FOUR HUNDRED YEARS OF WELCOME

Pure and simple serendipity landed us at the Hacienda Cusin, circa 1602.

We’d spent a great day exploring Otavalo and Cotacachi and had considered finding a place to stay in the area. Unfortunately, though, the intense smoke of a local uncontrolled fire choked us so much we just had to get out of there.

So now what do we do? Passing through a lot of nothingness and a handful of one-horse towns, I sat with my iPhone to tap into trusty old Trip Advisor. We were all getting hungry and tired, and desperate to find us a decent place to lay our heads. The Hacienda Cusin kept coming up in nearby San Pablo del Lago, but I kept ignoring it because it was on the pricier side ($120 for the night). There wasn’t much else to choose from, though, and we were all feeling ready to just sit with a cocktail and chill. Okay, we said. Let’s bite the bullet.

Well, this is one bullet we’d take in again in a heartbeat. It wasn’t easy to find off the main thoroughfare, though, and we were frustrated not to see any signs. The GPS  struggled to locate it, so eventually we caved and stopped to ask for directions. Turns out it was directly off the highway, down a winding road through a little township. Once we arrived, it wasn’t hard to miss with its imposing white fortress-like walls that

                                           surround it. 

It was a quiet Monday at the hacienda, so when we checked in at reception we were graciously given lower room rates. We couldn’t believe our surroundings. Everywhere we looked we sensed its significant history.  We were escorted through pathways to our rooms, meandering through lovely paths and old-world buildings with period art and furniture. We passed vegetable and flower gardens and a working carpenter’s workshop. 

Ultimately we reached our guest cottage, complete with a full length front porch and rustic furniture. Each of our rooms had a personality of its own with a corner fireplace, unique furnishings, wall niches, bookshelves, and sitting areas. The baths are completely updated and modern. This was not a typical run-of-the-mill place to stay. Everything about it felt sweet and special.

Once settled in, we had our few cocktails on the porch and headed to the inn’s restaurant for dinner. It was a bit nippy both inside and outside the room, so it was arranged for fires to be set up in the hearths while we were eating. We entered the long, elegant dining room, framed in a massive wall tapestry with its old-world decorations. Once again I sensed the history deeply, half-expecting Simon Bolívar himself to walk in. Believe it or not, this absolutely could have happened at Hacienda Cusin in the early 1800’s. He was known to camp near San Pablo de Lago when in the Quito area during his campaigns to liberate Ecuador from the Spanish crown. The Chiriboga family apparently wasn’t in residence at the time, but it was definitely a possibility. Very cool.

I know this because we’d been provided an extensive written history of the hacienda when we checked in. Its approximately 50,000 hectares was originally purchased in 1602 by the wealthy Luna family of Spain as a dowry for their daughter’s marriage into the prominent Chiriboga family. Throughout the years, various Chiribogas owned it, although it wasn’t used consistently as a main home between until the early 1900’s by one of the female heirs Clementina. The farm was then turned into a guest and tourist destination in the late 1960’s by yet another family member, but was unsuccessful and ultimately left in disrepair. The Cusin was then sold outside of the Chiriboga family for the first time in the 1990’s to an eccentric Englishman who made massive renovations and put it on the map in 1993 when it was highlighted in The NY Times Sophisticated Traveler, Travel and Leisure, and the Condé Nast Traveler as well as a PBS program and other magazine articles. At that time the rate was $55 for a room including breakfast. Throughout the 90’s the inn continued to grow to include the Monastery and more guests rooms ~ easily accommodating grand weddings, conferences and fiestas.

Anyway, we finished the lovely meals and headed back to our rooms. The fires were raging beautifully and the rooms nice and toasty. We noticed two bumps on our bed and had to investigate. They were heated water bottles! Now that was one unique luxury I’d never expected. What an awesome sleep I wound up getting!

The next morning we checked out the entire property even further before heading on to Quito. It’s a fantastic place, horse stables, monastery and all. So, if you’re ever in this area of Ecuador, it’s a must-stay. We promise!

CONTACT INFORMATION
www.haciendacusin.com         hacienda@cusin.com.ec            tel (593) 6 291 8013/017