We spent 3 nights. Wonderfull location and wildlife viewing was great. Food was very tasty. Staff friendly. We had the room Mountain Vista 1 which was ample and with a lovely view. BUT, if you are staying more than one night, you may like us, find activity in the room above disturbing-very noisy and especially when noise starts at 0400 when people are preparing to go on the ‘cock of the rock’ tour (happened each morning). Room, as the other opposite on ground level are immediately opposite where vehicles and tours assemble which adds to the noise issues. As in other reviews, be aware the road access in is very rough - some might find it part of the adventure, but Australians have plenty of rough roads so not as thrilled to have it part of their holiday experience.

We stayed at Bellavista Cloud Forest Lodge and Reserve for four nights in January. Full disclosure: this is a cloud forest, and January is rainy season. With one small exception, we never saw the sun, and it rained most of the time—often heavily. That said, we expected this. We didn’t go for sunshine; we went for birds and other cloud forest wildlife, and we were richly rewarded. During our stay, we recorded 49 new birds for our life list. We also encountered the longest earthworm we have ever seen, the newly discovered olinguito, and the more commonly seen—but still delightful—kinkajou. What did we love about Bellavista? First and foremost, the staff. From the very beginning, email communication with Christian and Rosa at reception was prompt, professional, and thorough. They arranged transportation to and from Quito and booked activities exactly as we requested. Once on site, that same level of responsiveness continued—questions and requests were handled quickly and graciously. Our driver, Johnny, deserves special mention. The roads to and from the lodge are not for the faint of heart. After leaving the main road, you spend about an hour navigating narrow, rough roads with drop-offs, bumps, and sharp turns. Johnny, who is from the area and has been driving for the lodge for 22 years, handled both the van and the road conditions with complete confidence and skill. Equally impressive were our guides, Jessica and Johnny (guide-in-training). Their ability to spot birds—whether in the treetops, in flight, deep in underbrush, or identified solely by sound—was extraordinary. Beyond birds, they taught us about insects, plants, and the broader ecosystem, which added tremendous depth to every outing. Dining at Bellavista is exclusively on-site unless you want to brave that long, winding road to another restaurant—which we had no desire to do. Fortunately, the food was excellent. Although we never met our chefs (Rocío and Byrons), every meal was hot, flavorful, and satisfying. Each meal offered three options: two proteins and a vegetarian choice. Over our stay we enjoyed fish, chicken, shrimp, sirloin, beef roast, and lasagna, among others. Meals typically began with a warm, comforting soup—perfect after cool, damp days in the forest. While I skipped dessert, my partner enjoyed them thoroughly. Service from Paola and Nancy was consistently warm and professional, always delivered with a smile. We stayed in a balcony room in the newer building, which I highly recommend—especially for birders. The birding right from the balcony was fantastic. Due to heavy afternoon rains, we only took one easy walk around the lodge itself. Instead, we spent much of our time in the comfortable open-window seating area, watching birds come and go. And there were plenty to watch: toucans, barbets, tanagers, and a wide variety of hummingbirds, to name just a few. The hummingbirds flew so close that you could both hear and feel the vibration of their wings. We also took ad

My husband and I spent three nights / four days at Bella Vista. Our room was beautiful but cold. It rained constantly which is apparently good for birding. The only interesting birds we saw, were right around the lodge. The trails were difficult to navigate as they were steep and wet with mud, roots and wet leaves. The guides were young, inexperienced and not native birders. The food was very mediocre but the service was exceptional. All in all it was disappointing especially with the cost incurred.

An must visit, technically a bird sanctuary but a lot more. The staff and guides are superb. Beyond the amazing bird life, the countryside and all the other animals are amazing. You were looking in every direction to capture as much as possible and still a surprise would pop up from left field

BellaVista was great. The number and variety of birds we saw was exceptional (still not sure what they were all called, so more research when I get home)! Food is very good, staff are great and the location is amazing. We were even privileged enough to have a family of bears visit the area during our stay. Our guide Jeison was brilliant and managed to locate all sorts of things I hadn't expected (including an enormous rhinoceros beetle)! We tried a couple of hikes but did struggle a bit with the terrain. However, this didn't detract from the experiences we had around the site. Recommend BellaVista to anyone interested in bird watching and wildlife.

This is a magical place - just walking to check in we spotted numerous bird species! The lodge was comfortable enough, and we were lucky to have one of the rooms in the new block, with a nice balcony and great views. The main attractions here are the feeding stations, the Hummingbirds and the guided treks. A huge variety of birds can be spotted so close to the lodge, and as for the Hummingbirds, they are fabulous! The guided treks were fun and informative. Food is not bad, a very nice breakfast including eggs, and a 3 course lunch and dinner with 3 or 4 main course options for each meal. You can get a beer or some wine too! We had a great time here on a 1 night , 2 day excursion from Quito, with so much to see. Just a note, the last 45 mins of the journey is on a very bumpy road/track!