Solymar Hotel & Beach

Bahrain , Bahrain
BAHRAIN, Building 1722, Road 5715, Block 257
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50 reviews shown

4/10

Poor

24 Oct 2025

Giovani

Our room was not ready at 6pm which the check in should be at 3pm, they rushed to clean a room and didn't do it well after almost an hour of waiting at the lobby.
Very rude staff.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

15 Feb 2025

VISHAL

Great place to stay.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

07 Feb 2023

Vivian

Location is very good. Staff at this hotel is very friendly and helpful.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

05 Feb 2022

Verified traveler

Stunning hotel on the waterfront, sea lions in the lobby, birds everywhere, lovely pool and wonderful staff. Food and drinks were delicious at the restaurant and more dining choices were nearby. Best hotel on Santa Cruz, I think, and owned by the cousin of our Galapagos guide, long-time locals. Highly recommend.

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

10 Oct 2021

andrea

Loved being right on the water, great location in the center of town, the owner /manager was very helpful and accommodating.

Business_and_leisure Friends

8/10

Excellent

05 Jan 2021

David

Great stay

Very nice /comfortable. Great service.

Friends_and_family Friends

4/10

Poor

10 Mar 2020

Verified traveler

When it comes to the Hotel Solymar, the location and harbor deck can not be beat. As for the rooms, they need work. Please be advised my wife and I were NOT looking for 5 star treatment, but what were were looking for was just a clean room.

Having traveled the night before, what I desperately wanted (needed) was a nice shower. From the time I took my shower until the time I walked to the bed, my feet were more dirty than when I arrived. Spoke to the front desk where we received a big \"sorry\". Nice hotel, just make sure to ware your flip-flops

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

09 Mar 2020

Janice

Overall great stay

For the price we paid, expected better condition of room. Little more dated than expected but i guess we were paying for the location. The patio and pool area overlooked the ocean/bay where youll have frequent marine visitors like eagle ray, sea lions and turtles. The receptionists there were great too. Would stay again for location and service. But bit pricey I'd say.

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

20 Feb 2020

Verified traveler

Amazing property, excellent room and staff very friendly. Gave us helpful tips for dining and tours.
Morning breakfast is a plus!
Very safe area; can walk at night after dinner with no worries.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

12 Feb 2020

Verified traveler

Enjoyable stay

Excellent staff service and location. They even have a resident sea lion that swims in the pool! Beds were a bit on the hard side though but a wonderful stay overall.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

28 Sep 2019

Donn

The location was perfect and the staff went out of their way to help us with activities.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

27 Mar 2019

Polly

This is a direct waterfront property with direct waterview rooms with balconies. We loved every minute of this stay. All personnel were wanting to please

Business_and_leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

03 Oct 2018

Megan

A magical stay in Puerto Ayora

This hotel has to be one of the best in puerto agora in terms of location. It is on the waterfront and right in the heart of puerto agora with great eateries surrounding it. The room was generous and comfortable and had a private balcony which overlooked the deck and ocean. The highlight of the trip was definitely the resident seals that joined me for a swim in the pool and would often come up from the ocean to sleep on the deck! I would highly recommend this hotel

2/10

Poor

18 Jul 2018

Karina

It is by the ocean but still overpriced. The rooms are super tiny no as advertised. The breakfast is horrible, the lowest quality food. The worse experience hotel ever.

8/10

Excellent

02 May 2018

Verified traveler

Beautiful view with sea lions too!

Free water, comforpable room, balcony with view of harbor. Breakfast was good.

10/10

Exceptional

18 Sep 2017

Caroline

Great hotel and location

Very helpful and welcoming staff. All rooms face Academy Bay with great views. They even held a bag for us while we were on a live-aboard for a week, before our stay at Solymar. Wendy the sea lion was a welcome distraction when she visited, but I wish the bar staff had stopped guests from harassing her, cornering her on the patio, and chasing her to the stairs where she made a get away. People brought over lounge chair cushions and delicious capairinas that were well worth the 2 for 1 price, but be warned that the price goes up $1 during happy hour.

The location on the main street between the pier and the Darwin Institute is ideal, and only a couple streets from Los Kioskos food vendor street.

We stayed here and at another more expensive, Red Mangrove, and enjoyed Solymar much more.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

31 Jul 2017

Andrew

Hotel Solymar - Great Location, Staff, and more...

The only thing that bothered us was being put in a room at the end of the hall across from the breakfast area. You couldn't open your blinds or people could see in while they were eating breakfast. The kitchen staff would wake us when setting up at 6:00 am. Other than that - great hotel, location, service, and staff.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

29 Jun 2017

Room door

They try to keep open the French window each room, that is good for ecology, I understand.
However, thre is a problem , when the door closing, make so noise. I was disturbed my sleeping in the morning from another rooms door. Bang Bang...

They should put a door closer at least.

8/10

Excellent

26 May 2017

BLK

Oceanfront hotel in town

Hotel SolyMar is centrally located in town, a short walk to restaurants and harbor, as well as Darwin research center and beach. The highlight for us was the oceanfront pool, which in addition to being a nice place for a dip, attracts all kinds of friendly wildlife. Herons and other birds, marine iguanas, and even a pair of sea lions show up to hang around the pool with you, which is a real kick to see up close. Only in Galapagos!
The oceanfront rooms have a small balcony, which is a nice spot to watch the moonlight on the ocean at nite, but not very private.

10/10

Exceptional

27 Apr 2016

Stephen

Galapagos delight!

Close enough to nature? Sea Lions lazing on the deck, swimming in the pool, competing for your chaise lounge! Our room had a balcony overlooking the pool area in the foreground, ocean to the horizon - as far as the eye could see. To the left; the Charles Darwin Center a short walk. Best place to stay in Puerto Ayora!!

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

31 Jul 2015

Verified traveler

SolyMar

Nice hotel but not quite good value for money

Partner

8/10

Excellent

11 Jul 2015

Anthony

Nice enough base in Puerto Ayora

A clean and accommodating hotel centrally located on Ch Darwin, near travel agencies and other tourist resources. Not quite a luxury hotel by usual standards, but good enough. Very helpful staff with limited English can help with ordinary requests. Has a nice and well located pool by the Bay.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

11 May 2015

Kenneth

Centrally located, comfortable, family friendly

Great location, friendly staff with good English, decent breakfast included. The biggest complaint was the internet connection, which seemed slow and inconsistent, even for the Galapagos.

6/10

Pleasant

31 Mar 2015

Teresa

Sea Lions share pool dips & lizards sun on deck

Viewed 3 different hotels prior to booking Solymar. Finch Bay is the most beautiful but you have to take a boat and walk a long distance with your luggage along a boardwalk to get to hotel, Aventura in the mangroves does not have any kind of a view from rooms- just restaurant. So Solymar was our pick for relaxation, convenience, a newer remodel and views. Staff is apathetic and not very service oriented. The owner and his wife were often at this hotel and Isle Solymar across the street. They use Solymar as their personal playground to dock their boat, have their small kids use pool, eat & drink in restaurant. The hotel staff seems to cater to the owners but not the guests. Service needs a lot of improvement. Jacuzzi does not look very safe and needs maintenance, a garden hose feeds the pool. You can sit outside by pool all day w/staff walking by and you will not be approached to order a drink. You must ask repeatedly for things and get most of it yourself. We've heard, This is island life and difficult to get trained top notch staff.

Outdoor bar with restaurant has a daily fresh fish catch. Try the sushi too. The Breakfast room, is not exceptionally clean and wonder about the food sitting out for so long on the buffet. That said, I would book this property again only due to lack of choice for a short stay but don't think it's worth what you pay per night. If I were there for more than 2 nights, I would check out the resorts in the highlands or Finch Bay.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

07 Jun 2014

Kati

You definitely stay here for the location

The location is great; on the Main Street within walking distance to food, shopping, beaches, Charles Darwin Research Center and marina where all day trips leave. The room is basic- nothing special, but I guess you aren't really in it much! The air conditioning is a must and not all lodging has it.
The bar/restaurant staff were amazing, always remembering your drink or special requests as soon as you sit down. The front desk staff was not helpful and assumed I could not understand what they were saying about me in front of me.
The breakfast had a great selection of food. The restaurant was priced a little too high for what it was but the drinks were in line with other places.
They offer an airport pick up with tour that is way overpriced for what it is and can be done on your own for less than half the cost. Follow everyone else onto the bus and water taxi, then take a taxi to the hotel- you can have the driver stop at different locations on the way.

10/10

Exceptional

27 Apr 2014

Spiderman

Great stay comes with Great Hotel like Solymar

This is the best hotel in Puerto Ayora I bet. When u enter the hotel u have a nice view of the ocean and they have a cool bar with great view. We had our welcome drinks on arrival after a nice long ride with the short stop to checkout the giant turtles, craters and a brief look at the lava tunnel. We were there for 2 nights and we had dinner both nights there in the hotel cool bar which had amazing view filled with ocean waves breaking, saxophone playin, dim lights around with candle on our table. View from our room was nice too and we enjoyed sunset everybody from our room sipping coffee/cocktails. Overall we had a great time. I will recommend this hotel to anyone who want s to have a great time :)

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

29 Aug 2013

DD. Kurnianta

Great location

Very good location in the very beautifull Puerto Ayora

4/10

Poor

04 Aug 2013

Ming

Lacking in character and overpriced

We stayed 3 nights here in Puerto ayora after a cruise of the islands.

The hotel was quite disappointing. We booked a non-waterfront room for $200 USD a night.
The rooms are quite large but essentially all they have is a bed in them. Thus it feels somewhat like living in an unfurnished home or even an office.

The complex of non-waterfront rooms is very echoey and not very sound proof. During our stay, there was no hot water one day. The hotel didn't handle this very well. Initially they said there was plumbing maintenance and it would be ready in 15min. 4 hours later there was still no hot water. We had to actively ask for an alternative to shower and it only at this point were we offered a shower in a spare waterfront room. No compensation offered.

The breakfast was also quite disappointing - the buffet spread was not fresh and eating off dirty, grimy placemats is not exactly appetising. Eggs are made to order though.

Family

8/10

Excellent

10 Jun 2013

Natalie

Perspective

When visiting the Galapagos, you don't exactly make the journey for the hotel room. Ours was exactly what we needed for our stay. The staff was very helpful in organizing tours for us, though we later learned that they could have been booked less expensively when booked directly through the agencies. Breakfast each morning was fantastic, though the 9am closure was sometimes unmanageable. Extending hours would be very helpful. In terms of room amenities, I think a mini fridge would also be a nice upgrade. We stayed 8 days, and the convenience of being able to get a few items from the grocery store to keep in the room would have been great. Overall, it is probably the nicest hotel in Puerto Ayora, I would definitely stay there again and would recommend it to a friend with the listed precautions.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

24 May 2013

Carol

Boring and expensive

We stayed in the tower portion of the hotel across from the main seaside hotel. Boring, boring, boring is how to describe it. A stone structure with nothing in the way of decor, no carpet, no picture, no TV, no view just an alleyway. Breakfast was also boring, juice terrible.

It was, however, safe, clean, comfortable and in a good location.

8/10

Excellent

11 Mar 2013

Anne

Galapagos stay

The hotel has a fantastic location and afternoons can easily be spent beside the pool relaxing. Sea lions really do swim in the pool and hang out in the bar . Reception staff very helpful and attentive but bar staff a little slower and in attentative considering not busy. Rooms are large and well appointed but beds were very hard for us. Staff dealt very efficiently when we had a problem with our room air conditioner. All in all the problems were minor and we would definitely not hesitate to stay at this hotel again.

6/10

Pleasant

02 Mar 2013

Verified traveler

It was okay

Expensive for what you get.
When I booked, I wasn't expecting a room in the hotel across the street. I was expecting to be in a hotel with an ocean-front view.
In the newer building (across the street), I was an overlarge room that seemed quite empty given its size.
The service was good. Staff was friendly. It just wasn't quite what I expected for the money I paid.

2/10

Poor

01 Mar 2013

FORTIN

210$ FOR THIS. Does not worth it at all. The pictures on the web shows an hotel close to the sea. This was not is what we were provided. We were in Isla Sol a recent 3 stories building on the opposite side of the street. No view at all:the window looked in the common area (stairs and hallway) You can't even see the sky from the room. More it smelled damp (humid). Even with the air conditioning it continued to smell very bad. On a dark door we coulkd see fungi that were probably all over the room. Only good point is the personnel in the lobby that were nice. I would not recommend this hotel.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

18 Feb 2013

Rob

Likely the best in the Island

While this is likely the best in the whole Island it is pretty low ranking at most hotel and definately not what you might expect for the money. Staff was nice and definately working to get better. Breakfast was fantastic! Room was very limited, a bed and cheap chair. No TV, though TV's reception are on island. Pool and hot tub had water changed daily. All food in local area exactly the same, so really doesn't matter where you go to eat. Scuba Iguana best in the island, would highly recommend them!

8/10

Excellent

30 Dec 2012

Meryl

Simple, modern comfort

We were in the tower, across the road from the pool and restaurant, which didn't create any problem, except that the road was being re-laid. The staff did everything to minimize the inconvenience, with wooden walkways and mats. I suspect the closed road made the room much quieter at night. The pool is modest, but any pool is a novelty in the Galapagos, and there is the added interest of the iguanas who sun themselves around the edge. The setting of the pool and bar is very pleasant with views over the harbor and the fishing boats. The room itself was generous, clean and simply furnished with a modern bathroom. The staff were friendly and helpful.

10/10

Exceptional

15 Dec 2012

Greg

Completely satisfactory

Hotel was completely satisfactory, the breakfast included was awesome. Brunch basically and they will cook you eggs with bacon and so forth.

Small complaint, lots of noise from what appeared to be the roof above. Was hard to say because the street in front is fully torn up.

8/10

Excellent

02 Nov 2012

Catherine

Nice hotel in Puerto Ayora, Galapagos

Our room was spacious and clean. Though, as we took one of the lower rate rooms, we were not lodged in the main hotel which has views of the street or the port, but in the second hotel across the street, where certain windows have no view at all (they face the walls of the inside courtyard). It may be worth it to pay the little extra and get some kind of view...

8/10

Excellent

22 Jul 2012

Angela

Very nice hotel!

Our overall experience at the hotel was very good and would return on a future trip. The staff is extremely nice and helpful as everywhere in Ecuador. There is just one problem with this hotel that needs to be addressed. Maybe I didn't notice when I made the reservation but there are two separate buildings one on the beach with balconies that open to a nice view and another across the street, a brand new building very nicely decorated but without a view. When we arrived we were given a room with an interior view (window opens in the hallway of the building) and without working internet (part of the package). After complaining to the receptionist they finally realized they made a mistake and the next day we were given the proper room in the main building. So I suggest at check in you double check with the staff that you are getting the room you asked for. Other than this incident we enjoyed our stay at Solymar very much.

6/10

Pleasant

26 Jun 2012

Over priced!

This hotel is just a typical hotel that is very, very overpriced. Two friends and I stayed here for three nights. The rooms are clean, there is hot water and AC, but that's about it. The wi-fi is INCREIBLY slow, to the point that they basically don't have it. No fridge in the room was a bit annoying as well. I'm sure there is somewhere much better priced to stay!

Family

10/10

Exceptional

19 Apr 2012

Verified traveler

Hotel Solymar

The hotel is in a wonderful location. A little pricey.

10/10

Exceptional

27 Mar 2012

Michaela

Sea Lions and Sunrises

We stayed at the Solymar for two nights after a four night cruise. It was wonderful to be on our own, and the Solymar made things easy by being centrally located, well-kept, and well staffed. The front desk staff helped with questions about local sights and travel options, while the bartender helped with relaxing on the back patio. The sea lion by the swimming pool helped by making us smile every time we saw her. Excellent end to a wonderful vacation.

6/10

Pleasant

20 Mar 2012

Aaron

Nice Location But Costly

Don´t want to put people off this hotel.

The rooms are comfortable. (No TV though, and yes I appreciate this is not important in the Galapagos)

But given my time again, I would go lower budget and sacrifice the location.

4/10

Poor

24 Nov 2025

David

El personal amable, instalaciones, desayuno muy malas en relación con el precio, no recomendaría visitar este hotel

10/10

Exceptional

02 Oct 2023

Erika C.

Muito boa.

Muito boa. O hotel tem uma ótima localização, só podia melhorar um pouco o pão que é servido no café da manhã. Só tinha pão de forma.

Partner

4/10

Poor

25 Aug 2022

Verified traveler

Decepcionante

Servicio de internet es pésimo. El desayuno muy pobre y básico. Precio de la habitación no corresponde a la realidad. Piscina y yacuzzi feos y sucios. No es ni mucho menos lo que se ve en las fotos del hotel.

Business

8/10

Excellent

15 Dec 2017

Karen

Muy buena opción

Me pareció un buen hotel, con buen servicio y excelente ubicación.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

29 Sep 2017

Pedro Jose

Muy bueno, su personal y ubicación excelente

Muy bien sobre todo su personal de una atención excelente todos, las chicas de recepción y los sres y sras que atienden el bar y el restaurant muy amables y eficaces en su trabajo, linda ubicación inmejorable, pero creo deben renovar los baños sobre todo el piso y el area y griferia obsoleta si funciona pero no es muy agradable a la vista este es un comentario constructivo .

Family

10/10

Exceptional

03 Jun 2017

Michael

Buena opción para Puerto Ayora

Buena opción en Puerto Ayora, la mejor ubicación; quizás un poco costoso para los servicios que dispone el hotel y el desayuno podría ser mejor. El personal super amable; las habitaciones rústicas pero con lo necesario.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

25 Mar 2016

Tatiana

Una estadía perfecta en Galápagos!!

Nos alojamos en el Solymar mi esposo, mi hija adolescente y yo en marzo 2016. Todo estuvo perfecto. La ubicación inmejorable, frente al mar y en plena calle principal de Puerto Ayora, cerca de restaurantes, del malecón, de la estación científica Charles Darwin, tiendas, etc. El personal muy atento todo el tiempo. El desayuno estuvo muy variado. Las habitaciones aunque sin ser muy amplias (normal en Galápagos), son cómodas y todas tienen una terraza con vista al mar. Lo recomiendo completamente.

Family

8/10

Excellent

14 Oct 2015

Verified traveler

Erholsame Tage

wir haben die drei Tagen sehr erholsam mit einem guten Service und tollen Ausflügenn erlebt.

Partner