Casa Gangotena Ecuador
Casa Gangotena
Bolivar OE6-41 y Cuenca, Quito,
Ecuador
www.casagangotena.com
HOTEL INFORMATION
Shareholders
Privately-owned
Date of Creation
Opening : October, 2011
Hotel General Manager
Juan David Echeverría
He worked for many years as Sales Director at a luxury hotel in the Galapagos, before becoming Operations Manager at Casa Gangotena. He earned degrees in: Business Engineering and Process Technology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, Market Intelligence at the Monterrey Institute of Technology, Finance at Cornell University, and Design Thinking at MIT.
Hotel Positioning
Luxury Boutique Hotel. Relais & Châteaux member since 2019.
Development strategy
To deliver an authentic experience of Quito’s Old Town from its center point, the emblematic Plaza San Francisco square, through a historic converted mansion, true traditional Ecuadorian cuisine, and guest-exclusive activities, to live South America’s best-preserved Historic Center like a local.
CASA GANGOTENA
History & Story
First recorded to have been an elite residence in 1594, this grand property became the home of the illustrious Gangotena family in 1902. Burned down in 1914 and reconstructed in 1922, it was enlisted as part of the city’s patrimony after Quito was declared a World Heritage Site in 1978. In 2007, the current owners purchased it from the last Gangotena sisters who lived there. After an extended restoration, the mansion reopened as a Luxury Boutique Hotel, the first of its kind in Quito, in 2011.
Date Renewal
The Italian Russo Brothers were in charge of the original reconstruction, which updated the mansion’s neoclassical architecture, modernizing it with the Art Deco-Nouveau style of the 1920s. Ecuadorians Pedro Jaramillo (architect) and Diego Arteta (designer) led the extended renovation in 2007, which reinforced the mansion’s entire structure to hold the new installations for all 31 rooms with its bathrooms. Most original features were recovered, and the sumptuous wall frescoes were fully restored.
Date added extensions
During renovation, two entire extra floors were built: one on the eastern wing, topped with solar panels, and another beneath the west wing. In November 2015, Julio Vinueza redesigned the loggia and the restaurant.
Main Strengths, Special Touch
This sophisticated Heritage House combines history and modernity. The restaurant provides signature Ecuadorian gastronomy, while a variety of elegant spaces make for excellent event locations. The spectacular guest-exclusive activities guarantee visitors truly live the essence of the colonial neighborhood. Stellar hospitality is ever-present.
Location
Right at the heart of the World Heritage-listed Old Town of Quito, flanking the emblematic San Francisco Plaza. The Old Town is a living museum in many ways, home to dozens of churches, chapels and monasteries, to beautiful squares and narrow streets, and much life as locals shop and exchange news as they’ve done for centuries.
Key sites/activities in the area
Quito’s Old Town is regarded as the largest and best-preserved in the Americas. A stone’s throw from the hotel, there’s the San Francisco church (the first in the city) and religious complex, as well as a dozen other chapels and monasteries, many still functioning, including La Compañía de Jesús, the Cathedral and Santa Clara. There are also a handful of great museums to explore, including Casa del Alabado, the City Museum and the Casa María Urrutia. The hotel’s activities are listed below.
Fun Facts
Legend has it the fire that destroyed the original Casa Gangotena was, in fact, arson, by the hand of the scorned lover of one daughter in the family.
Each room has a unique design, so every guest knows they’re staying in a one-of-a-kind space.
Children’s Corner
While children are welcome, the hotel doesn’t have a program specifically designed for them.
HOTEL FEATURES
Accommodation
Number of suites: 2
• 1 Balcony Junior Suite: courtyard and mountain views.
• 1 Junior Suite: mansion’s original fresco mural; courtyard view.
Number of Luxury rooms: 29
• 1 Luxury Plus Room: King-size bed, mansion’s original fresco mural, and courtyard view.
• 8 Plaza View Rooms (facing San Francisco square): 6 rooms with king-size beds; 2 rooms with twin-size beds.
• 20 Luxury Rooms: 9 rooms with king-size beds; 11 rooms with twin-size beds.
**2 pairs of interconnecting Luxury Rooms convert into a suite.
Number of rooms, (keys) in all: 31
Restaurants & Bars
• Casa Gangotena Restaurant: Cocina Mestiza.
Our new Mestizo Cuisine is a re-expression of ancestral Ecuadorian cuisine; a sublime culinary experience that highlights the country’s rich diversity of ingredients and flavors, celebrating every region’s food tradition. Chef Emilio Dalmau mixes Mediterranean influences with his Ecuadorian roots to create colorful, modern dishes full of texture that result from a fusion of techniques. The restaurant offers five meals: breakfast, brunch ( Sundays only) , lunch, café Quiteño (high tea) and dinner, and other extraordinary activities for Ecuadorian festivities.
• Casa Gangotena’s Bar
Defined by prowess and synergy, our refined bar, with its signature cocktails of a fascinating sophistication, is the perfect complement to our restaurant. Mixologist Jossimar Luján elevates the experience by ensuring no flavor combination is ever repeated. A sommelier initiated at 15, he looks to acquaint guests with singular local wine, while also using world-class liquors to craft unique beverages.
Corporate and celebration events
We offer an assortment of customized spaces as the ideal venue for your most important meetings and exciting events. All intimate, luxurious, and cozy, they can delight up to 50 guests, with a superb level of service. Transportation services and valet parking available.
• Crimson Room: plush elegance and classic feel of the former ballroom.
• Rooftop Terrace: panoramic views of the Old Town’s main churches and the Cayambe volcano.
• Loggia: sleek, ample glass-domed inner patio filled with tropical orchids and sumptuous sofas and chairs.
• Garden: a walled, calming sanctuary with a central stone fountain.
Extra Notable Features
Our guest-exclusive activities have been carefully selected to offer guests an in-depth look into the history, culture, and customs of the colonial neighbourhood.
• Chocolate Quiteño: We serve you hot cocoa the Ecuadorian way: with leaf chocolate and farmer’s cheese.
• San Francisco Inner Courtyards and Brewery: Hosted by a Franciscan priest from the monastery, visit the religious complex and the ancient brewery (no longer active) where the order’s monks crafted beer in the 16th century.
• San Francisco Choir and Bell Towers: See the mixed influences on the construction and iconography above the high altar before heading up to the church’s Bell Tower, a spot where usually no one is allowed.
• Carmen Alto Museum: See the relics of the former home of Ecuador’s first Saint, Marianita de Jesús, inside the abbey where Carmelite cloister nuns make signature Ecuadorian sweets.
Hotel & Restaurants Awards
2019
Travel + Leisure The Top 10 City Hotels in Central & South America (#5)
Condé Nast Traveler Among the 15 Best Rooftop Bars in the World 2019
TripAdvisor 2019: Certificate of Excellence Hall of Fame
Fodor’s Travel Among the Best Hotels in South America – category Quintessential Classic
Trip Expert Experts’ Choice Award 2019 and TripExpert’s Best of Quito award 2019
TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice – Top 10 Hotels – Ecuador
TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice – Top 10 Hotels for Romance – Ecuador
TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice – Top 25 Hotels for Service – Ecuador
2018
Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2018 – Top 30 Hotels in South America
Condé Nast Traveler Among the 10 Best Rooftop Bars in the World 2018
TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice – Top 25 Hotels- South America
TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice- Top 10 Hotels in Ecuador
Travel + Leisure World’s Best Award 2018: Top 10 City Hotels Central & South America
2017
Condé Nast Traveler Reader’s Choice Awards 2017 – Top 25 Hotels in South America
Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2017 – #4 Top 10 Best City Hotels in Central & South America
Flight Network The World’s 100 Greatest Hotels #17 Boutique Hotels
TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice – Top 10 Hotels for Romance – Ecuador
TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice – Top 10 Hotels – Ecuador
TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice – Top 25 Hotels for Service in Ecuador
Forbes # 4 World’s 6 Most Beautiful Year-Round Rooftop Bars
2016
Travel + Leisure World’s Best Award 2016: #1 World’s Most Romantic Hotel, #1 City Hotel in Central America and South America
World Travel Awards Ecuador Leading Boutique Hotel Winner
TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice –Top 25 Hoteles in the World
Part of the Top 25 best hotels of the World by Trip Advisor
2015
2015 Part of the Top 25 best hotels of the World by Trip Advisor
Cedrón Restaurant : 2015, 2014, 2013 & 2012
Awarded as one of the best “Colada Morada” and “Guaguas de pan” by Quito Tourism
Cedrón Restaurant : 2016, 2015, 2014 & 2013
Awarded as one of the best “Fanesca” (tradicional soup that is served during holly week) by Quito Tourism
Cedrón Restautant : 2014 & 2015
Two of our dishes won the prestigious award « Premio de la Rosa » by Fundacion Reina de Quito
2014-2013
Part of the Top 25 Best hotels of the World by Trip Advisor 2014
Certificate of Excelence by Trip Advisor 2013
Number of employees
88