Hotel Indigo - Galapagos by IHG

The sea is not a distant backdrop here: Hotel Indigo - Galapagos by IHG faces the beachfront in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, with an outdoor infinity pool, terraces and balconies to bring the coastal setting into the day. You can move from breakfast to the water, then back to air conditioning, a proper shower and a room with enough space to spread out without turning the place into a kit room.

The hotel website is available in English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Turkish, Indonesian, Malay and Swedish. That makes the property accessible to a wide international clientele, although no hotel staff languages are specified. Couples get the most obvious fit from the ocean-facing rooms and the two-person room layouts; families can use the larger room configurations and family rooms, with children of any age welcome.

You are in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, on San Cristóbal Island, Ecuador, at Isabela Y Charles Darwin Manzana 40. The hotel sits directly by the beach, with Playa de los Marinos about 200 metres away on foot and Oro Beach roughly 600 metres away. Mann is about 0.6 miles away, while Punta Carola Beach is around 1 mile from the property.

San Cristóbal Airport is about 1 km away, which keeps arrival and departure relatively straightforward. The town also gives you nearby alternatives when you fancy eating elsewhere: Giuseppes Restaurant is around 300 metres away, Cris Burgers about 300 metres, and Restaurante Midori roughly 300 metres. La Loberia Beach is further out, around 1.5 miles away.

The practical choice depends on what you want to see when you open the curtains. City-view rooms keep things simple, while the ocean-front categories put the sea directly into the room's daily routine. For two people, a king room suits a straightforward diving stay; for three, the rooms with two queen beds or one of the oceanfront suites give you more useful sleeping flexibility. The larger suites are the ones to consider when you want a separate sense of space rather than merely another bed.

Every room has air conditioning, a balcony, a desk, a flat-screen television, free toiletries and either a sea or city view. Soundproof rooms are available, which matters when tomorrow starts early and your body has already had enough excitement for one day. Tea and coffee-making facilities, room service and free WiFi cover the less glamorous but genuinely useful parts of getting back to normal.

The One-Bedroom King Suite - Oceanfront and the King Suite with Kicker Rock View are the natural picks for a couple treating the room as part of the trip, not just somewhere to leave a bag. Accessible rooms and wheelchair access are also available, with lift access to upper floors and bathroom features including grab rails.

The restaurant covers breakfast, lunch and dinner, with local and international cooking rather than a single narrow style. Breakfast can be continental, American or à la carte, with fresh fruit and local specialities; vegetarian and gluten-free choices are part of the offer, and vegan options can also be requested. There is breakfast in the room when leaving the bedroom is not yet a convincing idea.

A bar, a snack bar and an on-site coffee house give you several ways to handle the gap between meals. Room service runs around the clock, useful when boat timings and normal dinner habits fail to meet. Packed lunches are also available, while special-diet menus can be arranged on request. Wine and champagne are available too, should the evening call for something more civilised than rehydration and an early night.

Two pools give the hotel a proper place to decompress: one outdoors and one indoors. Add sun loungers, pool and beach towels, a sun terrace and outdoor furniture, and you have the straightforward post-water routine of shade, horizontal time and no need to organise an expedition to the next chair. The beachfront setting also puts the shore within easy reach when a swim in the pool feels too much like another scheduled activity.

The fitness centre and yoga classes are there if your idea of recovery involves moving deliberately rather than collapsing elegantly. The wellness facilities include a relaxation area, hot tub and massages ranging from head, neck, back and feet to full-body and couples treatments. A couples massage is the obvious choice when both of you have spent the day being bounced around by the Pacific.

When you want to leave the property, bicycle rental, bike tours, walking tours and local-culture tours are available. The hotel can also arrange themed dinner nights, while hiking, fishing and snorkelling take place away from the property. A tour desk, concierge and luggage storage make the land-based planning less of a puzzle.

Check-in starts at 15:00. Check-out runs from 05:00 to 11:00, a useful window if your onward travel begins before most people have found their first coffee. The front desk is open around the clock, with concierge service, luggage storage and a shuttle service available. San Cristóbal Airport is about 1 km away.

WiFi is free throughout the hotel, and room service is available 24 hours a day. Laundry, dry cleaning and ironing services are available, while a safety deposit box can be used at reception. Cash is not accepted, and the minimum age for check-in is 18. Cots can be requested for children aged up to three, subject to the selected room and availability; extra beds are not available. Pets are not allowed.