We are independent travellers who visited Galapagos last month. We are avid UK bird watchers and decided to visit Galapagos after watching the BBC's wonderful documentary series. This hotel was right at the top end of our budget but we were not disappointed. We thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of our stay. As they say, its all about location, location, location, and the Albemarle simply cannot be beat. It is located directly on the most beautiful beach you can imagine, fine white sand and palm trees, marine iguanas and boobies, and virtually no-one on it...we had the whole beach to ourselves! Directly behind the hotel is the main town square with all the local services, tour agencies and local restaurants. no other hotel on the island has a location like this. The staff were very polite and helpful, especially Geraldine on reception, who is from England which definitely helped with our communication problem! She kindly organised all our tours which were very enjoyable (our favourite was Tintoreras). Breakfast was great...eggs to order and self-service coffee, toast and juice. The fresh fruits were incredible! Our beach front room was fantastic, directly on the beach with the most breath-taking views. The 6pm sunsets to the right side of our balcony are not to be missed. Our room was beautiful...finished to a very high standard with marble bathroom, colonial style balcony, powerful and hot rain shower, huuuuuge emperor bed and all the mod cons: in-room safe,TV with DVD, silent air conditioning, but we didnt use it as the high ceilings and large wooden balcony doors made it fresh and breezy. It was rather pricey for us but there is nothing bad to say about this hotel, it was probably the best we have ever stayed at.

DO NOT STAY HERE! I was so looking forward to staying at this hotel. It seemed reasonably priced for the description of the hotel. Although I had read the reviews of the hotel as having ants on the beds, I did contact the owner directly who told me that had been a one-time occurrence because the room was next to the kitchen but that he could assure me it have been resolved. When I arrived at the dock I was met by a dirty and dusty pickup truck which soiled out suitcases. When I arrived at reception the woman at the counter was impatient, rude, exasperated and had the attitude that she was doing me a favor instead of me being a paying customer. The hotel is in disrepair. At one time it may have been grand but it appears to not have been well maintained. We were given the Charles room facing the beach, the beach view was beautiful and the room was a very comfortable size. However, there were bathroom fixtures in decay, missing or rusted. The towels were dingy and had rust stains, some were discolored. The wooden molding in the room was dirty and old with chipping wood. Overall it was a disappointment, especially for the rate. I have stayed in hotels in much better condition in the US and overseas for less money. Unfortunately upon inspection of the bed I found small sugar ants on the sheets. When I informed the front desk staff they seemed even more exasperated with me and even annoyed. They offered to change my room and put me in the Chatam. This room did not have ants on the bed, but the balcony was full of them. The room was in the same state of disrepair. I had certain expectations of this hotel for the rate we were paying but was extremely disappointed. When I went downstairs to let management know I was disappointed the woman at the front desk was rude and raised her voice at me during the conversation. She gave me two choices, of which I was already well aware, stay in the conditions the hotel was in or leave to another hotel. Not having much knowledge of the area hotels, since I had planned on the Abemarle for four nights, I quickly booked another hotel, Sol Isabela, which I can review later. Overall, although this did not ruin my vacation, it was a blemish on the time I spent ON Isla Isabela.

It is in a good location across from a swimming beach and around the block from some great restaurants. The reason for the poor review was due to lack of cleanliness. The same dead bugs were in the same location in our bathroom the entire stay. Also open bars of soap and hair were left from the previous tenants. The pictures show that the bathrooms have two sinks but the faucet was only working for one sink. The sheets, curtains and towels are past due to be replaced. They were stained and worn thin. We never used the pool as it is very small and it was green. I do not know if they are able to use chlorine/chemicals. The beach across the street is more comfortable and the swimming was great.

Be aware... although the hotel was kind enough to call a taxi to pick us up at 5:15 am to meet the ferry no one ever showed up. We were fortunate to hitch a ride with other guests whose tour guides had arranged and showed up to personally take their group to the ferry. It is not a walk to take with luggage as the roads are sandy, bumpy and not close enough to the ferry. Try to make arrangements through a tour fguide for this.

Stayed here as an independent traveler while visiting Galapagos. We had a great time doing day trips with local guides (helps if you speak Spanish and they really do know the best places to take you to!) and eating out at local restaurants, but the hotel really was the low point of our stay. Great location right on the beach and lovely to go to sleep to the sound of crushing waves, but the room are not well taken care of, as is the case with all of the property and the food is simply awful. I was also wondering about hygiene in the kitchen, as the "chef" walked around all over the village barefoot and then also was barefoot in the kitchen and had a very nasty looking cut on his finger that looked like it probably should have been away from food related items for the time being. Even though we foolishly prepaid for our dinners at the hotel and they refused to give us a refund when we decided after a couple of nights to eat elsewhere, we opted to eat our meals in local restaurants - a much better choice, both for your taste buds and your wallet! Try the burger joint three door down - it is the best burger I ever had in my life! Hotel presents well in pictures, but needs some repair and new staff that gives a damn.