A beautiful historic mansion - Casa Gangotena, Ecuador

Travel Lightbulb is taking you to Ecuador today, and a hotel that is featured in the Condé Nast Traveller Hot List for 2012. Casa Gangotena is in the capital city of Ecuador, Quito. The hotel situated in a newly-restored historic mansion which overlooks Plaza San Francisco - the heart of one of the best preserved colonial districts of Latin America.


It was originally built as a palatial family home in the 1920's, but fell into gradual disrepair. Thankfully it has been restored to its original glory. The three-storey hotel has just 31 rooms, which are full of antiques but also bursting with contemporary design. The best rooms are the balcony suite and the Junior suite - which used to be the tea room of the Ganotea family.


Quito itself has one of the largest, least-altered, and best-preserved historic centres in the Americas. Along with Kraków, it was the first World Cultural Heritage Site declared by UNESCO in 1978.  Take it all in at the bar on the top floor - the view is unbelievable!


Quito is a great place to explore, and is not only sophisticated but also wonderfully eclectic! This is the perfect base from which to do that. If you want more information on today's featured hotel, visit the official website here.

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