Mashpi Lodge

Character and identity

Mashpi Lodge is a 22-room glass-and-steel modernist box perched on a ridge inside a 2,500-hectare private reserve in the Chocó Cloud Forest, three hours from Quito. The design language is "Big Sur meets treehouse": muted browns, terracotta, wood and floor-to-ceiling windows that pull the canopy into every room. Days run on guided hikes, the Dragonfly canopy gondola, the Skybike, night walks for frogs and scorpions, and visits to the Life Centre's butterfly programme. Evenings centre on a glass-walled atrium dining room, a reserve-themed cocktail list, two hot-tubs and an open-sided yoga pavilion. Service is warm and quietly expert.

Who's it for

Bottom line

The reason to come is the forest and the guiding, not the building, though the building is genuinely lovely. This is among the most credible ecotourism operations anywhere, and the Hummingbird Garden alone justifies the journey. Spend the money if wildlife and conservation move you, book a suite for the bathtub and bigger windows, and stay at least three nights to do the reserve justice.