We flew from DFW to Miami, then from Miami to Quitoon January 21, purposely breaking the flight up into two legs with a long layover in Miami, which gave us time to go into South Beach for a great lunch and little sight seeing. We arrived in Quito at around 11 p.m. We saw no jetways at the airports in Ecuador, so be prepared to go up and down stairs to get on and off of the planes, both in Quito and Baltra. Clearing customs only took about 10 minutes. Interestingly, once you cleared customs and picked up your luggage you had to get in line to have your luggage run through an x-ray machine prior to leaving the secured area. Once outside the secure area, we were met by several people bearing Xpedition signs. Their porters took the luggage and transferred it to the bus, for the 10 minute or so ride to the hotel.
At the hotel we were met with cold glasses of tree tomato juice, and immediately given our keys. The Marriott was a beautiful hotel with so many large arrangements of roses in the lobby that you could smell the roses when you entered the hotel. Our room overlooked the pool, and was clean, beautifully decorated and roomy. We were not asked to give a credit card imprint at the hotel, and our guide suggested paying for incidentals in cash.
Breakfast was available the next morning from 6 to 9. It was excellent. There were several kinds of fruit and melons, some of which I had never seen before. There was an omelet station, where they would also cook eggs to order. There were also regional dishes, including tamal and ceviche. My husband had the ceviche both mornings, and said it was excellent. Tea, either regular or coca, and coffee was offered, and when I asked for hot chocolate, it was promptly provided.
Excellent location, about midway in the row of cabins. Short walk to the bar and meeting area, one floor up from the main dining room.