) for 40$ each. The wine was average and can be found for 10$ on a quick search. We still give 5 stars because of the jungle views, room quality, location and receptionist. Solve all issues because we will come back!

Beautiful accommodation with stunning Amazon views. I had primed myself for insects (this is the Amazon after all!) but the rooms were fine, even at night. Impressive. The staff, especially Pablo and also Natalie were extremely kind and helpful, answering numerous whatsapps before and during the trip! 10/10 hospitality from both! The only area for improvement would be the fact that the manager’s guard dog (we didn’t meet the manager) literally chased my husband, growling and barking, on our way to lunch. We like dogs as household pets but this dog displayed very aggressive, reactive behaviour that was frankly frightening. Whilst it is understandable to keep guard dogs to ward off predators/protect the property, we feel it is inappropriate for this type of dog to be roaming areas where guests inhabit with inadequate recall, including the food preparation area. I believe 4 guard dogs roam around at will. We were also concerned about the on-site semi domesticated monkey that also chased us (we were keen not to be bitten). I notice that the manager has responded defensively to feedback of this nature in the past but I would urge him or her to reflect on the comments rather than dismiss guest experiences. There is no need to get rid of the dogs but they do need to be under control or out of the guest areas.

We are traveling all of Ecuador and this stay has been a highlight. It’s a lovely place, very well kept. The rooms are really your very own casita with one wall made of sliding glass doors to look out over the jungle. You can sit out on the balcony of your own room and listen to the wonderful sounds of the jungle. The meals were divine and quite well displayed while maintaining wonderful flavors. This provided an exotic experience while still honoring the nature of the Amazon. This is a delicate balance for any place and they have done an outstanding job. They even have a charger for the electric car. Well done!

When my husband and I first arrived we knew we had to adjust to our surroundings. We really wanted to immerse ourselves in Amazonia. This lodge is in the jungle so you should set your expectations accordingly. 1) I found the property to be beautiful and well kept. Every day people were cleaning and working around the lodge. Our room was tidied up every day. 2) They provide breakfast, which you order the night before. It arrived at the time we requested each day. We also had dinner each night. We ordered in advance and it arrived at the time we requested each evening. 3) The manager booked our activities each day. The only one we booked on our own was white water rafting. We booked the following tours through the lodge: Waterfall las Latas, Tubing, Machacu Walk, Ceibo walk, Paikawe Lagoon, and Cacoa Tour. Favorite tours: Waterfall las Latas, Tubing, and Paikawe Lagoon. We would do these all again. A very good experience. Least favorite tours: Machacu Walk and Cacoa Tour. Special note: Carlos our guide was very very nice and spent most of our second day with us. We even had lunch in town with him which was very special. His son Javier was our guide on our first day and took to the falls and tubing. He was very sweet and did a great job. We had a very good experience at Hamadryade. There are 3 dogs living on the property. The dogs were friendly as well as Frida the monkey that hangs around the lodge. There were a couple areas that seemed a little tired, but I would expect that given that it’s in the jungle. The large couch located in the lower section was pretty beaten up by the environment so we didn’t sit there. It would be difficult to keep that looking fresh given the surroundings. Not a problem for us. The only thing that would have been nice is if they had large screens in your room so you can keep the sliding door open at night to get a little breeze but keep the bugs out.

Run down and in need of many repairs. Service was super friendly, but the actual execution was consistently pathetic. The mistakes became almost laughable. Just 1 example, they arrange meal times in advance, but were 30-90 minutes late every time. The food was mostly delicious, but certainly not as artful or interesting as portrayed in their marketing photos. Their has definitely been a change in chefs. The ecosystem felt quite dead - the only wildlife we saw or heard were some insects. Far less birds than our hotel in the city of Tena! Aggressive dogs live on site - mostly out of view, but probably contributes to scaring away the natural wildlife.

The rooms are nicely done with views of the jungle but the restaurant service was literally the worst we’ve ever experienced. Even though you are asked to pre-order your meals every meal was 30-90 minutes late. The management is extremely defensive (as you’ll see from their responses from other negative reviews) and there is zero flexibility in their cancellation policy so beware.

Hamadryade is set in a gorgeous location with an incredibly friendly staff. My wife and I were consistently impressed by both the quality of the food and the ability of the team to make us feel at home. Upon departure, we discovered several personal belongings had been left behind by accident; the team offered to arrange for a taxi to drive to Quito overnight to ensure we had our belongings before our departure the next day. TRULY above and beyond.