coffee lodge cristal glamping & spa

We had an amazing experience staying at the Coffee Lodge! Our room was exceptional. We could bird watch from the room since it was all glass walls. Washington, the manager and chef was the perfect host and so nice. He accommodated our schedule and cooked a delicious dinner at the end of the day. The included breakfast here is wonderful too. Stay here!

There are three outstanding experiences involved in this luxurious space, and only one slightly ironic disappointment. First, the outstanding features: (1) The lodge rooms and facilities. After spending time at other Mindo accommodations, we decided to extend our stay and book one of the most beautiful rooms in the cloud forest. Among its diverse cabana-style accommodations, the coffee lodge offers two high-end "Cristal" suites, with either a mountain or lake view. We opted for the lake view, which had slightly more privacy in its nearly completely glassed-in front room and a dual view of the mountains, a small lake off the property, and the surrounding tree canopy. It was like being in a crystal box with an enormous whirlpool nearly the size of a pool. The tub was so large that we could begin filling it, go to dinner, return, and still have the spa not halfway full two hours later! Being surrounded by the vegetation and the encroaching clouds every day is exhilarating, but it seemed every other room in the lodge offered unique appointments. But as for the glass suite, as could be predicted, the afternoon sun became oppressive, even with the powerful, newly-installed air conditioning unit mounted on the ceiling. Reluctant to draw the shades and compromise the stellar view, we opted to book afternoon excursions to the nearby butterfly farm, more distant farm hikes, and easy walks to the rafting, sports, an orchard farm, and trips to town each day. The Coffee Lodge also has a pool and offers really good massages. It's very quiet...no televisions! (2) The meal offerings carefully curated by Washington, a well-trained and innovative young chef with the rare gift of being able to manage the facility as well. Depending on the freshest ingredients he found during our stay, Washington assembled a superb seven course tasting menu featuring local Ecuadorian cuisine with a sumptuous upscale twist. These expertly-crafted gourmet meals are not to be missed by anyone visiting Mindo. (3) The staff. We were fortunate to meet the lodge's owner, Roberto, when we checked in. A gracious and very helpful man, Roberto took pride in this establishment. We also were impressed how every staff person, including our frequent breakfast server and daily attendant for the room, Margarita, ensured that the high standards of the lodge were maintained. With all these outstanding aspects of the coffee lodge, what could be the disappointment? "Coffee." It was only slightly sad that with the name "Coffee Lodge" in its name, the only coffee we had at the lodge was served at breakfast. Yes, it was very good coffee, and there also was tea in our room, but Ecuador has some of the world's best shade-grown coffee, rivaling neighboring Columbia's. Not a colossal disappointment, but the jewels in this lodge could have twinkled even better. It would be terrific if coffee and tea could be served each afternoon on the scenic upstairs veranda in the for "Coffee/Tea Times," where guests might want to mingle and compare notes. At about 2.5 hours away from the bustle of Quito (we traveled safely during the governmental state of emergency) and past the "middle of the Earth" line, the Coffee Lodge Cristal Glamping & Spa is a wonderful establishment.

Beautiful well appointed accomodations, excellent attentive staff, great meals, arranged taxi service to and from Quito, wifi. 15 minute walk to town. Amazing views, birds, nearby rafting, bird tours, chocolate tours, night walks...
Highly recommend Mindo Coffee Lodge and Spa

We stayed for three nights and the host was very lovely. The room in the bungalow was very good and the pool and grounds in good condition. Breakfast was very tasty and they had a bird feeder just outside so we saw a lot of different birds while eating.

The food is prepared fresh, and excellent. Our bungalow was lovely, the pool area clean and well maintained. The staff is friendly and helpful. It is by a river, and many different species of birds can be seen from the patio.

Would recommend for sure. Really good service with a beautiful area to stay. A little expensive but it's worth it. The only negative was the shower. It was getting cold/hot all the time, is a general problem in Ecuador.

We loved our stay here. The staff was friendly and helpful, the setting and ground are beautiful, and the breakfasts were delightful. Google doesn't necessarily have the entrance correct, but the staff sent a video of how to get there when we were confused. Once there, we loved it.

For sure the best experience I had in all my trip to Ecuador.
The staff was so nice and helping with any question we had.
The breakfast was absolutely great.
The best part in this hotel is the view from the room, from the bed and the balcony you can see all the nature, I was feeling like I am inside of National Geographic program.
100% recommended, I hope to come back soon.
Thx again for an amazing experience.
PS
the bed was amazing!!!

The hotel was so wonderful. The rooms are modern and spa like. The view from my room was fantastic! The restaurant served good food. The pool was nice, but chilly. I had a massage and it was amazing! The people at the hotel were so kind and accommodating. We were a big group and they allowed us to take over some of the common spaces so we could be together.

The rooms very clean and pool and grounds kept very nice. I had a rock massage and it was amazing!! Definitely would like to come back

We just spent 4 nights at this paradise. It was my husband's birthday and the hostess, Maria, made mini chocolate Cake for him. This was the BEST chocolate cake I ever had. The views are breathtaking, the pool is perfect and breakfast is different every day. Everyone in our party (2 couples) loved the french toast the most. Birdwatching tour was phenomenal. Thanks for a spectacular trip.

Not directly in town but directly in the nature and still walking distance to the town. Cute and stylish bungalows as well as delicious breakfast and great stuff!

Exceptionally friendly service, delicious fresh food, spectacular views of the surrounding mountains, quiet and secluded bungalows, perfectly well maintained and clean, fabulous easy access to all the fun activities around Mindo. This place is great — thank you very much to our hosts Maria and Freddie.

Maria and her team are fabulous.
we were met at Quito and transferred up to Mindo, she had taken care of all our request and prebooked activities for us.
what a lovely peaceful place to spend 3 days.
Loved it
Mel and Suzanne

Great place and the best hospitality we experienced. Our baby has a dairy and soy intolerance right now and they were able to provide us awesome Ecuadorian food without these ingredients. we will definitely recommend this place to all our friends and family.

What an amazing surprise! Stayed here the last night of our South America trip and absolutely loved it! Coffee tour, butterfly house and zip lining were included in our stay along with all meals that were also wonderful! Would highly recommend for anyone considering a trip to Mindo. Cute town, lots of restaurants and lodge was fantastic! Private pool and Wi-Fi too!

My reservation is 40 days from today, but I felt compelled to share my experiences getting questions answered in email by Maria. The responses were concise and prompt. I’m confident that their excellence extends to every facet of managing their lodge. We can’t wait.

In the middle of the Nature, this Hotel is an amazing Oasis with all of luxurious facilities. They have also a great SPA where you can relax your body and Mind.

One of the most cozy places in Ecuador- beautiful garden, tropical birds everywhere, waterfalls close by, great breakfast, perfect Pool area and friendly staff. Go visit

Amazing place to relax and enjoy the nature, it's only 5 min from the town, the rooms are beautiful and bathrooms clean and and good looking too.