Selina Quito

Rooms and decor

Picture a 4-5 floor building in the middle of La Mariscal, its exterior sprayed with bright graffiti and a carved wooden Selina sign hanging over the entrance — that's the landmark. Selina is a Panama-born hostel-hotel hybrid that spread across Latin America over the past 5-6 years, aimed at younger travelers who don't want a bare metal-bunk hostel but whose budget won't stretch to a boutique hotel. The Quito branch follows the brand formula: walk in and you hit a lobby that's part co-working café, part living room, part bar, done in warm earth tones with brown leather sofas, long wooden tables, woven pendant lights and local Andean textiles on the walls. It feels more like a hipster café than a hostel, and in every corner there are travelers from all over sipping coffee and working, some swapping trip stories, others planning their Galápagos or Amazon legs — a small community that makes the place feel warm even on your first day in the city.

Food and amenities

The clever part is the range of options under one roof. There are 4-8 bed dorms from around $21 a night for solo backpackers, with bunk beds that have personal lights, privacy curtains, power outlets and under-bed lockers, up through private king or queen rooms at roughly $51-80 with en-suite bathrooms, soft beds and simple earth-tone design set off by local weaving at the headboard. Some rooms open onto a small balcony with a view of the Quito skyline and the surrounding Pichincha mountains. What sets it apart from a normal hostel is the 24-hour co-working café with Wi-Fi fast enough for a serious Zoom call, a shared kitchen where guests cook to save money, and a tour desk running Galápagos, Amazon, Cotopaxi and Quilotoa Loop trips at negotiable rates. The overall feel is a traveler community ready to trade tips and find you company for the road.

Location and getting there

This is Selina Quito's trump card. The hotel is dead-central in La Mariscal, Quito's number-one nightlife district, nicknamed Gringolandia by locals for the foreign crowd it draws. Walk about 2 minutes from the door and you reach Plaza Foch, a small square ringed with international restaurants, bars pouring local-priced pisco sours, late-opening pubs and small clubs — buzzing every evening, especially Friday and Saturday. The streets around it are full of souvenir shops, Indigenous craft markets and tour operators where you can compare Galápagos prices before committing. For getting out of the district, the nearest Trolebus station is about a 10-minute walk and takes you straight to the Centro Historico old town (a UNESCO World Heritage site) with the gilded La Compañía church and the old Plaza Grande in under 20 minutes. From Mariscal Sucre airport (UIO) it's about 45 minutes to an hour by car depending on traffic. It suits anyone using Quito as a base before Galápagos or the Amazon who wants everything a traveler needs within a few steps.

Things to know before booking

Straight talk to help you decide. The first thing to brace for is the noise from the nightlife: Plaza Foch is only 2 minutes away, and on Friday and Saturday the music and crowds run until 2-3 am, so street-facing rooms can be rough for light sleepers. Ask for a room facing the central patio or courtyard, or pack earplugs if you're coming on a weekend. Second, the shared dorm bathrooms get busy between 7 and 9 am with possible queues, and the hot water in some rooms runs inconsistently per a few reviews — normal hostel stuff, but if it matters, pay up for a private room with an en-suite. Third, on safety: La Mariscal is lively but, like any nightlife district, calls for care late at night — don't walk alone down side streets or carry obvious valuables, and grab an Uber back after midnight for just $1-2. And last, Quito sits at 2,850 metres above sea level, so your first days may bring fatigue and mild headaches from altitude — nothing to do with the hotel, but rest up and drink plenty of water.

Our take

After reading through real reviews on Booking, Agoda and several backpacker forums, Selina Quito is the place that nails the combination of "central-nightlife location, good value, and a traveler-community feel" better than anywhere else in the city. If your trip is shaping up as a backpacking push to Galápagos or the Amazon and you want a Quito base where you can book a $21 dorm or a solid private room from around $51, with co-working to work by day and Plaza Foch to go out by night, this is the tidiest answer going. But if you're here for a quiet rest, want well-soundproofed rooms and full-service hotel treatment, and would rather not mix with a young backpacker crowd, this may not be your place — look at a 4-5 star in La Floresta or Centro Historico instead. Overall we give it 7.8/10, best for solo backpackers, digital nomads and budget couples using Quito as a stopover before Galápagos — comfortably the best budget pick in this district.